Star senior quarterback, suffocating defense have Peters Township primed for another deep playoff push

When T.J. Plack first arrived at Peters Township in 2016, the Indians were the furthest thing on anybody’s minds when it came to perennial playoff contenders.

What a difference a decade can make.

Now, with Plack in his 10th year as Peters Township’s head coach and with four trips to the WPIAL Class 5A championship game in the past six seasons, you would be hard pressed to find a more consistent title contender — or a better turnaround story — in all of Western Pa.

“I thought I would be fired like six or seven years ago, honestly,” Plack said with a laugh.

Then again, the Indians’ turnaround from cellar-dweller to championship-caliber program is old news at this point. After winning their first WPIAL title and reaching their first PIAA championship game in 2023, Plack has already taken Peters Township to the mountaintop and back. At this point, the bar has been raised to unprecedented heights — and with the Indians boasting an overall record of 28-3 dating back to the start of the 2023 season, there’s no turning back now.

But even though this might be their most talented team yet, Plack knows it’s way too soon to start thinking about championships before even playing a game in September.

“It’s human nature. We think about it,” Plack said. “But our goal is to go 1-0 every week. And I think that allows us to focus on the issue at hand on Friday nights.”

Ever since Plack took over, the foundation for Peters Township’s success has always been laid by its defense. Utilizing an unconventional 3-3-5 defensive front with six players typically lined up near the line of scrimmage and five defensive backs, the Indians have deployed a handful of premier players on the defensive side of the ball in recent years — including former linebacker Corban Hondru, now a redshirt senior at Miami (Ohio), and former Pitt safety Donovan McMillon, now a rookie for the Cleveland Browns.

Last year, outside linebacker Mickey Vaccarello served as the team’s defensive cornerstone before graduating and moving on to play for Stanford. But in his place, Peters Township now features a pair of Power Four recruits on the edge in heralded seniors Reston Lehman (6-4, 230) and Lucas Shanafelt (6-4, 235). Lehman is a Pitt recruit, while Shanafelt will join Vaccarello at Stanford next fall.

“We’ve been fortunate,” Plack said. “We do things a little bit differently defensively. It gives people problems if you haven’t played against it. It’s been good, and I think it highlights our outside linebackers.”

On top of their presence as arguably the top pass-rushing tandem in the WPIAL, Lehman and Shanafelt also serve as two of the Indians’ top receiving targets on offense. Both athletic tight ends caught four passes for 70-plus yards in a season-opening 42-14 win against Canon-McMillan on Aug. 22.

Then, in last Friday’s 35-0 statement win at Class 4A No. 3 McKeesport, Lehman ignited the team’s blowout with a 54-yard pick-six from his edge rusher position late in the first half, showcasing his elite instincts along with his impressive speed in the open field.

“We’ve been using a lot of double-tight sets [offensively],” Plack said. “And our best set is with Lucas and Reston on the field together.”

Of course, as great as Lehman and Shanafelt are, a football team is only as good as its quarterback — and Peters Township might just have the best QB in the business.

Coming off back-to-back games with more than 200 yards passing and multiple TDs to open the season, senior Nolan DiLucia is picking up right where he left off and looking better than ever. After leading the WPIAL in passing with 3,131 yards in his first year as a starter as a sophomore, DiLucia followed that up with 2,525 yards as a junior — and he now ranks among the top-20 passers in WPIAL history with more than 6,500 yards for his career.

A Villanova recruit capable of making plays with both his arm and legs, DiLucia (6-2, 210) is also over 1,000 yards rushing for his career with 75 total TDs. Oh, and he is also a four-year starter at safety who is more than willing to dish out some punishment on defense.

“My brother was in the same grade with [Donovan] McMillon and [Corban] Hondru, so I saw them play while I grew up,” DiLucia said. “As I got older, I started to say, ‘That could be me one day.’ I started to watch how they carried themselves and see how coach [Plack] led them. It’s cool to see how our team has grown and changed so much. … We just had to build on what they made.”

In fact, if you look up the list of all 23 WPIAL quarterbacks with more than 6,000 career passing yards, you likely won’t find many, if any, who were also four-year starters on defense. There is one former two-way star and WPIAL Hall of Fame quarterback who fits the bill, though — except for finishing his career with just 5,553 passing yards — not to mention 1,681 rushing yards, three WPIAL titles and one state title.

You may have heard of him — 2002 West Allegheny grad and former Pitt quarterback Tyler Palko.

“[Palko] was a leader. He did whatever it took to get the job done. That’s how Nolan is,” Plack said. “Whether he has to run the ball or throw the ball, he’s the ultimate leader. He’s always in the weight room. He works hard at every fundraiser. He does everything the right way, and I’m sure Tyler was the same way. … Never came off the field in four years. That’s a great comparison.

“Their eighth grade team was undefeated. We knew exactly who he was [coming in], and I expected this.”

Along with Lehman and Shanafelt, senior wideout Lucas Rost has emerged as one of DiLucia’s favorite targets, hauling in four receptions for 45 yards and a pair of scores in last week’s win over McKeesport. Plack called Rost the team’s “Swiss-army knife,” capable of filling in at several different positions ranging from receiver to slot back to even backup quarterback.

Elsewhere, senior Cole Neupaver has taken the reins as the Indians’ starting tailback after rushing for 325 yards in limited action as a junior. Plack said Neupaver is the fastest player on the team, and he showed it with 123 yards rushing and two TDs in the season opener against Canon-Mac.

All in all, this certainly has the makings of another Peters Township powerhouse capable of playing deep into November — and perhaps even December.

“I’ve never cared about stats. The only stat that is my main goal is winning the game. If we get a ‘W’ on Friday night, I’m happy,” DiLucia said. “We’ve been playing since kindergarten. Me, Reston, Lucas and a bunch of the other guys, we’re all super close. So that makes our team so much better in my opinion. … I’m really excited for this senior class. It’s our last year. We’re working hard every week and making sure we don’t take anything for granted.”