The Peters Township football team attained an undefeated record for the 2025 season and won the school’s second WPIAL Class 5A Championship defeating Pine-Richland Rams for the second time in three years by the score of 20-19, on Saturday, November 22 at Arcisure Stadium in Pittsburgh.
Seniors quarterback Nolan DiLucia and running back Cole Neupaver both had game changing offensive performances. DiLucia had a solid performance in a low scoring game, which was a test for the team’s high powered offense. DiLucia contributed in all aspects of the game including serving as the holder for the game winning extra point. Neupaver had 107 rushing yards on 25 carries. However, it was for his three touchdown runs including the game winner that earned him KDKA player of the game.
“It was an unreal comeback. Nothing was going right for us in the first half, but we came out in the second like a whole new team,” Neupaver said. “We took it one touchdown at a time, our defense shut them down, and our offense was making big plays.”
The team’s resilient attitude was the key to unlocking one of the best comebacks in WPIAL history with a 19-0 deficit in favor of Pine Richland at halftime.
Villanova quarterback commit, DiLucia, had a high school career for the record books. He threw for 8,819 passing yards and had 1,397 rushing yards finishing in third place for WPIAL quarterbacks all-time career passing yards. DiLucia along with Lucas Shanafelt and Reston Lehman were named to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s 2025 Fabulous 22 team.
On the defensive side of the ball, seniors Lucas Shanafelt, Reston Lehman, Lucas Rost, Gabe Kita, and James Spratt all had outstanding games. It was Rost and DiLucia who anchored the secondary that shut Pine Richland down in the second half. Both Shanafelt and Kita applied pressure to the quarterback and Lehman had nine tackles, 1.5 sacks, and a forced fumble.
However, senior middle linebacker James Spratt made the largest impact on the field with 22 tackles, but his optimism may have played an even larger role in the comeback.
“At halftime Coach Plack told us, ‘Crazier things have happened’ (than coming back from a 19 point lead) and he was somewhat right, other than it being the biggest comeback in WPIAL Championship history,” Spratt recalled. “In the second half I went out there and thought to myself this is going to be my last two quarters of football ever, so I might as well play as hard and fast as possible and leave it all on the field. I’m ecstatic to say my brothers and I have 4 more quarters of football guaranteed with each other.”
What makes this Peters Township team stand out is not just their talent, but their ability to perform under pressure. Several times throughout the season, they’ve proven that they are never out of a game, no matter the score, the time left, or the opponent across from them. Their performance in the WPIAL championship was one of the most memorable moments in program history.
