Peters Township wins game of give and take
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Peters Township receiver Michael Evans is in a footrace down the sideline after hauling in a pass in the third quarter Friday night.
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Peters Township’s Rich Woods breaks through the Canon-McMillan defensive line on a third quarter run in Friday’s game at Big Mac Stadium.
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Canon-Mac’s Ryan Angott breaks away for the Big Macs’ only score of the game in the second quarter of Friday’s game against Peters Township at Big Mac Stadium.
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Peters Township’s Brendan McCullough sprints into the end zone for the second Indian touchdown of the September 3 game against Canon McMillan at Big Mac Stadium.
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Wide receiver Eliot Schratz (21) celebrates with Ethan Kirsch (31) after a Kirsch carry of eight yards for a third-quarter touchdown that put Peters Township up 19-7 over Canon McMillan.
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Peters Township's Marcos Recker incepts a pass intended for Canon McMillan's Christopher Davis in the first quarter Friday night.
CANONSBURG – A masterpiece this was not.
Both Peters Township and Canon-McMillan looked impressive in respective blowout Week 0 wins. Friday night’s game at Big Mac Stadium between the two would be a different story as both squads combined for six turnovers (three each) in the first half. And even though they appeared vulnerable at times, the Class 5A Indians pulled away to a 29-7 win over their Class 6A rivals.
After a sloppy but hard-hitting first half, it appeared the Big Macs (1-1) looked poised to take the lead midway through the third quarter. But on fourth-and-seven from the Indians’ 27-yard line, Big Macs quarterback Mike Evans was intercepted by Nico Pate, whose long return was nullified by a block in the back penalty.
“He’s a great kid and is on kind of a pitch count right now due to injury,” Indians coach TJ Planck noted about Pate. “He’s working his way back though.”
The setback was temporary as Sam Miller found Carter Shanafelt for a 54-yard completion to the Big Macs’ 10. Ethan Kirsch ran it in from the eight, giving the Indians a 19-7 lead with 4:32 remaining in the third quarter.
Miller finished with 11 completions in 24 attempts for 269 yards.
Bryce Thompson (three catches 115 yards) effectively put the game away when he gathered in a tunnel screen pass and raced 75 yards to the end zone. Thompson then gathered in the two-point pass, pushing the Indians’ advantage to 27-7 with 9:35 left in the fourth.
Jake Velgich entered his name in the scorebook when he tackled Evans in the end zone for a safety, ballooning the Indians’ lead to 29-7 late in the contest.
Peters Township’s defense made a statement early in the first quarter when Brendan McCullough recovered a Ryan Angott fumble deep in Big Macs real estate, setting up the game’s first score.
Angott ran for 163 yards in last week’s win over Trinity. He finished with 92 yards on 23 carries. Thirty-four of the yards came on one run.
“He’s a tough back and we knew we had a our hands full with him,” Plack said. “Our defensive coaches and players did a great job getting prepared for him.”
Miller gave the Indians an early lead when he escaped a sack ran over two tacklers and rambled 13 yards into the end zone for a 6-0 lead.
Peters Township appeared poised to go up two scores after Marcos Recker intercepted Evans at the Canon-McMillan 45. But the Big Macs took the ball back when Kent McMahon recovered a Rich Woods fumble two plays later.
“It was high-emotion game and anytime you can win when we turned it over as many times as we did tonight, that’s good,” Plack added.
In all Peters Township coughed up the ball four times, but forced four turnovers of their own on defense.
Canon-McMillan’s defense again made a big play when Braiden Africa intercepted a Miller pass off a deflection and returned it to the Big Macs 42. But the Big Macs’ offense could do nothing offensively and was forced to punt. Dominic Sirianni returned the punt 54 yards to the Big Macs’ 36, putting the Indians in prime scoring position.
Two plays later, Miller found McCullough for a 36-yard scoring connection and a 13-0 lead late in the first quarter.
Canon-McMillan’s defense worked to keep the hosts in the game and made a stand early in the second when they sacked Miller twice forcing a 49-yard field goal attempt by Andrew Massucci that was blocked.
The Big Macs’ defense again turned the Indians back on fourth-and-nine on their own 23 when Luke Petrarca was stripped of the ball and Angott recovered on the 14.
But Angott fumbled on the next Big Macs play. Ethan Kirsch recovered, putting the Indians on the Big Macs’ 7.
“We just kept shooting ourselves in the foot,” lamented Big Macs coach Mike Evans. “I promise you we put in the work to get ready. It just didn’t show tonight.”
Another scoring opportunity however went by the books for the Indians when Miller was stopped on a quarterback keeper from the 4. Massucci’s second field goal attempt was blocked, keeping the Peters Township lead at 13-0 late in the second quarter.
The Big Macs rode the wave of momentum from the second blocked kick and drove 80 yards for a score. Angott climaxed the drive when he popped free for a 34-yard run to the end zone. Lamont Lyons knocked home the extra point, bringing the Big Macs within six at 13-7 with 1:39 left in the half.