2025 Trib HSSN Preseason Football All-Star Team: Peters Township’s Lucas Shanafelt

By: Paul Schofield
Tuesday, July 29, 2025 | 1:06 PM

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So, what makes the Peters Township football team one of the favorites to win the WPIAL Class 5A title?

Having three NCAA Division I prospects is a good place to start.

Senior tight end/outside linebacker Lucas Shanafelt is the third Indians senior to be selected to the 2025 Trib 25 preseason all-star team with quarterback Nolan DiLucia (Villanova) and linebacker Reston Lehman (Pitt).

Shanafelt, who committed to Stanford in April, had more than 40 tackles, including 27 solo, and four sacks at defensive end in 2024 but will move to outside linebacker opposite Lehman this season, giving the Indians an advantage with outside pressure on defense.

“I am excited to play opposite of Reston,” Shanafelt said. “Reston is a good friend.”

And being a favorite does not bother him. In fact, he and his teammates said bring it on.

“Our goal is to get back to the WPIAL title and win it,” Shanafelt said. “We came up short last year.

“We want to see our opponents’ best when we play them. It will keep us focused.”

Peters Township has made consecutive appearances in the Class 5A title game, winning in 2023 and playing for the PIAA title, only to fall to Imhotep Charter.

A big reason for Peters Township’s success over the years has been the coaching of T.J. Plack, according to Shanafelt.

“He brought a different mindset here,” Shanafelt said. “He’s a leader and someone you want to play for.”

Plack said: “Lucas is a leader. He is someone we can move around. It is nice to have Lucas, Reston and Nolan on your team.”

Shanafelt said his most memorable moment at Peters Township was beating local rival Upper St. Clair in the WPIAL semifinals last year.

“They beat us during the regular season, but it was sweet ending their season,” Shanafelt said. “We do not like them, and they do not like us. There is a lot of trash talk between the teams.”

Shanafelt said he does not participate in the trash talk. He lets his play do the talking. He liked going head-to-head with USC offensive lineman Nate Stohl.

“There was no trash talk between us,” Shanafelt said. “We just battled; it was fun.”

Shanafelt also was used as a wide receiver in 2024, when he had 20 catches for 200 yards and a score. He will move to tight end this fall and hopes to become one of DiLucia’s main targets.

“I am hoping to get more opportunities,” Shanafelt said. “Nolan is a special player. It is hard for teams to prepare for him because he can do so many things. When you have him on your team, you always have a chance.”

Lucas Shanafelt

Peters Township

Senior

6-foot-4, 235 pounds

TE/OLB

Stars: 3

Committed to: Stanford

Division I offers: Pitt, Duke, West Virginia, Purdue, Eastern Michigan, Miami (Ohio), Liberty, James Madison, Temple, Connecticut, Penn, Toledo, Cornell, Harvard, Princeton, Kent, Delaware, Akron, Buffalo, Navy, Lehigh and Fordham

Highlights: Hudl

Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.

Tags: Peters Township