After making back-to-back trips to the WPIAL championship game with a core of star players that included Post-Gazette Fabulous 22 selections Corban Hondru and Donovan McMillon, many figured Peters Township would be in for a rebuilding year in 2021.
Instead, the Indians had another strong campaign, finishing 7-5 overall and reaching the WPIAL Class 5A quarterfinals. But again, Peters was hit with major roster turnover after graduating all six all-conference players from last year’s team. So surely the Indians would finally run into some growing pains in 2022, right?
Not so fast.
With junior quarterback Chris Cibrone lighting up defenses and a nucleus of skill players primed for breakout seasons, Peters appears to be more than just “in the mix” again this fall. With coach T.J. Plack working wonders again, the Class 5A No. 3 Indians are again making their case as a WPIAL championship front-runner — even if Plack himself didn’t see it coming.
“I thought we would play OK and hang in there. But our kids continue to surprise us,” Plack said. “They’re so resilient and so competitive. The fact that we have five seniors on the roster, and two don’t play. So we have three [seniors]. … And we’ve been banged up, too. We’ve just got to somehow find a way to get healthy.”
Sure, a 56-0 win at Fox Chapel in Week 0 was a great way to start the season, but Peters really made a statement with its thrilling 30-27 win at Class 6A No. 3 Seneca Valley last Friday.
After falling behind, 7-0, the Indians responded with a pair of touchdown passes from Cibrone to Ethan Wertmann and Carter Shanafelt to take a 14-7 lead. After taking a 14-13 lead into halftime, Cibrone fired another TD pass to Shanafelt to make it 21-13 before Seneca tied it up with a touchdown and 2-point conversion. Cibrone then found Shanafelt for his third touchdown catch of the game, this one from 24 yards out, to put Peters on top heading to the fourth quarter, 27-21.
The Raiders had a chance to take the lead after a fourth-quarter touchdown, but a failed extra point kept the score tied, 27-27. Cibrone then led the Indians down the field to set up Joe Bedillion’s game-winning 37-yard field goal, improving the Indians to 2-0 in dramatic fashion.
“The one thing I said is, this must be a program win for us,” Plack said. “It’s not just a rebuilding year. It’s seven years of doing the right thing over and over again.”
Last year, Peters also started out 2-0 with a 37-0 win vs. Fox Chapel and a 29-7 win vs. another Class 6A foe in Canon-McMillan. But the Indians were shut out in their next contest by eventual WPIAL and PIAA Class 6A champion Mt. Lebanon, 31-0, and they went on to lose four of their next six games.
This time around, Peters has a much better chance to improve to 3-0 with a home game vs. Trinity before opening up conference play — and the Indians know how important it is to stay hot before entering their grueling Allegheny Six Conference schedule.
Speaking of staying hot, Cibrone has completed 34 of 53 passes for 562 yards and seven touchdowns with no interceptions through his first two games. He spent his first two seasons as a backup, although he did make one start vs. Mt. Lebanon last year. Plack credits Cibrone’s background as an elite wrestler for his toughness and durability to withstand hits in the pocket, as well as his poise and competitive mindset as a first-year starter.
“Man, is he tough,” Plack said. “He got hit a couple times Friday night where I wasn’t sure if he was going to live, let alone get up. He got up and answered the bell and made a lot of passes.”
Shanafelt (5-10, 180) and Brendan McCullough (5-11, 170) provide the Indians with one of the top receiving duos in the WPIAL, as both players have already caught 10 passes this year with three TDs apiece. McCullough, a shifty slot receiver with deceptive speed, is averaging 22.9 yards per catch.
Although Peters has one of the youngest rosters in Class 5A, the Indians aren’t short on leadership. McCullough is one of only three senior starters, along with running back Richie Woods and center Roman Costanza, but all three play major roles on both sides of the ball.
McCullough is now excelling as a receiver, but he was already entrenched as a starting cornerback on the team last year. Woods led the team in rushing with 618 yards as a junior, and he now has 26 carries for 157 yards and four TDs through two games while emerging as a force at outside linebacker.
As for Costanza, the 6-1, 280-pound wrecking ball anchors the middle of the offensive and defensive lines while serving as the team’s emotional leader on and off the field. Plack also credited junior lineman Jake Velgich (5-10, 235) as the strongest player on the team and possibly one of the fastest, making him a definite player to watch over the next two years.
“He’s exceptional. He’s so hard to block,” Plack said about Velgich. “We’re definitely led by our defense. What our guys do over there is incredible. It’s a little bit different than a lot of people. They’re very tough.”
With a strong junior class led by Cibrone, Shanafelt and Velgich, fans are already expecting big things for Peters in 2023 — but the Indians don’t mind being a little ahead of schedule.
“We canceled our JV games, because we don’t have enough guys for JV. We have ninth graders. But we’re playing sophomores and juniors [on varsity],” Plack said. “It’s going to be 10 games with a bunch of young kids. I’m just so proud of the kids.”
Steve Rotstein: srotstein@post-gazette.com and Twitter @SteveRotstein.
First Published: September 8, 2022, 9:15 a.m.
