Peters Township defeats Bethel Park, nears first conference title since 1975

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, October 19, 2018 | 10:36 PM

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T.J. Plack has coached Peters Township for only three years but knows exactly how long the Indians have waited to celebrate a conference title.

“Forty-three years,” Plack said without hesitation.

Peters hasn’t won its conference since 1975, but this year’s team took a giant step toward winning it again by defeating Bethel Park, 35-0, Friday night in a dominant Allegheny Eight victory.

A win next week against Baldwin would guarantee the Indians at least a share of the conference title.

“We took them in the gym in the offseason and we pointed at the (conference championship) banner,” Plack said. “It’s 1975. That’s our goal.”

Peters Township (7-2, 5-1) scored 35 points including a four-touchdown effort by sophomore quarterback Logan Pfeuffer, but the Indians also won Friday behind a dominant defense.

Bethel Park rushed for 30 yards on 20 carries and managed just 103 yards of total offense. The shutout was the second this season for a Peters defense that’s allowing 15.3 points per game.

“That was definitely our best defensive effort,” Plack said. “(Bethel Park) will get things on play-action passes. You can stop their run, but they’re going to get you with the deep ball. We were right there the whole time.”

Bethel Park (5-3, 4-2) had defeated Peters Township seven times in a row before Friday, and in nine of the past 10 meetings. For several of those years, Plack was on the Black Hawks’ sideline as an assistant to coach Jeff Metheny.

Peters won only one conference game in Plack’s first season, evidence of just how far the program has risen in a very short time.

“When we first came here, (Bethel Park) was never a rival because they had beaten up on Peters,” Plack said. “We wanted them to be our rival. … That was big for us getting on the map in their eyes. I know they’re a great coaching staff and they take us seriously, but it was good to let everyone know.”

Bethel Park also entered Friday with a path to the conference title. The Black Hawks already clinched a playoff spot and finish their regular season at home against Upper St. Clair.

“I’ve come here a lot and won a lot of games down here, but tonight we did not perform very well at all,” Bethel Park coach Jeff Metheny said. “We’ll see what our guys have. If they have some toughness — which I think they do — then we’ll practice hard and we’ll go against St. Clair. If not, we’re going to be ending our season pretty quick.”

Peters quarterback Logan Pfeuffer threw three touchdowns and caught a fourth on a trick play. The sophomore completed 12 of 14 attempts for 137 yards. His touchdown throws included a 4-yarder to Josh Casilli, a 17-yarder to Aiden McCall and a 16-yarder to Jason McCloskey.

Ryan Magiske rushed for 100 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries.

A 12-yard pass from Casilli to Pfeuffer just seconds into the fourth quarter gave Peters a 35-0 lead and enacted the mercy rule.

Peters Township scored touchdowns on three of its first four possessions and led 21-0 at half.

Field position helped the Indians, who twice took possession deep in Bethel Park territory. They once started at Bethel’s 22-yard line after a fumble, and later started a drive at Bethel’s 36 after a short punt. Both led to short-field touchdowns.

Peters’ longest first-half scoring drive covered 58 yards.

Pfeuffer threw two first-half touchdowns. His first was the 4-yarder to Casilli to lead 7-0 with 8:16 left in the first quarter. His second, a 17-yarder to McCall, put Peters ahead 14-0 less than three minutes later.

“They could do anything they wanted to,” Metheny said. “They threw the ball really well. We made mistakes, penalties and all those things. We weren’t physical. We didn’t play our brand of football.”

Chris Harlan is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Chris at charlan@tribweb.com or via Twitter @CHarlan_Trib.

Tags: Bethel Park, Peters Township