In eight years at the helm at Peters Township, T.J. Plack has engineered one of the WPIAL’s most remarkable turnarounds in recent memory — and don’t think Plack and the Indians are about to stop now.
Long considered one of the perennial bottom feeders in the WPIAL, Peters Township is now regarded as a championship contender year in and year out under Plack’s watchful eye. Before Plack’s arrival, the Indians had only three conference titles to their credit and had not claimed one since 1975. They have won four conference titles in eight years since, with 11 playoff victories in that span after winning only two playoff games in school history prior to 2016.
Of course, those playoff wins and conference titles are nice, but they wouldn’t hold much weight without a WPIAL title. And after years of close calls and near misses, Peters Township finally raised its first WPIAL championship banner last season with a dominant 43-17 triumph over defending champion Pine-Richland.
“We’re competitive also as coaches, and it’s a new year,” Plack said. “You always think someone else is outworking you. I think we all work harder in these situations. We know who we are now. I think people want to beat us even more.
“Everything is new again. It’s a brand-new challenge. We’re excited for it.”
Now, the hunters have become the hunted, and Plack and his players welcome the opportunity to play each week with a proverbial target on their backs. After all, with a loaded core of returning players that includes junior quarterback Nolan DiLucia and senior tight end-linebacker Mickey Vaccarello, the Indians will be a popular pick to go back-to-back as WPIAL champs — and maybe even make a return trip to the state title game.
DiLucia (6-2, 195) is one of the most talented quarterbacks in the WPIAL, coming off a sensational sophomore season in which he passed for a WPIAL-leading 3,131 yards with 30 touchdowns. DiLucia is also a dangerous scrambler who accounted for 489 yards rushing and eight TDs on the ground, and Plack is expecting to see his offseason work pay off in the form of an even bigger year in 2024.
“Having a quarterback like Nolan makes our job as offensive coaches so much easier,” Plack said. “He’s such a great quarterback when the play breaks down. He’s able to make those unscripted plays. He’s a leader. He’s an alpha male. He’s a strong voice in the locker room.
“He’s a young man who is never satisfied. He wants to be the best.”
Many of DiLucia’s top receiving targets are gone, but returning is speedy senior Nick McCullough — tabbed by Plack as the fastest player he has coached in his time at Peters Township. McCullough caught 26 passes for 464 yards and six TDs as a junior while splitting time with a handful of other capable receivers, but he will likely receive the lion’s share of the targets this season along with Vaccarello.
A Stanford recruit whose future lies on the defensive side of the ball as a sideline-to-sideline linebacker, Vaccarello is also one of the area’s best tight ends, and Plack said the Indians plan to utilize his skill set in several different ways on offense. On defense, he’ll team up with another all-conference selection in senior Nick Courie and an imposing junior in Reston Lehman (6-4, 230) to form arguably the top linebacker group in the WPIAL.
“Those guys play on the line of scrimmage, and they do drop into pass coverage at times,” Plack said about his team’s unique defensive alignment. “They’re just a handful out there.”
Up front, the offensive and defensive lines will be fortified by senior Franco Muscatello (6-2, 235), another returning all-conference pick on both offense and defense. With six returning starters on both sides of the ball — including many of the top performers from last year’s championship team — it wouldn’t be a surprise to see an even better Indians team in 2024.
Now that’s a scary thought for the rest of Class 5A.
“We are back to the beginning. It’s a new team,” Plack said. “I think the cards were in our favor last year. We had a senior-laden team. A very experienced team. And I don’t think anybody else in the conference had something like that.
“Right out the gate, we’ve got a couple of great games to start the year off, then we enter conference play. We have our work cut out for us. We’re excited for the competition.”
Elsewhere in the Allegheny Six, Upper St. Clair has unfinished business after narrowly missing out on the playoffs last fall despite an 8-2 overall record. The Panthers lost a tiebreaker that kept them out of the WPIAL tournament, which had only eight playoff berths available under the previous format. Now, 12 teams will qualify for the WPIAL playoffs in Class 5A, and it’s hard not to see Upper St. Clair taking one of those spots with junior quarterback Ethan Hellmann returning alongside a strong senior class that includes a trio of all-conference selections — receiver Julian Dahlem, linebacker Vann Hellmann and lineman Nate Stohl.
