Relentless Peters Township defense shuts down Upper St. Clair, earns 5A finals rematch

By: Chris Harlan
Saturday, November 15, 2025 | 12:17 AM

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Reston Lehman maybe felt sick as a dog earlier this week, but the Peters Township senior found the strength Friday night to make Upper St. Clair feel terrible.

A Pitt-bound linebacker, Lehman accounted for three of his team’s nine sacks, forced a fumble and caught a touchdown pass in a 31-6 semifinal victory over rival Upper St. Clair in the WPIAL Class 5A playoffs.

It was hard to tell that he’d been sick with strep throat and bronchitis.

“I’m feeling pretty good right now,” Lehman said with a smile. “I’m just happy we got a win. That makes me feel great.”

The win advances second-seeded Peters Township (12-0) to the WPIAL finals for the third straight year. Waiting is a rematch with No. 1 Pine-Richland (11-1) at 8 p.m. Nov. 22 at Acrisure Stadium. This will be the third straight championship matchup between the teams.

Peters Township won the WPIAL title in 2024, and Pine-Richland won the rematch last season, making this one somewhat of a championship rubber match.

“It means a ton to us,” Lehman said. “We had that taste in our mouths from last season of losing to them. So, I’m glad we get to see them again and play at Acrisure.”

The Indians got back behind a dominant defensive effort. Lehman and Stanford-bound senior Lucas Shanafelt keyed a pass rush that kept Upper St. Clair uncomfortable and ultimately knocked the WPIAL’s second-leading passer out of the game.

Shanafelt, Jackson Hardcastle, Keenan Doran, Gabe Kita, James Spratt and Lucas Rost all recorded sacks. Rost also intercepted a pass.

Upper St. Clair quarterback Ethan Hellmann left the game with 7:11 remaining in the third quarter after a hard hit that left him concussed, coach Mike Junko said. The Panthers trailed 14-3 at the time, and Hellmann’s injury limited their chances for making a comeback.

“That’s our guy,” Junko said. “He’s the heart and soul of what we do.”

Hellmann completed 5 of 12 passes for 34 yards. Sophomore backup Josh Snyder went 2 for 6 passing for 51 yards and an interception.

“We just struggled to create explosives, and (Peters Township) did a good job of creating explosives,” Junko said. “I think that was the difference.”

Peters Township’s Cole Neupaver rushed for 146 yards on 26 carries and scored touchdowns on runs of 7 and 22 yards. The Indians had six plays of 20 yards or more, including a 55-yard catch by Lehman.

A 6-foot-4, 240-pound tight end, Lehman caught four passes for 106 yards and a touchdown. His 5-yard TD catch just before halftime gave Peters Township its 14-3 lead.

“He’s one of my best friends, so I was on him all week to take medicine and drink water,” said quarterback Nolan DiLucia, who passed for 173 yards and a touchdown. “I wasn’t worried. He’s a player. I knew he’d make plays.”

Lehman said he missed two days of practice but visited a doctor, got medicine and improved enough to return Thursday. That one day of practice had Peters Township coach T.J. Plack believing that Lehman had a big game ahead of him Friday.

“He is so dynamic,” Plack said. “He’s our best receiver. Don’t tell (DiLucia), but he’s probably our best quarterback. He’s our best running back. He’s just special, he really is. Nolan is our alpha male, but our team feeds off (Lehman’s) excitement.

“Man, he’s special.”

Peters Township pulled ahead with a pair of second-quarter scores. Neupaver capped a seven-play, 80-yard drive with a 7-yard touchdown run, and Lehman caught his 5-yard TD with 1:50 left before half.

After a scoreless third quarter, USC’s Jacobo Echeverria Lozano kicked a 21-yard field goal early in fourth quarter to pull within eight points. Echeverria made a 26-yarder in the first quarter and has converted 17 of 18 field goal attempts this season.

Peters Township again pulled away with a quick three-play touchdown drive. It started with a 55-yard pass to Lehman and ended with two runs by Neupaver, the last a 22-yard sprint to the end zone for a 21-6 lead with 10:39 left.

Indians kicker Anthony Maiello added a 25-yard field goal, and running back Mark Ripepi later tacked on a 3-yard touchdown run.

The score was more lopsided than when the Allegheny Six rivals met in Week 5. Peters Township won 24-20 but didn’t produce the pass rush seen Friday in the rematch.

“We kind of changed our game plan up a little bit,” Lehman said. “(Hellmann) was having a lot of time to throw last time … so we decided to put some pressure on them. They have a super good O-line, so that’s tough to do.”

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: Peters Township, Upper St. Clair