There was no escaping the reality of the situation.
Pine-Richland sophomore quarterback Oobi Strader said he and his teammates thought about it all week with a rematch against Peters Township, which handed the Rams a 26-point loss in the WPIAL Class 5A championship game a season ago, looming.
“We knew we needed revenge on this team because of what they did last year,” Strader said. “There was a lot of back and forth on social media.”
In the end Saturday night, it was Pine-Richland that got the last word.
The No. 1-seeded Rams held a talented third-seeded Peters Township offense in check as Strader threw for 147 yards and two touchdowns to lift Pine-Richland to a 20-9 victory at Acrisure Stadium. It’s the ninth WPIAL championship in school history.
“So much motivation, they were talking smack on their Barstool, they were posting a bunch of stuff about our players,” said Rams senior wide receiver and defensive back Tanner Cunningham, who had a touchdown reception and critical fourth-quarter interception against the Indians. “We just kept it silent, and it was a business trip from there.
“Credit to all my teammates, the line, the defense, we got it done,” he added. “That’s all that matters.”
Pine-Richland (11-1) was playing in the title game for the third consecutive season, while Peters Township (11-2) was vying for a WPIAL championship for the fourth time in the past six years.
“Every one feels different, and we’re excited to be on the opposite end of it this year as compared to last year,” said Rams coach Jon LeDonne, who has won two WPIAL titles at Pine-Richland and one at Penn Hills (2018). “The defense put us in great situations all night.”
Linebackers Grant Pillar and Sam Heckert led the way for a dominant Rams defensive front that racked up four sacks.
Pillar finished with a game-high 13 tackles, 2 for a loss, and a half sack, while Heckert added 11 tackles, 2 for a loss, and 1 sack.
“It’s pretty nice,” said Pillar, whose brother, Ethan, was a linchpin of Pine-Richland’s offense in its run to WPIAL and PIAA titles in 2022. “I’ve never really won anything. I’ve always kind of been behind my brother, so it’s just nice to finally win something.
“It’s amazing, I love this stadium. It was fun.”
The Rams held Peters Township scoreless in the second half and conceded just 72 rushing yards in the game.
Peters Township quarterback Nolan DiLucia threw for a 161 yards and a 23-yard touchdown pass to Eli Prado in the second quarter. He also rushed for a game-high 61 yards on 21 carries.
Indians kicker Anthony Maiello’s 29-yard field goal as time expired in the second quarter was the only other blemish on an otherwise sterling Pine-Richland defensive effort.
“We thought that we would be able to get after them up front,” LeDonne said. “Obviously, we were worried about the passing game a little bit.”
It was the Rams passing game, though, which began to open up things after facing a 6-3 deficit midway through the second quarter.
Strader first broke through when he connected with Cunningham for a beautiful 64-yard touchdown pass on a deep pass over the middle to give Pine-Richland a 10-6 lead it would not relinquish.
Then leading, 10-9, in the third quarter, Strader threw a 22-yard touchdown pass on a fade in the end zone to wide receiver Jay Timmons, who is the son of former Steelers linebacker Lawrence Timmons.
A 5-foot-11, 175-pound junior, Timmons caught 4 passes for 81 yards, while Cunningham added 2 receptions for 71 yards.
Kicker Grant Argiro added 24-yard and 47-yard field goals for the Rams.
“I feel like our line really stepped up,” Strader said. “They have a nice strong front. We know that. We knew that coming into the game, and I feel like the line dominating just helped every aspect of our offense.”
Peters Township coach TJ Plack, who led the Indians to the first WPIAL championship in school history a season ago in addition to a PIAA Class 5A runner-up finish, said he and his staff were prepared for a defensive battle.
“It was two really good teams,” he said. “When you have two really good teams you usually have two really good defenses. We had an 18-play drive and we couldn’t score. It’s just they made a couple bigger plays than we did.”
The biggest might have been an interception on a DiLucia pass by Cunningham in the Rams end zone late in the fourth quarter.
It was a backbreaking play for the Indians, who were trailing by 11 points with 6:21 left to play.
“I knew that was coming,” said Cunningham, a senior, who also had two interceptions in last season’s WPIAL title loss. “They did that last year, the same exact play. I knew it was coming, sat under it, and got the pick.”
For both teams, the chance to play at Acrisure Stadium was special after the WPIAL Class 5A championship was contested at Norwin High School the past couple of seasons.
“I think the crown in the field was the biggest difference,” Plack said. “Awesome environment, it was just an awesome environment.”
It was a little more enjoyable of an experience, though, for the Rams.
“It feels amazing,” Cunningham said. “Coming back here, especially my senior season, it feels amazing to do it with the boys I’ve been playing with since I was little.”
Pine-Richland advances to play Bishop McDevitt in the PIAA playoffs. The Crusaders won their fourth consecutive District 3 championship Friday night with a 48-14 victory over Exeter.
“State championship … we’re coming for it all,” Pillar said. “Just building the culture more and more, it’s amazing.”
John is a copy editor and page designer at the Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at jsanta@unionprogress.com.