Last-second field goal lifts Peters Township past Penn-Trafford in WPIAL quarterfinals

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, November 9, 2018 | 11:03 PM

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Kickoff returns. Trick plays. Big gain after big gain.

The WPIAL Class 5A quarterfinal between Penn-Trafford and Peters Township had its share of explosiveness — mostly in the first 12 minutes — but the 42-point opening quarter only stood to complement a three-point fourth for Peters Township.

Peters Township kicker Brian Bruzdewicz saved the game’s most important play for last. The senior connected on a 26-yard field goal with three seconds left to lift the third-seeded Indians to a 38-35 victory over the No. 6 Warriors Friday night in a cold drizzle at West Mifflin.

Peters Township (10-2) advances to play No. 1 Penn Hills (12-0) in the semifinals next Friday. It will be the Indians’ first semifinal appearance since 1976.

Penn-Trafford is finished at 9-3.

Bruzdewicz had missed a 30-yard attempt with 9:06 to go with the game tied 35-35. The game-winner was his first make of the season.

“My teammates did all the work,” Bruzdewicz said. “They all put their hearts on the line tonight. I had the easy part.”

Penn-Trafford coach John Ruane consoled his players in an emotional locker room. Incredibly, the Warriors never led.

“It’s crazy to say it but in a 35-35 game, our offense needed to make one more play, and we didn’t,” Ruane said. “Our special teams was awful tonight, and that’s on me. I take full blame for that.”

A game some expected to showcase defense turned into a shootout from the start.

The first quarter saw six touchdowns, with the Indians and Warriors trading plays, scoring before the other could barely get set and pulling even 21-21 after the first 12 minutes.

Corban Hondru caught a short touchdown pass from Pfeuffer, who threw for three scores before the half, but the Warriors tied it on a 58-yard burst by Lisbon, who ran for 192 yards and two scores.

Dunlap rushed for 162 yards and passed for 97.

“You could say our special teams was incredible or poor,” Indians coach TJ Plack said. “This could have been a 10-7 game or a 38-35 game. We had to outlast them. That is an excellent team — so many weapons.”

Less than 50 seconds later, Josh Casilli pulled in a 71-yard scoring pass from Pfeuffer, but Ethan Carr took the ensuing kickoff back 95 yards to set up Dunlap’s short touchdown to make it 14-14.

Pfeuffer was 11 of 21 for 117 yards and three scores.

Seventeen seconds later, Aiden McCall took the ensuing kickoff, got around his pursuers and raced 88 yards for an Indians’ score.

Sense a theme here?

Less than a minute after that outburst, the Warriors struck again with some zest — a hook-and-lateral: Dunlap to Noah Allen, to Lisbon. The thrilling play covered 63 yards to make it 21-21 with 1:31 until the half.

More fireworks from the Indians: Pfeuffer zipped a slant to Gabe Maloni for a 10-yard score to put his team back up by seven. Casilli did the heavy lifting with a lengthy punt return.

But the Warriors tied it once again as Dunlap evaded traffic and found Lisbon wide open at the 50, and the speedster did the rest to cap the 64-yard play, and it was 28-28 at the half.

After the teams exchanged turnovers to open the second half — Peyton Kelly recovered a fumble for Penn-Trafford and Michael Peyton intercepted Dunlap for the Indians — and the Indians took the lead back. Ryan Magiske broke free for 34 yards, but it was 35-35 after Dunlap evaded four closing defenders and turned the escape into a 43-yard score.

Penn-Trafford punted to Aiden McCall with two minutes left, and the junior set the Indians up for the winning drive at the Warriors’ 30 with two minutes left.

“We had a ton of pre-snap penalties that hurt us; there was a lack of discipline tonight,” Ruane said. “Peters has some top-end speed. I can’t fault our kids’ effort. They kept coming back.”

Bill Beckner is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Bill at bbeckner@tribweb.com or via Twitter @BillBeckner.

Tags: Penn-Trafford, Peters Township