Peters Township preparing for an intriguing season
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Peters Township quarterback Chris Cibrone eyes up a target during a passing drill at a preseason workout.
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Eliot Schratz makes a catch during preseason practice at Peters Township High School. He is expected to make an impact as a wide receiver as well as defensive back.
By Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Peters Township football coach T.J. Plack discusses strategy with defensive coordinator Darrin McMillon during a pre-season training camp.
By Eleanor Bailey
Almanac Sports Editor
ebailey@thealmanac.net
McMURRAY – The 2022 football campaign intrigues T.J. Plack, who enters his seventh season at the helm at Peters Township.
“This year is going to be interesting,” he said. “There is a lot of unknown and uncertainty. Questions that need to be answered.”
Challenging is having only six seniors on the roster.
“We’re an outlier in that regard,” Plack said. “That’s not the norm.”
At Peters Township, however, the standard is determination, desire and progress. After reaching the WPIAL title game in back-to-back seasons (2019 and 2020), the Indians blossomed into a district quarterfinalist last year. They won three of their final four games and finished 7-5 overall.
“At Peters, we have great kids. They do everything to the enth degree and still they want to give more. They are always pushing and grinding. They don’t get outworked,” Plack said.
“When you look at successful programs, there is always a nucleus of guys, core players, and there is consistency in the coaching staff, which is often overlooked. Then there is consistency. We’ve stuck with the tried and true and we build for the season. We peaked well and had a nice run. That’s what you want to be doing, playing your best football at the end of the season.”
Relying heavily on talented juniors and sophomores, the Indians are shooting for this season and beyond. Their seasoned youth learned as first-year starters, played well and have emerged as the foundation for a fall, when they contend for titles.
“The first goal always is to vie for a conference championship and grow as a team,” Plack said.
The Indians must mature quickly because unlike last year they don’t play five non-conference contests to start the season.
“We need to be ready early and form into the team we should be. It’s a most demanding year with five seniors and playing earlier because we will still be evaluating players. Can they do this? Can they hit you and tackle? We just don’t know.”
The Indians know the assets of seniors Rich Woods and Brendan McCullough as well as juniors Chris Cibrone and Carter Shanafelt.
A two-year starter, Woods returns in the backfield along with a healthy Vinny Sarcone. Woods led the Indians in rushing with 618 yards and five touchdowns.
“Running back is set in stone,” said Plack. “Rich was our guy last year. He understands blocking schemes and getting the yards, not always the home run. He is dangerous out of the backfield, too, and we are excited about him as a target in the passing game.
“We are thrilled to have Vinny in the backfield after having hurt his knee last year. He’s a serviceable back.”
Cibrone served the Indians well. He filled in at quarterback early in the season when Sam Miller was injured. Cibrone completed 6 of 7 passes for 63 yards and one score. He battled freshman Nolan DiLucia in training camp.
“Chris is a quiet leader, always here, outworks everybody. The kids love him and believe in him,” said Plack. “If he wins the position, I expect him to be the commander of the offense. He understands what we do, takes care of the football and gets the ball to the guys on the outside. We aren’t asking him to win games, just to limit mistakes and be efficient.”
Cibrone’s top targets will be Shanafelt and McCullough. Last year, Shanafelt had 25 receptions, three touchdowns and a two-point conversion.
“Carter is one of those guys at every workout, on time or early, 100 percent there all the time,” Plack said. “He makes plays, is quiet but respected.
“McCullough is a Swiss army knife. We’ll use him and get him the ball in different ways.”
Eliot Schratz is a highly regarded wideout along with Nate Miller and Ethan Wertmen. A three-sport athlete, Schratz excels in wrestling and lacrosse.
“He specialized on defense but we need him to be play a bigger role player on offense,” Plack said. “He’s athletic, a great tackler, good cover guy, but we would like to see his athleticism explode on offense.”
Thomas Aspinall, Reston Lehman and Justin Tornatore are among the H-backs.
PT’s entire receiving corps will see action in the defensive secondary. Shanafelt and Schratz will be on the corners while McCullough makes the move to safety.
Woods shifts from safety to linebacker to shore up a position decimated by graduation. Sarcone starts in the middle while Lehman, though a freshman, will be relied upon on the outside along with Mickey Viccarello and Matt Orsi.
“We are strong at cornerback. Unproven and inexperienced but talented in other areas,” Plack said. “There are a lot of questions marks. We’ll play a bunch of guys but we have to be smart with how we sub and use our personnel. We gotta keep them fresh.”
On the line, senior Roman Constanza is the lone starting veteran on offense. He will anchor a unit that includes Jake Velgich and Paris Fishell. Both are mainstays in PT’s defensive front. Franco Muscatello and Dante Recker should pitch in on the line.
“Roman will make our calls. He’s another one of our quiet leaders who owns a 4-plus GPA. Jake is our strongest player in the program and one of the faster guys. He’s stout, strong, athletic and wants to win.
“Outside of those guys, we are unproven. We have some guys who were injured last year and we did not have a JV so we are not sure who we can rely on under the Friday night lights.”