Gator bait? Peters Township focused on “being ourselves” in WPIAL title
Luke Campbell/Observer-Reporter
Corban Hondru
Eleanor Bailey/Observer-Reporter
Ethan Spangenberg hoists Ryan Magiske after he returned a Penn-Trafford turnover for a touchdown recently. Magiske and the Indians play Gateway for the WPIAL Class 5A title today at Norwin High School.
It hasn’t hit Corban Hondru, yet. Nor T.J. Plack.
In fact, the Peters Township junior linebacker and his head coach might be speaking for a majority of the locker room when talking about playing in the program’s first WPIAL championship game.
“It really hasn’t hit me that this is the WPIAL championship,” Hondru said. “We are just preparing for another football game. We know what’s at stake.”
The calm demeanor passed down from Plack, who is coaching for his first title, to his players will surely be put to the test, whether it be when the bus pulls into Norwin High School, when they take the field for warmups or just before tonight’s 6 p.m. kickoff in the WPIAL Class 5A Championship game against second-seeded Gateway.
Yet, Plack’s message will remain steadfast and simple: Be yourself.
Peters Township (12-1) being itself means a balanced offense that can run and pass with a swarming, opportunistic and turnover-hungry defense.
But that might not be enough.
“They have an outstanding operation,” said Gateway coach Don Holl. “They read their keys well and are fundamentally sound. That’s the sign of a well-coached group with a good plan. They execute their plan.
“You always talk about taking care of the ball and scoring in the the red zone,” Holl continued. “If you aren’t doing either or both of those things, then it’s easy to point out why you lost.”
Gateway (11-2) can point to both in its losses to Penn-Trafford and Massillon (Ohio) this season. In those games, the Gators had a combined 10 turnovers, including a few inside the red zone.
To get to their second final in three years – Gateway won the Class 5A title in 2017 – the defense created turnovers and prevented teams from scoring. After an average margin of victory that neared 38 points in the regular season, no win fewer than 26 points, the Gators have faced their fair share of challenges in the postseason. They narrowly escaped Bethel Park, 17-13, in the quarterfinals and edged McKeesport last Friday, 14-7.
“At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how you win,” Holl said. “Some years, it’s with offense. Others, it’s with defense. Games where our offense has struggled, our defense has given us a chance. That’s what we’ve relied on.”
Plack knows the offensive firepower Gateway can create faster than a gator roll.
Highly recruited Derrick Davis, who has offers from the top college football programs in the country, is a dual-threat running back with 165 carries for 1,420 yards and 514 yards on 30 receptions. Quarterback Bryson Venanzio is the leading passer in Class 5A with 2,375 yards and 26 touchdowns.
Gateway has 18 offensive touchdowns of 30 or more yards this season.
“They have some weapons,” Plack said. “Some guys, if we don’t take the correct pursuit lanes and gang tackle, then they could turn a little gain into a touchdown very easily. You see them hit long plays from time to time.”
Stopping the Gators’ offense could come down to neutralizing Davis in the running game, a challenge the entire Peters Township defense is eager to have after slowing some of the WPIAL’s best throughout its playoff run.
“We all know he is an amazing player,” Hondru said of Davis. “We want to shut down the best player in any game, so this isn’t any different. We can’t wait for the challenge. We just need to keep playing our style of football.”
Whether Gateway will focus on taking away running back Ryan Magiske, whose 1,291 yards this season is just 96 off the single season record for Peters Township, or focus more on quarterback Logan Pfeuffer and the Indians’ passing game, remains a mystery to Plack.
Pfeuffer has completed 137 of 223 passes for 2,165 yards and 25 touchdowns with just three interceptions.
“Defensively, they like to keep as many guys in the box as possible,” Plack said. “We have guys on the outside that I will put up against anybody. We have to see how they are going to play us.
“We just have to be ourselves and compete for four quarters. If we do that, we will be all right.”