PIAA State Title Preview – 5A: Peters Township vs Imhotep Charter

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Matchup: </strong>Peters Township Indians (15-0) vs Imhotep Charter Panthers (15-0)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>WHEN:</strong> Friday, December 8 - 7:00 p.m.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>WHERE:</strong> Chapman Field, Cumberland Valley, Pennsylvania</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>HOW TO WATCH: </strong>PCN OR NFHS NETWORK<strong> </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Coaching Matchup</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Peters Township - </strong>TJ Plack</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Not too long ago, Peters Township was routinely struggling to find winning seasons. However, under head coach TJ Pack, the Indians have become one of the better programs in Pennsylvania AAAAA football and in the process have reached some great heights. That success culminated this season in the Indians improving from 6-4 last season to 15-0 this season. As a head coach, Plack owns a 69-24-1 record.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Imhotep Charters - </strong>Devon Johnson</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After taking over the program in 2020 from Nick Lincoln, Devon Johnson has kept Imhotep Charter on top of the high school football world in Pennsylvania Class AAAAA action. The Panthers in his first three full seasons are 35-5 including their perfect 14-0 record so far this season. They'll look to complete their first perfect season since 2015-16 on Friday night. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">HOW THEY GOT THERE</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><strong>Peters Township</strong></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>From the get-go this season, Peter's Township was dominant. In fact, prior to last week's 14-9 win over Cocalico in the state semifinals, Peters Township had scored at least 31 points in each of their previous 14 games and had allowed under 20 points in 14 of 15 as well. Their offense is averaging 38 points per game while the defense is keeping opponents to just 8.5 points a contest. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the state tournament, they defeated Pine-Richland (43-17), Cathedral Prep (33-14), and Cocalico (14-9)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Steelton-Highspire</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Imhotep's season started off with an 87-0 win over Life Christian Academy in Virginia and they never looked back. The Panthers survived some scares from Archbishop Spalding (Maryland), Malvern Prep, and Abraham Lincoln early in the season before cruising all the way into the state playoffs. Roman Catholic almost knocked them off in mid-November, pulling out a 30-26 victory before picking up dominant wins over Delaware Valley and Strath Haven each of the last two weeks. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">PLAYERS TO WATCH</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Peters Township</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2026 QB [player_tooltip player_id='427345' first='Nolan' last='DiLucia']</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2024 WR [player_tooltip player_id='377920' first='Carter' last='Shanafelt']</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2024 LB [player_tooltip player_id='598802' first='Mickey' last='Vaccarello']</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2026 LB [player_tooltip player_id='306928' first='Reston' last='Lehman']</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2025 DL [player_tooltip player_id='598991' first='Franco' last='Muscatello']</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Imhotep Charter</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2024 QB Mikal Davis Jr</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2025 RB Jabree Wallace-Coleman</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2026 RB Syeer Coleman</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2027 WR Kareem Hagg</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2024 WR [player_tooltip player_id='854344' first='Nile' last='Brown']</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2025 DE [player_tooltip player_id='142896' first='Zahir' last='Mathis']</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2024 DT [player_tooltip player_id='119073' first='Jahsear' last='Whittington']</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2024 DB [player_tooltip player_id='141009' first='Kenny' last='Woseley Jr.']</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2024 LB [player_tooltip player_id='559073' first='Raheem' last='Reid']</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2026 DE [player_tooltip player_id='388178' first='Joseph' last='Sondah']</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2024 DT [player_tooltip player_id='142833' first='David' last='Johnson']</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>MATCHUPS TO WATCH</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Can DiLucia pass his toughest test yet?</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Peters Township quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='427345' first='Nolan' last='DiLucia'] has been quite impressive throughout his career thus far and every test that's been thrown his year but this will be his biggest challenge yet facing a very talented Imhotep Charter defense. Can senior wide receiver [player_tooltip player_id='377920' first='Carter' last='Shanafelt'] win 1-on-1 against the likes of Kenny Woseley Jr? DiLucia has been accurate for the majority of the season but with this Imhotep defense, he'll need pinpoint accuracy if he hopes to lead the Indians to a state title. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Is there any stopping Jabree Wallace-Coleman?</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Georgia commitment Jabree Wallace-Coleman has been fantastic all season, totaling over 1,300 rushing yards and 27 touchdowns. He hasn't had a huge workload this season, totaling just 180 carries but when he's called upon, he gets the job done. Don't be surprised if he has one of his biggest workloads of the season on Friday night. It will be a massive challenge for Peters Township's front seven to slow down Wallace-Coleman as well as his younger brother Syeer Coleman. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>OVERALL</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This is an intriguing matchup between one of the perennial favorites in 5A in Imhotep and a newcomer to the big stage in Peters Township. The Indians will have their hands full with this Panthers team that is stacked with FBS talent from top to bottom and understandably that's also why Imhotep is the favorite heading into Friday's game. That being said, Peters Township has stepped up to the challenge time and time again and already faced a really good defense last week in Cocalico that should help get the Indians ready for the Panthers. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Have information regarding a prospect or team that you believe would be useful for us to know? Feel free to contact me at dylanccwriting@gmail.com or on Twitter,&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/RivalsDylanCC">here</a>.</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Want to claim your profile or don't see a profile for you? Claim or create your free player profile by clicking and searching your name,&nbsp;<a href="https://prepredzone.com/prospect-index/claim-your-profile/">here</a>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->