Carter Shanafelt scores 4 times as Peters Township rockets past Moon
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Saturday, October 7, 2023 | 12:04 AM
Peters Twp.’s Carter Shanafelt scores past Moon’s Dominic Kolocouris during the second quarter on Friday, Oct. 6, 2023, at Peters.
Peters Twp.’s Nate Miller (2) celebrates with Carter Shanafelt after Shanafelt scored his first touchdown against Moon on Friday, Oct. 6, 2023, at Peters.
Captains from Moon and Peters Twp. meet at midfield before their game on Friday, Oct. 6, 2023, at Peters.
Peters Twp. quarterback Nolan Dilucia carries against Moon on Friday, Oct. 6, 2023, at Peters.
Moon’s Josh Bladel scores past Peters Twp.’s Nolan Dilucia during the second quarter on Friday, Oct. 6, 2023, at Peters.
Peters Twp.’s Vinny Sarcone eludes Moon’s Nicholas Clemens on a touchdown run during their game on Friday, Oct. 6, 2023, at Peters.
Peters Twp.’s Vinny Sarcone carries for a long touchdown against Moon on Friday, Oct. 6, 2023, at Peters.
Peters Twp.’s Vinny Sarcone celebrates with Carter Shanafelt after scoring against Moon on Friday, Oct. 6, 2023, at Peters.
Peters Twp.’s Ethan Wertman breaks up a pass intended for Moon’s Nicolas Prozzoly during their game on Friday, Oct. 6, 2023, at Peters.
Moon head coach Ryan Linn gestures to officials after an injury on Friday, Oct. 6, 2023, at Peters.
Peters Twp. quarterback Nolan Dilucia eludes Moon’s Tavis Lindsay on a long carry during their game on Friday, Oct. 6, 2023, at Peters.
Peters Twp. quarterback Nolan Dilucia carries for a 91-yard touchdown against Moon on Friday, Oct. 6, 2023, at Peters.
Peters Twp. head coach T.J. Plack watches from the sideline before a 66-yard touchdown play against Moon on Friday, Oct. 6, 2023, at Peters.
Peters Twp.’s Carter Shanafelt catches a 66-yard touchdown pass in front of Moon’s Dominic Kolocouris on Friday, Oct. 6, 2023, at Peters.
Peters Twp.’s Carter Shanafelt scores on a 66-yard touchdown catch past Moon’s Dominic Kolocouris on Friday, Oct. 6, 2023, at Peters.
Moon’s Josh Bladel (48) and Jared Moyer lead the Tigers onto the field before their game on Friday, Oct. 6, 2023, at Peters.
Captains from Moon and Peters Twp. meet at midfield before their game on Friday, Oct. 6, 2023, at Peters.
Moon’s Nicholas Clemens returns a fumble to the four-yard line at the end of the first quarter on Friday, Oct. 6, 2023, at Peters.
Peters Twp.’s Carter Shanafelt scores on a 4-yard touchdown catch against Moon on Friday, Oct. 6, 2023, at Peters.
The pinked out Peters Twp. student section cheers after a touchdown against Moon on Friday, Oct. 6, 2023, at Peters.
Speedy receiver Carter Shanafelt was in such a hurry Friday night that he started a second-half rally before halftime.
The Peters Township senior caught a go-ahead touchdown with seven seconds left in the first half and later scored three more times after halftime as the top-ranked Indians ran away from Moon, 40-7, in a Class 5A Allegheny Six victory that was close for a while.
Shanafelt showed his quickness on long touchdown catches of 67 and 73 yards in the fourth quarter and also returned an interception 37 yards for another that turned the score lopsided. But it was his quick 4-yarder just before halftime that helped the Indians brush off a rough start.
“It was definitely a momentum shift,” Shanafelt said. “We haven’t played from behind in a while. I’m glad we were able to overcome that and get the win.”
The win keeps Peters Township (7-0, 4-0) alone atop the conference standings. The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for Moon (3-4, 1-1).
This was far from a perfect game for top-ranked Peters Township, which lost two fumbles in the first half and had a punt blocked. Moon held leads of 7-0 and 7-6, but those were negated once Shanafelt’s catch put Peters ahead 13-7 at half.
The teams played a scoreless third quarter, but momentum was on Peters Township’s side. Moon managed only 17 yards from scrimmage in the third quarter.
“We’ve scored two or three times this season right before the half,” Peters Township coach T.J. Plack said. “That was huge, just getting in the locker room with that small lead and giving the kids some positive hope.”
Shanafelt combined often with quarterback Nolan DiLucia, who passed for 220 yards and three touchdowns. Shanafelt had 166 yards on five catches. DiLucia completed 10 of 21 throws, and also reached the end zone himself with a 91-yard run.
Moon scored the game’s first touchdown but Peters scored the next 40 points, including 27 in the fourth quarter. Vinny Sarcone started the fourth with a 12-yard touchdown run and Shanafelt scored the final three TDs.
“I like that our kids fought in the second half,” Plack said. “It’s not like we never had to play a second half (in the first six weeks), we have. But we got punched in the face a little bit (by Moon), came back and were more physical in the second half.”
After a scoreless first quarter, a 2-yard touchdown run by Josh Bladel gave Moon a 7-0 lead early in the second. The touchdown drive had started 4 yards from the end zone after a Peters Township fumble.
But that was all the offense Moon could muster against a defense that hasn’t let any opponent score more than seven points. The Tigers accumulated only 80 yards from scrimmage in the first three quarters, and were penalized 16 times overall on Friday.
“We had way too many mistakes,” Moon coach Ryan Linn said. “We came out of the half down 13-7, but then it was just mistakes, penalties, shanked punts. We kind of melted down and things got away from us.”
Nazir Brookins led Moon with 57 yards rushing on 14 carries. Quarterback Andrew Cross completed 8 of 20 passes for 47 yards and an interception.
DiLucia was Peters Township’s leading rusher with 87 yards on eight carries. His 91-yard touchdown run in the second quarter cut Moon’s lead to 7-6.
Moon almost headed to halftime with the lead. In the waning seconds, Peters Township was stopped on back-to-back runs from the 1, before Shanafelt scored on third down.
“You could sense going into halftime,” Linn said, “that our guys were hanging a little bit.”
Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.
Tags: Moon, Peters Township
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