Peters Township handles Upper St. Clair in Thursday night special

By: Don Rebel
Friday, October 2, 2020 | 12:11 AM

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Thursday night was a special night for Peters Township.

Sure, they beat Upper St. Clair for the second straight year after losing to their neighboring rivals for more than three decades.

But it was the Indians’ special teams that led them to a 28-21 victory and kept them unbeaten through three games in 2020.

“That’s two weeks in a row,” Peters Township coach T.J. Plack said of the big plays from the kicking and punting units. “Our special teams have done a great job.”

Here are some examples of how “special” a victory this was for Peters Township:

• Trailing 7-0, Peters Township junior Corban Hondru punted a ball that was downed at the 1-yard line. One play later, the Indians were on the board with a safety after Upper St. Clair quarterback Ethan Dahlem was shoved out of bounds in the end zone.

• Junior Donovan McMillan returned the ensuing free kick to near midfield, which led to an Indians touchdown on a 54-yard scoring drive.

• Trailing 14-12 in the final minute of the first half, Panthers junior Mateo Cepullio muffed a punt that was recovered by McMillan at the USC 15-yard line. One play later, sophomore kicker Andrew Massucci kicked his second field goal of the second quarter as the half ended to put Peters Township up for good, 15-14.

• Trying to kill the clock late in the fourth quarter, Peters Township came up four yards shorts of a first down that would have all but clinched the victory. Corban took off from punt formation and ran for the first down that sealed the deal for the Indians.

“We work at every single practice. It’s always big for us,” Peters Township senior quarterback Logan Pfeuffer said of the Indians’ special teams. “We must win three aspects of the game: offense, defense and special teams.”

Pfeuffer ended up connecting on 13 of 22 passes for 146 yards as he spread the ball around to six receivers.

When he wasn’t throwing the ball, Pfeuffer was handing the ball off to junior running back Michael Peyton, who rushed for 116 yards on 24 carries with a touchdown.

He twice needed help off the field late in the game thanks to an ankle injury.

“He was injured the first game and didn’t play last week,” Plack said. “He re-injured it tonight, so we’ll see where he is.”

When healthy, Peyton gives Peters Township a power run game to go along with its fast-paced passing attack.

“Loads of pressure off my shoulders,” Pfeuffer said. “They bring more guys up in the box, and that gives me more room to air it out and get our short game going.”

Senior Upper St. Clair quarterback Ethan Dahlem did what he could to give the Panthers a chance to win.

Dahlem raced 50 yards on the first play of scrimmage, then two plays later scored on a 6-yard run that gave USC a 7-0 lead.

Dahlem had a slow start through the air but picked things up in the second quarter and ended up throwing for 108 yards. He hit sophomore Aidan Besselman on a 41-yard touchdown pass that brought the Panthers to within a touchdown with just over six minutes left.

However, USC would not get another crack. Thanks to the fake punt, Peters Township ran out the clock.

Peters Township (3-0, 2-0) remains perfect in the Class 5A Allegheny Six Conference, one game ahead of Upper St. Clair (2-2, 1-1).

“I feel great about it,” Plack said of his team’s perfect start. “Our defense has played very stout, very opportunistic. Special teams, same thing. Offensively, we went back to what we usually do. We’re rolling again and we’re clicking.”

Tags: Peters Township, Upper St. Clair