With strong-armed quarterback Tanner Pfeuffer back under center and several of his top offensive weapons also returning, Bethel Park has its sights set on a deep playoff run in 2024. Pfeuffer passed for 1,888 yards and 21 touchdowns with seven interceptions last year, while leading rusher JaVaughn Moore also returns after tallying 936 yards on the ground. Senior wideout Jack Bruckner is a big-play receiver who registered 20 receptions for 485 yards as a junior, and he’ll be in for a much larger role with do-it-all playmaker Ryan Petras (52 receptions for 734 yards, 409 yards rushing, 14 total TDs in 2023) set to miss most of the season while recovering from a torn labrum.
Josh Bladel has graduated after rushing for more than 1,000 yards last season for Moon, but that will open the door for senior Nazir Brookins to take on a featured role in the Tigers’ backfield after rushing for 807 yards and seven TDs on 147 carries last year. Expect to see junior Paul Bronaugh (41 carries for 438 yards, eight receptions for 164 yards in 2023) excel as a go-to playmaker on offense for coach Ryan Linn’s bunch this year.
Without longtime coach Joe Rossi patrolling the sidelines, a new era will begin at South Fayette this fall under first-time head coach Marty Spieler. It remains to be seen if the Lions’ patented air-raid offense will remain in place, or if the former Mt. Lebanon offensive coordinator has a new scheme in mind. South Fayette has several key seniors to replace, including quarterback Nico Lamonde, running back Nate Deanes and receiver Michael Gimigliano.
Baldwin is coming off a last-place finish in 2023, and the Highlanders will certainly have their work cut out for them in order to climb their way up the Allegheny Six standings this season. After graduating 1,000-yard rusher Andrew Sharp, junior quarterback Nico Macurak will need to be on top of his game in order to help Baldwin make its way out of the cellar.
Big East Conference
The rugged Big East Conference welcomes four newcomers this season while waving goodbye to Hempfield, Norwin and Plum, but the top half of the conference remains intact with its top-three finishers from 2023 still in place. Penn-Trafford narrowly missed out on a conference title last year, but the Warriors will have a great chance to rise to the top of the heap this season. Senior Tasso Whipple (1,388 yards rushing, 17 TDs in 2023) and sophomore Ben Grabowski (779 yards rushing, 10 TDs) combine to form one of the top tailback tandems in the WPIAL, and Penn-Trafford’s stout offensive line will be anchored by all-conference center Ethan Septak.
Defending champion Gateway has no shortage of holes to fill, starting with the all-important quarterback position after graduating record-setting gunslinger Brad Birch. Still, the Gators are always a team to be reckoned with, and senior Kenny Lewis is primed for another monster season after tallying 51 receptions for 890 yards and 11 TDs as a junior. All-conference linemen Chase Gabriel and Kaiyen Mbandi also return to help bolster Gateway’s presence up front.
Despite the loss of leading receiver Ayden Hudock, Franklin Regional figures to be a formidable foe once again this fall in its fourth season under coach Lance Getsy. Senior running back Kyle Dupill will look to build off an impressive season that saw him rush for 1,175 yards and 15 TDs on 179 carries, while senior defensive tackle Andrew Devola is another returning all-conference selection for the Panthers.
One of four new arrivals to the conference, Woodland Hills hopes to make its presence felt as the Wolverines attempt to restore their place as a WPIAL powerhouse. Junior quarterback Cam Walter and junior receiver Scoop Smith are both three-year starters who have developed a ton of chemistry with one another, and defenses will surely have a tough time slowing them down this season. Walter passed for 1,554 yards with 18 TDs and four interceptions in 2023, while Smith caught 44 passes for 851 yards and 17 TDs. Junior running back Zykir Moore also returns after rushing for 609 yards and 10 TDs, and senior linebacker George Hill is a Buffalo recruit who leads the defensive unit.
Latrobe is a team ripe with potential after bumping up from Class 4A following back-to-back trips to the WPIAL quarterfinals, but this is still a program with a lot to prove under third-year coach Ron Prady. The Wildcats have won only three playoff games in program history and have not reached a WPIAL championship game since capturing their only title in 1968. Still, there is reason for optimism this year with a pair of FBS recruits leading the way in senior quarterback-defensive back John Wetzel (Marshall) and senior running back-linebacker Alex Tatsch (Penn State). Wetzel passed for 1,235 yards and 14 TDs while rushing for 1,040 yards and 19 TDs last year. Junior receiver-defensive back Andy Tatsch is another player with Power Five offers who could be in for a breakout year, and senior tight end Jack Drnjevich is another returning all-conference pick.
