Peters Township stops Cathedral Prep to reach state semifinals for 1st time

By: Jeff Uveino
Friday, November 24, 2023 | 11:11 PM

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ERIE – Just how far can Peters Township take this?

Six days after winning their first WPIAL football championship, the Indians showed no signs of slowing. In fact, they made more history Friday when a 33-14 victory at District 10’s Cathedral Prep (7-4) secured their first state semifinal berth.

The stars were out again for Peters Township in the Class 5A quarterfinals at Dollinger Field — Nolan DiLucia threw two touchdowns, Carter Shanafelt kicked four field goals, and the WPIAL’s top scoring defense bested one of D-10’s top offenses. That made for a fun bus ride back down I-79, and it brought the Indians within striking distance of their first PIAA final.

“This didn’t happen overnight. This is eight years in the making,” said Peters Township coach TJ Plack. “We’ve had a lot of good ballplayers come through here, but these guys are putting it together and they understand what the standard is.”

Prep’s red zone defense kept the game close by forcing Shanafelt’s field goals, which allowed Peters (14-0) to slowly build a 12-point lead. The Indians’ star-studded defense, meanwhile, kept Prep’s power run game in check and simply made too many plays for the Ramblers to keep pace.

Peters forced two interceptions and turned Prep over on downs four times. Its defense seemed to find its footing after allowing two early scores, and when Vinny Scarone scored a touchdown with eight minutes left, the Indians knew they were semifinal-bound.

“(Prep) came out throwing the ball and got us on a couple passes,” Plack said. “Our defense’s motto is, ‘If they don’t score, they don’t win.’ They didn’t score again.”

Peters jumped on Prep with two quick touchdowns, the first a 32-yard pass from DiLucia to Ethan Wertman. Then, after breaking up a deep Prep pass attempt on fourth down, Peters’ next play was a 62-yard passing score from DiLucia to Thomas Aspinall.

Prep flipped the script late in the first quarter. Luke Costello hit Corey Allen for a 34-yard touchdown, and after three consecutive stops by the Rambler defense, Suhtaun Lewis capped a 60-yard scoring drive with a 9-yard touchdown to tie the game at 14.

That, however, was about all Prep’s offense would muster.

“We just wanted to keep driving the ball,” said DiLucia, a sophomore. “(Prep) has a really good offense, and our defense is good, but we knew we had to keep the ball in our hands and keep trying to drive it down the field.”

Peters moved the ball with ease between the 20-yard lines but struggled to finish drives. Still, Shanafelt peppered Prep with field goals of 29, 30, 26 and 29 yards, the last of which was set up by a Darius McMillon interception.

“(Shanafelt) did a tremendous job for us,” Plack said. “He’s done a great job punting, at wide receiver, and he’s a great defensive back. For him to be 4 for 4 in a big game like this, plus the (points after touchdowns), he was very consistent tonight.”

Peters’ defense helped put the game away by stopping Prep on fourth-and-8 inside its own 30. That set up the Sarcone score.

“(Peters) makes you earn everything with their defense, and their offense forces you to cover the whole width and length of the field,” said Prep coach Mike Krahe. “They do a good job all-around and they have great players to do it too, so they’re a complete package.”

Peters will play District 3 champion Cocalico — which beat Ephrata, 23-9, on Friday — in next week’s Class 5A semis. There, DiLucia said, the goal will be the same as it’s been all year.

“Just need to keep winning — 1-0 every week,” the quarterback said.

Tags: Peters Township