Oct 25, 2019 4 min read

BALDWIN – With a conference title in sight, Peters Township rolled up their sleeves and went to work Friday night at Baldwin High School.

Displaying yet another complete performance in all three phases of the game, the Indians clinched a share of the Allegheny Eight title with a 38-0 win over the Highlanders.

Peters Township (6-1, 9-1) will host a postseason contest next Friday with an opponent to be determined.

“All we cared about was winning this game,” Indians coach T.J. Plack noted. “We didn’t care what happened anywhere else tonight. All we cared about was this one tonight.”

Penn recruit Josh Casilli was the method of transit Peters Township chose to use much of the evening as he finished with 215 all-purpose yards. Ryan Magiske topped the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the season with a 12-carry, 110-yard rushing game. Magiske finished with 1,092 yards on the ground in the regular season.

Quarterback Logan Pfeuffer completed nine of 10 passes for 120 yards. He did not throw an interception and received loads of protection from an offensive line that entered the year with five new starters.

Now, after 10 games, the unit is seen as a strength by Plack.

“They really handled things for us up front tonight and all year, really,” Plack added.

Pfeuffer lauded the line as well in the locker room post-game.

“I wasn’t really touched at all,” he said. “They were phenomenal tonight and really have been all year.”

The Indians’ defense had two close calls in the first half as Baldwin receiver Naseer Penn nearly made two scoring catches. Penn had a potential scoring connection from 45 yards on the Highlanders’ first drive bounce off his hands. After the Highlanders punted, the Indians marched 75 yards in 12 plays to take a 7-0 lead. Adrian Williams capped the drive with a one-yard plunge.

Later in the second quarter, Penn again got behind the Indians defense but dropped a would-be 32-yard touchdown reception on third and long.

On the next play, Aidan McCall intercepted a Mason Stahl pass and returned it to the Indians’ 45. One play after that, Casilli took a direct snap, turned left and raced 55 yards to the end zone for a score, extending the Indians’ lead to 14-0 midway through the second quarter.

“That was really supposed to be a screen pass,” Casilli described. “I saw the flow going one way, I ran the other. It worked out pretty good.”

The Indians extended their lead to 21-0 when they marched 80 yards on their next possession. Casilli ended the march with a two-yard plunge.

Peters Township made it 24-0 at the half when Andrew Massucci made a 33-yard field goal. The kick was set up by a 48-yard punt return by Casilli.

The knockout punch was thrown by Peters Township early in the third quarter when Donovan McMillon took a reverse handoff and found Casilli for a 43-yard scoring connection, pushing the Indians’ lead to 31-0.

Magiske then made his mark twice later in the quarter. He intercepted a Stahl pass on the Indians’ 25. Several plays later, he bounded through a hole on the left side of the line and rumbled 49 yards to the end zone for a 38-0 lead late in the third, enacting the Mercy Rule.

Giving up less than 10 points per game, the Indians’ defense was every bit as dominant as the offense, holding the Highlanders’ first-team offense to eight total first downs.

“I should have a tape-recorder every week and talk about our defense,” Plack said. “We have guys that can cover and shut people down. After the first quarter or so, we did just that.”

The Indians limited Angelo Priore to 18 rushing yards on nine carries. Penn finishes with 58 yards receiving on six catches for the Highlanders.