PT making name for itself, clubs North Hills
PITTSBURGH – The early part of the 2018 high school football season has shown that this edition of the Peters Township football team is more than capable of beating some of the more well-known names in the WPIAL.
Friday night served as another stern test as the Indians stepped out of Allegheny Eight Conference and traveled north to West View to take on North Hills at venerable Martorelli Stadium.
Consider this latest test aced as Peters Township started fast and never let up in a 35-7 win over North Hills.
The win elevated the visiting Indians to 4-1 overall while the hosts fell to 4-1 in a game that was played in a steady rainfall that arrived approximately 10 minutes into the contest. A nearby lightning strike forced a delay midway through the third quarter.
North Hills entered the contest averaging nearly 31 points per game, but could never solve the Peters Township defense as it was held to a mere three first downs and 33 yards of offense in the first half. The Indians finished with seven first downs and 120 yards of total offense.
“To come out like that, after an emotional win last week, we’ve responded,” Peters Township coach T.J. Plack. “We’ve been like that all year.”
Peters Township came out swinging. Josh Casilli returned the opening kickoff 81 yards to the North Hills 17. Four plays later Ryan Magiske (22 carries, 108 yards) plowed into the end zone from the two. Brian Bruzdewicz knocked the extra point, giving the visitors a 7-0 lead.
Magiske gave Peters Township a two score lead one possession later as he bulldozed in from the three. The 67-yard drive was highlighted by a Logan Pfeuffer-to-Corban Hondru 30-yard hook up, setting up Magiske’s second short scoring run.
“We have a senior-dominated offensive line; four of those guys started last year,” Plack noted. “They hit the weight room hard in the summer and you’re seeing the results of that now.”
The second quarter saw more of the same for the visitors as Aiden McCall returned a North Hills punt 73 yards for a score, ballooning Peters Township’s lead to 21-0 early in the second quarter.
“Our special teams were great tonight,” Plack added. “The opening kick return gave us our momentum and the punt return was not how we drew it up, but it worked out.”
Peters Township was on the move towards yet another score after forcing a North Hills punt early in the third quarter, but at 8:53 p.m., a flash of lightning was observed nearby, forcing a delay of 67 minutes.
Play resumed shortly after 10 p.m. with Peters Township driving at the North Hills 38. It took only one play for Peters Township to pad the lead to 28-0 as Magiske blasted up the middle for his third touchdown run.
“We talked about during the break, we need to respond to this,” Plack said. “That was our response to the lightning delay.”
Peters Township’s defense forced another three and out and took possession of the ball on its own 35. The Indians methodically drove 65 yards and sent the contest into the mercy rule phase when Pfeuffer found Ryan Moore for a six yard scoring connection, making the lead 35-0 late in the third.
North Hills crossed midfield for the first time in the game with 5:25 remaining in the contest. After stopping Peters Township on downs on their own three yard line, North Hills marched 97 yards against Peters Township’s second-team defense and finally dented the scoreboard with a seven-yard Keygen Bryant touchdown run. Daniel Wagner’s kick made it 35-7 in the waning moments of the game.