Nick McCullough’s 97-yard kick return touchdown sends Peters Township back to WPIAL finals

By: Jerin Steele
Friday, November 15, 2024 | 10:15 PM

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Nick McCullough knew he needed to make amends.

He had a ball hit off him that led to an interception late in the second quarter and subsequently a field goal for Upper St. Clair.

Well, he made up for it in a huge way a few seconds after that kick went through the uprights.

McCullough took the ensuing kickoff 97 yards to the end zone with 9 seconds left in the first half for what turned out to be the lone touchdown of the game as No. 3 Peters Township beat No. 2 Upper St. Clair, 7-3, in the WPIAL Class 5A semifinals Friday night at Bethel Park.

“I knew I owed my teammates that one,” McCullough said of his kick return. “All I asked them to do for me was block, and I made the play.”

The Indians (12-1) will try to defend their WPIAL Class 5A championship when they face Pine-Richland in a rematch of last year’s final at 8 p.m. Nov. 23, at Acrisure Stadium.

“I dreamed of going to the WPIAL finals as a kid, and I’ve already done that once, and I wanted to do it again in my senior year with my boys,” McCullough said. “It’s a blessing to get to go to Acrisure Stadium, because we were (at Norwin) last year.”

Upper St. Clair beat Peters Township, 21-7, on Sept. 28, but saw its season end at 11-1.

The Indians had to make one last defensive stand in the final moments.

Following a sack by Mickey Vaccarello, Upper St. Clair faced a fourth-and-26 at the Indians’ 41. Panthers quarterback Ethan Hellmann rolled out and heaved a ball down the field that Nico D’Orazio nearly came up with at the 4-yard line, but it landed incomplete.

It finished a defensive masterpiece from both sides. Nobody in the game achieved 100 yards of total offense.

“Our defensive motto is ‘If they don’t score, they don’t win,’ and when we were up 7-3 at halftime we felt pretty good at that point,” Peters Township coach TJ Plack said.

Panthers kicker Jacobo Echeverria connected on a 28-yard field goal prior to McCullough’s touchdown.

McCullough fielded the ball at the 3 and found daylight on the right side. He jetted past everyone and went untouched to the end zone.

“We practice it every day,” McCullough said. “I saw a wide-open alley and I took it. All I had to do was beat the kicker and I beat him.”

McCullough had a pass go off his chest that was intercepted by Upper St. Clair’s Charley Bywalski and led to the field goal, but he made up for it in a huge way a few minutes later.

Upper St. Clair intercepted Peters Township quarterback Nolan DiLucia twice in the first half, both coming off passes that were tipped, but managed only three points despite good field position.

The Panthers drove down to the Indians’ 23 after the first turnover, but a bad snap forced a 7-yard loss, and they turned the ball over on downs on the next play at the 30.

Penalties hurt the Panthers. They were penalized twice on a Peters Township drive in the fourth quarter, which resulted in two first downs and precious seconds winding from the clock.

They also had a holding and an offensive pass interference that stunted drives.

In total the Panthers were penalized 11 times for 136 yards.

“Against a good defense it’s hard to play behind the sticks all night long,” Upper St. Clair coach Mike Junko said. “With that many penalties you’re just making it tougher on yourself. We certainly couldn’t get any momentum going, and that was a big reason why.”

Jerin Steele is a freelance writer

Tags: Peters Township, Upper St. Clair