Penn Hills rallies to earn shot at title
Peters Township loses lead, gives up late pick and touchdown in loss
In the fourth quarter with the score tied and a chance to play for a WPIAL title on the line, Penn Hills woke up.
Its defense had held Peters Township without a first down in the third quarter, but now it was the offense’s turn.
With the score tied, 14-14, senior wide receiver-defensive back Daequan Hardy picked off Peters Township sophomore quarterback Logan Pfeuffer, which set up a 5-yard touchdown run by Terry “Tank” Smith with 3:37 to play.
After trailing by 14 in the second quarter, Penn Hills came back for a 22-14 win against Peters Township, ensuring its shot at a WPIAL title.
“The way that [Peters Township] played, we got a little frustrated early. We haven’t been down much this year ... But the way that they responded, going to Steubenville in Week Zero showed up tonight, and how we responded the second half of this game,” Penn Hills coach Jon LeDonne said, referring to a top Ohio team the Indians beat earlier this season.
Penn Hills, which has won WPIAL titles in 1976, 1977, 1978 and 1995, will try for its fifth against West Allegheny in the WPIAL Class 5A championship, which will take place 7:30 p.m. Friday at Norwin High School.
“This is really exciting,” Penn Hills senior wide receiver Dante Cephas said. “We’ve been working all season for this, so we just kept working, came out the second half focused, and came out winning.”
Trailing by six, Penn Hills senior quarterback Hollis Mathis helped spark the comeback.
He hit senior wide receiver Dante Cephas for a 24-yard touchdown pass with 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter. But Cephas was flagged after throwing the ball up in the air in celebration, giving Penn Hills poor field position on its ensuing 2point conversion attempt, which failed. That tied the score, 14-14.
Fortunately for Penn Hills, though, its defense shut out Peters Township in the second half of its comeback win.
“Fourth quarter, the coaches told us to lock in,” Cephas said.
“And focus on what we’ve been doing in practice, and that’s what we did. … Pursuing the ball. We just told everybody on defense, in the locker room, just treat it like it’s the last game. Pursue the ball. Hit everyone.”
After a quarter without scoring, Peters Township junior running back Ryan Magiske polished off a long drive with a 3yard touchdown run for a 7-0 lead.
Magiske picked off Mathis, who started the game 2 of 11, with 6:49 to play before halftime, but Penn Hills junior defensive back Aakeem Snell picked off Pfeuffer on the next possession to get the ball back.
Despite getting the ball on the Peters Township 25, Penn Hills couldn’t capitalize. A 20-yard pass from Pfeuffer to Jackson McCloskey later gave Peters Township a commanding 14-0 lead at 3:15.
“We pride ourselves on defense and playing fast and physical,” LeDonne said. “First half of the game, I think they came out and we were a little bit shocked at what they were doing to us up front. But we challenged them at halftime and they answered the call.”
Just before halftime, Penn Hills got some offense going. A 40-yard pass by Mathis sparked a drive that ended with senior wide receiver Daequan Hardy launching a few feet up in the air to haul in a touchdown pass. And, a play later, Hardy raced to the pylon for a 2-point conversion to make it 14-8 at the half.
Both teams struggled to find a rhythm in a scoreless third quarter.
Mathis completed 9 of 28 passes for 114 yards, and Pfeuffer went 11 of 23 through the air for 128 yards.