Peters Township suffers playoff-breaking loss
Thomas Aspinall (8) reaches for a reception that is just beyond his grasp during Peters Township's conference clash against Bethel Park.
Ethan Wertman (4) agonizes on the ground after Ryan Petras (1) and David Shelpman (58) recover a fumble during Peters Township's conference clash against Bethel Park.
Brendan McCullough
Brendan McCullough (25) eludes Bethel Park defensive back Dinari Clacks (5) after making a reception for Peters Township.
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Brendan McCullough (25) is brought down by Bethel Park defenders Ryan Petras (1) and Gavin Moul (35) after making a reception for Peters Township.
Nolan DiLucia
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Peters Township quarterback Nolan DiLucia (17) rambles for yardage but the play is called back because one of his offensive linemen is called for holding against Bethel Park defensive end Clancy Orie (43)
By Joe Smeltzer
For the Observer-Reporter
newsroom@observer-reporter.com
BETHEL PARK – For Coach TJ Plack and Peters Township, the 2022 football season’s regular-season finale will be remembered as a “what-if” game.
What if Peters didn’t turn it over five times?
What if it didn’t commit so many penalties?
In any case, it’s over now. The Indians lost, 27-21, to Bethel Park on the road, and all they can do now is get ready for next season.
It still would have been possible for Peters to make the playoffs with a loss.
But because Penn Trafford beat Franklin Regional, 28-21, in overtime, it will be that PT that goes to the playoffs in Class 5A as a wildcard team.
Plack, Peters Township head coach, didn’t know his team’s fate when he talked with the Observer-Reporter after the game.
“If we don’t get in the playoffs because of this, it hurts,” Plack said.
It will hurt for a while, but Plack feels his young team – he only played two seniors Friday – “grew up” over the season.
Bethel Park has 22 seniors, and for coach Brian DeLallo, that’s a big reason for the team’s success.
“That’s usually how it works out,” DeLallo said. “Moon last year had all those seniors. They pulled out those close games. The year before, it was (Peters Township) with Corban Hondru and (Donovan) McMillon and those seniors. That’s kind of how it seems to be in our league. I guess it’s that way everywhere.”
Bethel Park’s first big break of the night happened on the third play from scrimmage.
Bethel Park’s Jack Reilly forced Peters Township’s running back Vinny Sarcone to fumble, and Dinari Clacks recovered it and set Bethel Park up at the opponent’s 32-yard line.
Bethel Park cashed in on a 1-yard QB sneak by Tanner Pfeuffer.
The Black Hawks cashed in again on their next possession. Gavin Moul wrapped up a 9-play, 75-yard drive that took 4:33 with a 1-yard run to put Bethel up by two scores.
Bethel looked to be moving the ball again on its next possession, but a 17-yard run by Moul turned into a fumble recovery that set Peters up at the Bethel 40.
But Peters didn’t cash in and instead lost a fumble that gave Bethel the ball back at its 31.
Bethel Park didn’t score on the ensuing drive, but another Peters fumble- this one on a Moul punt- was recovered by Christian Davis and set the Blackhawks up at the Peters 36.
The Black Hawks took advantage and went up by three scores on Moul’s second touchdown run of the night from four yards out.
Peters Township’s offense showed some life on its last possession of the first half. Getting the ball with 2:43 left before halftime, Peters Township drove 65 yards and scored on an 8-yard run by QB Nolan DiLucia.
After that step forward, Peters’ offense took multiple steps back on its first possession of the second half. Clacks picked off a DiLucia pass to set Bethel up in PT territory, and the Hawks made the most of it, scoring on a 25-yard pass from sophomore Pfeuffer to classmate Ryan Petras to go back up by three scores.
Then, Peters Township started to make noise.
A 6-yard strike from DiLucia to Carter Shanafelt made it a two-score game again.
Then a 10-yard pass from DiLucia to fellow freshman Reston Lehman made it a one-score game.
But Bethel Park held on for its seventh conference championship in school history and its first since 2017.
It didn’t have to sweat making the playoffs in Week 9.
“It’s very relieving,” DeLallo said. “It can be stressful some years, wondering, ‘Are we going to get in?’ ‘Is it going to come down to tiebreaker stuff?’ ‘Who are we going to get matched up with?’ We still don’t know who we’re going to play, but it’s nice to be able to enjoy it a little bit.”
Despite the conference championship and the running of Ryan Petras (18 carries 146 yards), DeLallo didn’t notice a lot of excitement from his players.
“Our kids are weird, though,” he said. “They’re not enjoying it that much. They don’t feel like we played well. But we played a really good opponent, hard-nosed kids, well-coached team.”
Plack is confident there will be better days ahead.
“We lost to Lebo (Mt. Lebanon); we lost to Canon-Mac,” Plack said. “And I told those guys, ‘We learned something. We grew up. You don’t realize it yet, but you did.”