Late interception preserves Peters Township’s win over Norwin

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, September 29, 2017 | 11:09 PM

Peters Township sophomores Ryan Magiske and Adrian Williams stole the show Friday night at Norwin Stadium, leading the Indians to a 13-7 nailbiter over the Knights in a 6A Southeastern Conference matchup.

With the win, Peters Township (5-1, 3-1) stands alone in third place in the conference.

Magiske scored on runs of 45 and 3 yards and topped all rushers with 102 yards on 14 carries. His first touchdown capped a four-play, 60-yard drive at 2:08 of the first quarter. His second — and winning — touchdown came with 1:59 to play in the fourth quarter. The score came after Norwin (3-3, 2-2) tied the game at 7-7 with 1:40 to play in the third quarter on a 32-yard pass from Jack Salopek to Gianni Rizzo.

Salopek completed 18 of 32 passes for 184 yards. Rizzo caught nine passes for 92 yards.

But it was a pair of interceptions by Williams that saved the Indians. His first interception came at the Peters Township 1, when he wrestled the ball from a Norwin receiver midway through the third quarter. His second interception sealed the Knights' fate when his diving pick at the PT 15 with 28 seconds remaining in the game ended Norwin's last-minute comeback hopes.

Earlier, Williams took a screen pass from quarterback Jake Cortes 56 yards, giving the Indians a first down at the Norwin 9 to set up the winning score.

“That play was open,” Peters Township coach TJ Plack said, referring to the screen. “We used it on the first play of the game and on that final drive Norwin was coming with a blitz and the middle was wide open. Jake got some depth and was able to drop the ball over Norwin's rushing linemen and Adrian picked his way inside the 10 with some solid running. He gives us an excellent effort on both sides of the ball.”

Despite the win, Plack said it was “too early to talk postseason. We still have conference games left, and we have to direct our focus there. But it does feel good to be 5-1 overall and it feels good to have three conference wins.”

Trailing 7-0, Norwin climbed back into the game when the Knights' John Piekut blocked a Peters Township punt to give Norwin possession at the Indians 34 with three minutes remaining in the third quarter. Piekut broke untouched through the Indians offensive line for the block to set up Norwin's tying touchdown.

“We had the opportunities but could not cash in,” Norwin coach Dave Brozeski said. “We had the chances to make plays and Jack's scrambling and passes put us in position to score, but we couldn't capitalize when we had to. We knew this was going to be a tough game. They made the plays, and we didn't. We must were unable to sustain our drives. When we got the punt block that changed momentum in our favor and our final drive just fell short.”

Les Harvath is a freelance writer.

Tags: Norwin, Peters Township