The Peters Township Indians continued their undefeated season on Saturday, claiming their first WPIAL Championship in program history with a resounding 43-17 win over last year’s state champions, the Pine-Richland Rams.
Sophomore quarterback Nolan DiLucia overcame two first half interceptions to throw three touchdowns and rush for a fourth, helping lead his team to victory.
DiLucia said he managed to stay calm despite those early struggles thanks to advice from his dad.
“My dad has always told me, something is gonna go wrong. It’s how you respond. I just knew I had to respond off that and couldn’t let my team down,” DiLucia said. “In the first quarter, we weren’t getting what we wanted, and so we just had to come out and just make the plays.”
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Time and again, DiLucia and his teammates exploited two mismatches against the Rams: short passes to the boundary and deep shots off fade routes.
DiLucia said that watching film ahead of time helped the Indians zero in on those plays.
“They [Pine-Richland] have a great defense, all credit to Coach LeDonne. They’re a great team, so we had to see where we could find loopholes, and we just had to make plays in those loopholes,” DiLucia said. “I had to work with my receivers, we’ve worked every week. We’ve gotta see their defense, and we’ve just gotta work on the routes we like.”
DiLucia broke down his other big play, the 39-yard rushing touchdown that helped put the game on ice. He said the play was a speed option that the Indians have toyed with for the past two weeks, and seemed almost surprised by the successful result.
“Honestly I was just hoping I didn’t mess it up,” DiLucia said.
The young signal caller repeatedly mentioned how the Indians play as a group, citing their teamwork as key in victory.
“It’s good because we all work together…even off the field we try to connect,” DiLucia said of his receivers. “My line was doing awesome, my running backs and my receivers were getting open. I just had to hit the guys.”
DiLucia wasn’t the only Indians’ player to emphasize their cohesive team approach.
Junior defensive end Reston Lehman, whose collegiate recruiting is starting to pick up with gameday visits to Power Five schools like Pitt and Virginia Tech, praised his team’s culture after claiming the WPIAL Championship.
“The team worked as a group, it’s a brotherhood. It’s just a great team,” Lehman said. “It’s awesome, you know. We deserved it, I think, more than anyone.”
