Oct 29, 2021 5 min read

McDONALD — It wasn’t easy this fall, but Peters Township is going back to the playoffs.

With Donovan McMillon at the University of Florida, Corban Hondru at Miami of Ohio and quarterback Logan Pfeuffer at Grove City, coach T.J. Plack had to replace a lot from last year’s squad that fell one win short of a WPIAL championship.

Indeed, 2021 has been a struggle. The Indians lost their first three Class 5A Allegheny Six conference games.

As the weather continues to cool down, however, Peters is starting to warm up at the right time.

Last week’s 30-7 win over West Allegheny was a start. This week, the Indians kept rolling, outscoring South Fayette 21-0 in the second half to pull away for a 35-7 win Friday night and punch their ticket to the WPIAL playoffs for the fifth straight season.

“This year has been a little bit harder than years past because we had to find out what our guys could do well, these new guys,” Plack said. “We were a little banged up early in the season. We really never meshed, and now we’re starting to move it in the right direction. Guys are healthy; we’re understanding each other, players and coaches. We’re putting the right plays out, and we’re running the right schemes right now.”

South Fayette (0-5, 4-6) the Lions won’t be in the postseason since 2008 when George W. Bush was president and this year’s underclassmen were still in diapers.

Peters quarterback Sam Miller put on a show, both with his arm and with his legs.

He completed 18 of 26 passes for 284 yards and four touchdowns – a pair each to Jacob Macosko and Bryce Thompson.

On the ground, Miller picked up 73 yards on just nine carries, along with another score.

Miller, a senior, has made a name for himself in baseball, with his pitching helping lead the Indians to the state playoffs two months before replacing Pfeuffer as the starting quarterback.

“I was telling somebody he’d probably be a great point guard also,” Plack said.

As for football, Miller has been hindered by injury in 2021, but as the team in general, he now looks to be comfortable.

“We found out what fits for him,” Plack said. “We took out the stuff that wasn’t working, that didn’t fit his skillset. I think you see he’s real confident.”

With the way Miller can distribute the ball, perhaps he could be a floor general. In any case, the multi-sport athlete’s ability benefits Peters in a big way.

“I think my athleticism is a huge help throughout the stretch of the game,” Miller said. “I was able to make plays with my feet and my arm, and the play-calling was very good tonight.”

Miller also said another key to his success down the stretch has been limiting mental mistakes. The only major gaffe for Peters (6-4, 2-3) took place in the first quarter.

With the Indians in South Fayette’s red zone, a Miller pass hit Macosko’s hands and fell into the arms of South Fayette’s Spence Hondru.

The Lions parlayed this into the game’s first score. Early in the second quarter, Landon Lutz hit Ryan Kovatch on a beautiful 29-yard pass.

But that was all the roaring the Lions did on Senior Night.

Peters answered with a 1-yard keeper by quarterback Sam Miller, that was set up by a 31-yard pass to Macosko.

The M&M connection of Miller and Macosko worked again on Peters’ next possession. Miller hit Macosko for a 35-yard score to put the Indians ahead by a touchdown with 53 seconds left in the first half. Peters took that 14-7 into the break.

The Indians widened the gap on their second possession of the second half, which ended with a 21-yard touchdown pass from Miller to Bryce Thompson.

Touchdown passes to Macosko and Thompson, respectively, put the game to bed later in the second half.

Macosko finished the night with 107 yards on six catches and two scores. Thompson also had six catches, going off for 147 yards and the two touchdowns.

“Our receivers have worked hard all year, all offseason,” Miller said. “It’s finally paying off and starting to click on offense.”

South Fayette coach Joe Rossi knew this season would be a challenge, what with having to replace all 11 starters on offense and eight more on defense.

At the same time, he knows that improvements need to be made for 2022 and beyond.

“Every year, you replace a group of seniors,” Rossi said. “There’s 13 kids that are good football players. We have to replace them.”

Neither Plack nor anybody else knows who Peters will face in the first round, but we know Peters will have to play a road playoff game for the first time since 2017.

Plack welcomes the challenge.

“We’re going to go to someone’s house next week,” he said. “And we’re excited for it.”