Defensive TD leads Latrobe past Plum

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, October 12, 2018 | 10:48 PM

Something had to give.

It was late in the first half between Latrobe and Plum, and to that point, little had emerged to separate the two teams trying to gain ground for the fifth and final playoff berth in the Class 5A Big East Conference. The teams had played relatively even until that point, and with less than a minute until halftime, Plum was simply trying to run out the clock trailing Latrobe, 7-6.

Then the roof fell in.

A mishandled handoff by Plum was scooped up by Latrobe linebacker Tucker Knupp and returned 23 yards for a touchdown to give the Wildcats a 14-6 halftime lead. That opened the floodgates for Latrobe in the second half, as it scored 14 points in the third quarter on its way to a 28-6 victory on Friday night.

With the win, Latrobe improved to 2-6 overall and 2-4 in conference play. Plum fell to 2-6, 1-6.

“That was a huge momentum-changer for us,” Latrobe coach Jason Marucco said. “It’s always big when your defense can get into the end zone, especially with the way our offense was sputtering in the first half. That was a big shot in the arm.”

Plum coach Matt Morgan pointed to that turnover as a momentum swing as well, but obviously not one his team needed.

“That was tough to swallow,” Morgan said. “Both teams were playing well to that point. We had just gotten an interception and were just trying to run the clock out, but things changed quickly. It’s hard to overcome that.”

Adding to Latrobe’s good fortune was the fact it received the second half kickoff. The Wildcats took full advantage, scoring on the third play of the second half when quarterback Branden Crosby faked a handoff and found Reese Mueller wide open down the center of the field for a 51-yard touchdown pass and a 21-6 lead.

“That was big,” Marucco said. “We had the momentum, and we felt at halftime that play might be there. We knew we were getting the kickoff and wanted to build on that momentum, so we took a shot and scored quickly.”

After that, Latrobe’s gameplan was simple: hand the ball to A.J. Rock. After carrying the ball just three times in the first half for 21 yards, Latrobe gave Rock the ball 17 times after halftime, and the junior finished with 159 yards.

Rock scored Latrobe’s final TD on a 6-yard run.

“I guess they saw I was able to get some yards, so they just kept giving me the ball,” Rock said. “I was feeling it, but it was never about me. This was a team win.”

“We just felt like our line was starting to take control,” Marucco said. “A.J. is a tough runner. He’s able to get those tough yards when we need him to.”

For Latrobe, despite its record, it knows it’s playoff future is improving.

“We talked about that coming into tonight,” Marucco said. “We told our guys that the majority of our goals are still in front of us. Maybe not a conference championship anymore, but reaching the playoffs is still very much a possibility.

“We know Latrobe was a very good team,” Morgan said. “That’s a team that can’t be judged by its record. It’s played every team it’s faced tough. We’re a good team too. We’re just young and we have to learn to overcome adversity.”

Jim Equels Jr. is a freelance writer.

Tags: Latrobe, Plum