No. 1 Peters Township and No. 2 Upper St. Clair have built a rivalry on tough play and defense, and through one quarter Friday night, it looked like that trend would continue.
However, the Indians struck first and continued to strike on their way to a 31-0 victory over their Route 19 rivals in a matchup of the top two teams in the Trib HSSN Class 5A rankings.
Peters Township coach T.J Plack gave credit to his players on the defensive side of the ball.
“We have a couple of great guys that run our defense,” Plack said. “We have the type of players that can play fast and physical.”
Senior defensive back Elliot Schratz had a game to remember, recording the first two interceptions of his life, including a 51-yard pick-six that gave his team a 7-0 lead in the second quarter.
“I saw him run a comeback and his break was slow, so I knew I could make a break on it,” Schratz said.
On the next drive for Peters Township (5-0, 2-0 in the Allegheny Six Conference), a big completion from Nolan DiLucia to Nick McCullough for 45 yards set up a 24-yard field goal by Carter Shanafelt to make it 10-0.
One of the turning points of the game came late in the second quarter. On a fourth down play, after Peters Township didn’t bite on a hard count, Upper St. Clair (4-1, 1-1) looked like it would take a delay of game penalty and try to pin the Indians deep in their own territory for the second time in the half.
But Upper St. Clair coach Mike Junko elected to keep his offense out to try to pick up a first down. Quarterback Ethan Hellman’s number was called on a run play and the Indians stopped him and took over at midfield with 2:22 left in the half.
After advancing further thanks to a defensive pass interference, DeLucia rifled a bullet to Shanafelt on a 15-yard touchdown pass with 32 seconds remaining in the first half to take a 17-0 halftime lead.
The Panthers got the ball first in the second half. Evan Taylor helped out the USC cause with a few good runs and a 22-yard catch to put the Panthers in the red zone.
Nearing the goal line, Upper St. Clair running back Mason Chambers fumbled just before he broke the plane. The ball wobbled out of the end zone for a touchback.
DiLucia and the Indians added to their lead with a 53-yard catch and run for Nick Mcullough, making it 24-0 in the third quarter. On a fantastic night for the sophomore slinger, DiLucia went 21 of 28 for 258 yards and two touchdowns.
The lone downer for DiLucia was an interception by Niko D’Orazio for USC in the second half.
It continues a great run for DiLucia over the past three games, starting with a conversation with his coach after the Trinity game.
“I understood after that game, I had to work on some things,” said DiLucia. “All my guys helped me on that journey and we did our work.”
McCullough was the beneficiary of his performance, earning five catches for 111 yards and a touchdown. Vinny Sarconne capped the scoring with a 4-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
Peters Township will face Baldwin in conference play next week, while Upper St. Clair will take on Class 6A Mt. Lebanon in another South Hills clash.