Penn-Trafford football seasons ends with loss to Peters Township, optimism for future
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Sunday, November 17, 2024 | 11:01 AM
Penn-Trafford quarerback Derek Carr (11) dives ahead for yardage in a WPIAL Class 5A playoff game against Peters Township on Nov. 8.
Penn-Trafford wide receiver Jack Weishaar (12) put a move on Peters Township Mickey Vaccarello (10) after catching a pass in a WPIAL Class 5A playoff game Nov. 8.
Penn-Trafford sophomore Landyn Stikkel gets flipped over after running for a first down on a fake punt during a WPIAL Class 5A playoff game Nov. 8.
Penn-Trafford sophomore Ben Grabowski (8) carries the ball against Peters Township in a WPIAL Class 5A quarterfinal Nov. 8.
Too many turnovers and a talented Peters Township team were the biggest reasons the Penn-Trafford’s football season came to an end Nov. 8.
The returning Class 5A champs scored on their first two possessions, did a good job stuffing Penn-Trafford’s running game and rolled to a 42-13 quarterfinal round victory.
Penn-Trafford finished the season 9-3.
Turnovers again proved costly to the Warriors. They threw four interceptions and lost a fumble.
“That’s a very good football team, and their quarterback is as advertised,” Penn-Trafford coach John Ruane said. “They took away our run and forced us to throw. We were somewhat successful, but when you throw the ball, bad things can happen.”
Peters Township quarterback Nolan DiLucia completed 10 of 17 passes for 175 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran for a touchdown and intercepted a pass.
He hit his favorite target, Nick McCullough, for a 72-yard touchdown on the Indians’ second offensive play of the game.
“I’m very happy that, you know, just with the bye week and having two weeks off, I was obviously worried about how we would come out,” Peters Township coach T.J. Plack said. “You always hear teams come out flat, but I thought our kids were focused. They were all businesslike, and I thought they did a great job offensively.”
Peters Township made it 14-0 early in the second quarter on DiLucia’s 5-yard score.
Penn-Trafford jump-started its offense when Landyn Stikkel ran through two tacklers on a fake punt to keep a drive alive.
The Warriors moved to the Indians 33. Then a bad sequence occurred for the Warriors. A bad snap cost them 15 yards and a Derek Carr pass was intercepted by Mickey Vaccarello and returned 48 yards to make it 21-0.
“We moved the ball. We just couldn’t finish,” Ruane said. “They deserved to win. There were a lot of flaws, and I take full blame for that.”
Penn-Trafford struck quickly to trim the lead to 21-7. Quarterback Jonny Lovre connected on a 27-yard pass to Nick Ponko and then hit Ponko on a 34-yard touchdown.
But Peters Township struck back as DiLucia hit McCullough on a 24-yard scoring strike for a 28-7 lead at halftime. McCullough had four catches for 107 yards.
Penn-Trafford put together a long drive in the third quarter. Starting at the Warriors 14, they marched to the Indians 39. But McCullough ended the drive when he picked off Lovre in the end zone.
Lovre completed 14 of 25 passes for 187 yards.
“We tried a double move, and they didn’t bite,” Ruane said. “Maybe that wasn’t the right call, but they made a great play.”
Peters Township scored twice in the fourth quarter to make it 42-7.
Penn-Trafford scored late, set up by a 47-yard run by Tasso Whipple, who finished with 78 yards rushing. Carr connected on a 3-yard touchdown pass to Jack Weishaar on the final play of the game.
Whipple finished the season rushing for 1,716 yards and 14 touchdowns. He also caught 17 passes for 262 yards.
Weishaar was the leading receiver with 34 catches for 470 yards and seven scores.
Lovre completed 108 of 197 passes for 1,414 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Carr rushed for 567 yards and nine scores.
One area of improvement that pleased Ruane was the offensive line.
That group included center Bryce Ruby, right guard Lucah Butler, left guard Ethan Septak, right tackle Brandon Long, left tackle Kellan Taylor and tight ends Dom Smith, Michael Botti and Jacob Briggs.
“They’re doing a great job,” Ruane said. “They’ve really have shown steady improvement.”
The battle in the trenches is always something on Ruane’s mind.
“One thing that the final four teams have are big and physical lines,” Ruane said. “That’s what’s needed in Class 5A.”
Like every year, the Warriors will graduate numerous key players.
But Ruane has some exciting underclassmen that he’ll lean on.
Sophomore Ben Grabowski, who missed much of the season with an injury, returns in the backfield while Ponko is one of the exciting young wide receivers.
Others back include Tyler Boss, Colton Tyburski, Cody Yacamelli, Jamison Yurt, Landyn Stikkel, Ruby and Logan Hunter.
Named to the Big East Conference first team on offense were Whipple, Septak, Taylor, Dom Smith and Carr while Yurt and Boss were named on defense.
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: Penn-Trafford
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