Like Latrobe, Armstrong is another team making the move up from Class 4A this year, and the River Hawks must do so without talented receiver Ian Olsen, who transferred to IMG Academy in Florida for his senior year. All-conference linebacker Kyan Kline returns to lead the defense, and sophomore quarterback Jaydon Oliver appears to have a bright future after passing for 1,358 yards and 12 touchdowns while rushing for 336 yards and four scores as a freshman.
Also making its way up from Class 4A, Kiski Area joins Armstrong and Latrobe in the Big East for the current two-year cycle, and the Cavaliers are hoping to make a strong first impression on Class 5A with senior quarterback Carson Heinle leading the way. The all-conference pick passed for 1,805 yards and 19 TDs with six interceptions while rushing for 485 yards and five scores as a junior. All-conference center Cameron Murphy will be counted on to keep Heinle upright while paving the way for Kiski’s running game.
Northeast Conference
Entering his third year at the helm at Pine-Richland, Jon LeDonne has quickly restored the Rams’ place as one of the area’s premier programs. After capturing WPIAL and PIAA titles in 2022, Pine-Richland made it back to the WPIAL title game last season before falling to Peters Township. Gone are a handful of standout players from last year’s team, including incoming Wisconsin lineman and two-time PUP All-Star Ryan Cory. But with a promising quarterback taking the reins for the Rams on offense in sophomore Aaron “Oobi” Strader, plus a talented linebacker core on defense led by three-year starter Sam Heckert, expect LeDonne to have his team right back in the thick of the championship chase.
Although North Hills lost a pair of all-conference linemen — one to transfer (Aliquippa’s Jamar Allen) and another to graduation (Jake Messina) — the Indians still have plenty to be excited about going into the 2024 season. Junior Josiah Mathis led the team with 37 catches for 478 yards as a sophomore, and senior running backs Jack Martin and Julius Green both return after pacing the backfield a year ago. Green also earned all-conference honors at defensive back.
Change is in the air at Penn Hills after the departure of four-year starting quarterback Julian Dugger, now a freshman at Pitt. Shady Side Academy transfer Devin Harris will compete for the Indians’ starting job with Jaymere Ellis, who played wide receiver last season. Another Shady Side transfer, sophomore receiver Carter Bonner, is one of the top young wideouts in the WPIAL. Senior Naytel Mitchell is expected to take over for 1,000-yard rusher Amir Key as the team’s primary ball carrier.
After a 4-0 start in 2023, Shaler appeared to be on its way to one of the best seasons in school history at the midway point. Instead, the Titans fell flat in the second half of the season, posting an overall record of 5-5 on their way to a fifth-place finish in the conference. The talented QB-receiver duo of Keegan Smetanka and Joe DeSabato will be tough to replace, but many are expecting big things out of senior running back-linebacker Joe Rispoli.
All-conference performers Nick Odom and Darian Nelson are back to lead the way for Plum, which moves over from the Big East Conference to get acquainted with a new assortment of opponents in the Northeast. Nelson and Odom combined to score 19 touchdowns last year for the Mustangs, who finished 4-6 overall in 2023.
Coming off a last-place finish and winless season a year ago, Fox Chapel is looking to lay the foundation for a turnaround in 2024. In order to do so, the Foxes will be relying on one of two junior quarterbacks to take a big step forward after Max Melocchi and Nathan Johnson split time under center as sophomores.
Players to watch
Nolan DiLucia, Peters Township, 6-2, 195, QB, Jr. — Arguably the top quarterback in the WPIAL, the prolific passer led the district with 3,131 yards to go with 30 touchdowns in 2023.
Scoop Smith, Woodland Hills, 5-6, 145, WR-DB, Jr. — Blazing-fast deep threat hauled in 44 passes for 851 yards with 17 TDs in his stellar sophomore season.
Alex Tatsch, Latrobe, 6-3, 222, RB-LB, Sr. — Penn State recruit is regarded as one of the top linebackers in the state and also doubles as a rugged running back for the Wildcats.
Mickey Vaccarello, Peters Township, 6-3, 220, TE-LB, Sr. — Multi-talented Stanford recruit shines as a disruptive linebacker on defense and a reliable receiving threat on offense.
Tasso Whipple, Penn-Trafford, 6-1, 190, RB-LB, Sr. — Tough, bruising back powered the Warriors’ offensive attack with 1,701 yards from scrimmage and 17 touchdowns as a junior.
Steve is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at srotstein@unionprogress.com.
