WPIAL Class-5A Championship Preview: Pine-Richland vs Peters Township

This year’s Class-5A WPIAL Championship will be a rematch between two powerhouse teams in No.1 Pine-Richland and No. 3 Peters Township.

Peters Township, the reigning Class-5A WPIAL champions, enters this weekend with a 10-1 record and are led by head coach TJ Plack. Pine-Richland last won a WPIAL title two seasons ago in 2022 and will be playing in its third consecutive WPIAL title. The Rams are 10-1 and are coached by Jon LeDonne.

When both teams played in the championship a season ago, the game was played at Norwin High School, which is not a big venue compared to Acrisure Stadium. Peters Township won its first-ever title last season defeating Pine-Richland 43-17.

In last year’s title game, Peters Township quarterback Nolan DiLucia got off to a hot start throwing three first-half touchdowns. One of the biggest keys for Pine-Richland will be to stop the air attack that DiLucia brings to the table. Defense will need to play a big part for Pine-Richland. In last year’s game the Rams forced three turnovers in the first half but could not generate much from it. The Rams have six starters returning on defense from last year’s championship game.

This season, DiLucia has thrown 2,349 yards and 22 touchdowns. Last week against in the semifinals, Upper St. Clair’s defense contained DiLucia, as he only threw 65 yards, along with two interceptions in the first half. Pine-Richland will be led by a dual-threat quarterback in sophomore Aaron “Oobi” Strader. Strader has thrown for 1,409 yards and 16 touchdowns while rushing for another 308.

Penn Hills vs Pine-Richland In a Conference Matchup October 4 (Courtesy of Chris Lentz)

In a non-conference game against North Allegheny, Strader broke his collarbone and missed the regular-season finale against Shaler. Strader had three weeks to heal before the postseason, and despite still recovering from the injury, the rest of the Rams players have stepped up. One of those players stepping up for Pine-Richland is running back Mac Miller. This postseason, the junior running back has rushed for 312 yards and five touchdowns. Over the past two playoff games, the Rams have outscored its opponents 70-7.

Up front, Peters Township’s defense will be led by Stanford commit Mickey Vaccarello and star linebackers/edge rushers juniors Reston Lehman and Lucas Shanafelt. Lehman is one of the big stars for Peters Township, owning offers from schools such as Pitt, Penn State and Virginia Tech. Shanafelt’s lone offer is from Eastern Michigan. The Indians’ secondary is led by seniors Nick McCullough and Darius McMillon as well as DiLucia, who plays both sides of the ball.

One of the most intriguing matchups of the night will be Peters Township’s McCullough and Pine-Richland’s Lawrence “Jay” Timmons. McCullough is one of the Indians most explosive players. He returned a 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in last week’s semifinals game. So far, McCullough has caught 48 passes for 984 yards and has a chance to reach the 1K milestone tomorrow.

Timmons leads Pine’s defense and is considered one of the best defensive backs in the entire WPIAL. Timmons, the son of former Pittsburgh Steelers player Lawrence Timmons, can make plays as a wideout, too. Entering this weekend, Timmons is the leading receiver for the Rams, recording 30 receptions for 605 yards.

Besides Timmons in the secondary, the Rams boast other athletic players such as Eli Wentz, Sam Heckert, Jalen Neals and Grant Pillar. The Rams defense have been causing turnovers with 28 sacks, 15 fumble recoveries and nine interceptions.

Peters Township scores an average of 31.8 points per game while only giving up 10 points per game. Pine-Richland defensively gives up a little more points per game with 11.9 but has also scored more offensively averaging 37 points per game. Peters Township is on a six-game winning streak while Pine-Richland winning streak is at three.

Kickoff between the Rams and Indians is set for 8 p.m. to conclude the four-game slate at Acrisure Stadium.