Peters Township dominates Mars, heads to Class 5A semifinals

By: Sean Saputo
Saturday, November 2, 2019 | 12:22 AM

Fifth-seeded Peters Township cruised past 12th-seeded Mars, 47-6, in the first round of the WPIAL Class 5A playoffs.

The Indians (10-1) dominated from the start, utilizing their strong offense and exceptional defense.

Penn recruit Josh Casilli started the scoring, catching a 61-yard touchdown pass from Logan Pfeuffer. From there, Peters Township utilized a balance attack to put up 33 points by halftime.

Casilli added a second touchdown reception in the first half and caught six passes for 135 yards before the break. He finished with 150 yards on seven catches and the two touchdowns.

“They were playing off a little bit,” said Casilli. “We knew could get dig routes, under routes and get up field against them.”

Equally as impressive were Pfeuffer and running back Ryan Magiske. Pfeuffer completed 15 of 19 passes for 294 yards and the touchdowns to Casilli. Magiske ran for 115 yards on 12 carries and three first-half touchdowns.

Defensively, Peters Township was on a different level against the Fighting Planets (6-5).

In the first half, the Indians held Mars to 18 yards. It didn’t go much better in the second half as the Fighting Planets finished with 81 yards (26 passing, 55 rushing).

A key goal for Peters Township was stopping the run, especially Teddy Ruffner, the WPIAL’s second-leading rusher during the regular season.

Ruffner totaled 74 yards. He had 11 carries, nine against the Indians’ first-team defense for 4 yards and two carries against the second-team defense for 70 yards.

“Our defense has stopped the run repeatedly both this year and last year,” Peters Township coach T.J. Plack said. “Our guys understood they needed to be disciplined and read their keys, not follow the motion and our guys did a great job tonight.”

Mars lost three of its last four games.

Peters Township is moving on to the quarterfinals and gets a rematch against No. 4 Moon. The Tigers handed the Indians their only loss.

“This is a great opportunity for us,” said Flack. “We definitely want another shot at them [Moon]. We’re excited for it. It’s not a revenge game for us. It’s a game to go in there and go toe to toe with them again.”

Tags: Mars, Peters Township