Imhotep Charter too much for Peters Township in Class 5A state championship game

By: Chris Harlan
Friday, December 8, 2023 | 9:41 PM

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MECHANICSBURG — Peters Township’s defense had to tackle a running back headed to Georgia, a sophomore back with SEC offers and a freshman wideout already courted by Pitt and Penn State.

Yet, it was the quarterback committed to Army who scored three times in the first half Friday night as Imhotep Charter flaunted its ultra-talented roster in a 38-13 victory over Peters Township in the PIAA Class 5A final at Cumberland Valley.

Whether true or not, the knock on Imhotep teams in past years was they played like a collection of big-time college recruits, not a cohesive team.

That certainly wasn’t true this time.

Peters Township (15-1) reached its first state championship game behind a defense that allowed only one team to score more than 20 points all season, but Imhotep had that by halftime. Senior quarterback Mikal Davis, the Army recruit, scored on first-half runs of 1, 22 and 12 yards to build a 24-7 lead.

“They played like a team tonight,” Peters Township coach T.J. Plack said.

Davis also was the starting quarterback when Imhotep lost in the state finals to Penn-Trafford in 2021 and Pine-Richland in 2022, but the 6-foot, 200-pound senior contributed to four touchdowns in this win. He completed 8 of 12 passes for 184 yards and a touchdown while also rushing for 70 yards and three scores.

“That’s a three-year starter that’s been to three state championships and he started to play like it today,” Imhotep coach Devon Johnson said. “I told him before the game, ‘Bro, there’s nobody who’s played more big games than you. Just go out there and let it all out.’”

Imhotep (15-0) scored on four of its first five possessions, including a 30-yard field goal by senior Kenneth Woseley, a four-star defensive back committed to Penn State. Peters Township fell behind 16-0, which was a hole too big to escape.

Imhotep’s lead peaked at 38-7 in the fourth.

“It’s a state championship game. We knew what we were getting into,” Plack said. “We needed everything to go our way.”

The Philadelphia charter school was making its eighth appearance in the state finals, all since 2013. The team improved to 2-6 in state championship games, snapping a streak of five losses.

Imhotep running back Jabree Wallace-Coleman, the junior committed to Georgia, rushed for 214 yards on 30 carries and opened the second half with a 68-yard touchdown run.

In all, Peters Township was outgained 481-152 in yards of offense.

Imhotep’s major-college talents weren’t limited to the offensive side of the ball. Defensive end Zahir Mathis is considered the top junior in the state, senior lineman Jahsear Whittington is a Pitt commit, and there were more D1 recruits around them. Asked if there was any unfairness in facing such a talent-heavy charter school roster, Plack dismissed the question.

“I thought the referees did a great job tonight,” he said. “I thought everything was fair. Same football as us. A couple of WPIAL teams beat them the past couple of years. They got us this year. All good.”

Peters Township broke the shutout with a 12-yard touchdown pass from Nolan DiLucia to Thomas Aspinall near the 3-minute mark of the second quarter. DiLucia, a sophomore, completed 10 of 24 passes for 82 yards and touchdown.

DiLucia left the game in the fourth quarter after landing on his shoulder while being tackled. Aspinall caught a second touchdown in the fourth quarter, a 9-yarder from backup quarterback Lucas Rost.

With time, Plack said, DiLucia could become a player similar to Imhotep’s star quarterback, able to gain yards by passing and rushing. Davis carried only 11 times, but his dual-threat abilities were invaluable.

In all, Imhotep rushed for 297 yards on 50 carries.

“That’s something I hope our quarterback grows up to be,” Plack said. “He’s 15 years old, a sophomore. A little bit of muscle, a little more maturity, he might be that guy. We’re looking to the future.”

Peters Township rushed for 55 yards, led by Vinny Sarcone, who had 37 yards on eight carries.

Johnson, in his fourth season as Imhotep coach, acknowledge his team’s reputation for lacking cohesion, but he says that wasn’t the issue that needed fixed.

“The main thing we focused on this offseason was ‘brain training,’” Johnson said. “That was to help them focus on big moments in games. Knock out noise. Make sure they’re concentrating, because that was the problem. In big moments like that, we weren’t focused enough.”

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

Tags: Peters Township