Franklin Regional answers questions in win over Plum
By:
Friday, August 30, 2019 | 11:04 PM
Franklin Regional’s Trevor Brncic (13) hands the ball off to Zac Gordon (40) during their game against Plum High School on Aug. 30, 2019.
Plum High School’s Santino Saccone (12) passes the ball during their game against Franklin Regional on Aug. 30, 2019.
Franklin Regional’s Zac Gordon (40) catches a punt during their game against Plum on Aug. 30, 2019.
Plum High School’s Nic Sluka (8) battles for completion defended by Franklin Regional’s Zac Gordon (40) during their game on Aug. 30, 2019.
Franklin Regional’s Zac Gordon (40) rushes the ball during their game against Plum on Aug. 30, 2019.
Plum High School’s William Guzzi (1) rushes the ball during their game against Franklin Regional on Aug. 30, 2019.
Plum High School’s William Guzzi (1) rushes the ball during their game against Franklin Regional on Aug. 30, 2019.
Franklin Regional’s Colton Johns (2) rushes the ball during their game against Plum on Aug. 30, 2019.
Plum High School’s Nic Sluka (8) catches a pass during their game against Franklin Regional on Aug. 30, 2019.
Plum High School’s William Guzzi (1) rushes the ball during their game against Franklin Regional on Aug. 30, 2019.
Franklin Regional’s Justin Johns (1) rushes the ball during their game against Plum on Aug. 30, 2019.
Reed all about it
Plum’s Reed Martin (2) celebrates after scoring against Franklin Regional.
Plum High School’s Max Matolcsy (7) passes the ball during their game against Franklin Regional on Aug. 30, 2019.
Plum High School’s football team is welcomed to the field prior to their game against Franklin Regional on Aug. 30, 2019.
Before the season started, veteran Franklin Regional coach Greg Botta had several areas of concern for his team.
Some were answered Friday night as the Panthers won both their season opener, defeating neighboring Big East Conference rival Plum, 42-14.
New quarterback Trevor Brncic passed for 93 yards and two touchdowns while directing six scoring drives. Zac Gordon ran for 180 yards and two touchdowns.
Franklin Regional held Plum to just three first downs in the second half, two after the 35-point mercy rule took effect, and forced five Mustangs turnovers, one on the final play .
“Brncic is a first-year quarterback, I thought he played real well,” Botta said. “He threw a pick over the middle. He’s making junior mistakes, but I thought he played an excellent game.”
Botta, who has 170 coaching victories, was also pleased with the play of left tackle Alex Hutsko, another newcomer.
Plum (1-1, 0-1) started off with some razzle-dazzle on its first play from scrimmage. Receiver Max Matolcsy took a reverse and threw an option pass to a wide-open Reed Martin for a 48-yard score.
But Franklin Regional answered with a 10-play, 66-yard drive, capped by an 8-yard run by Justin Johns, who escaped two Plum tacklers at the 5.
“Here’s the bad thing: we prepped for that play all week,” Botta said of the Matolcsy pass. “It was first-game jitters, kids just making mistakes. It’s football, but we bounced back and drove down the field after that score and didn’t let up.”
Zack Hartley intercepted a Plum pass in the second quarter and junior defensive end Jack Predrosky recovered a Plum fumble in the quarter. Both led to Panthers touchdowns.
“You can’t turn the ball over three times in the first half and expect to beat a good football team,” Mustangs coach Matt Morgan said. “They’re a good football team. We knew that coming in. We can be good if we take care of the football and do the little things right. I’ve been harping on that all week. We’ll get there. We’re still young.”
With a 21-7 halftime lead, the Panthers took the second half kickoff after winning the pregame coin toss and deferring to the second half.
That bit of strategy paid off as Franklin Regional staged a 16-play, 82-yard drive to take control. Marco Sanic hauled in a 10-yard pass from Brncic to culminate a drive that took up 8 minutes, 23 seconds.
“We lost four starters on each side of the ball throughout the first half, so that made it a little rough on us,” Morgan said. “We had so many guys down, and it’s hard to bounce back. It got tough there at the end.”
Gordon’s 10-yard run with 10:31 to go put the continuous clock rules into place. Plum scored on a 44-yard pass from Jake Miller to Motolcy to conclude the scoring.
Plum still leads the all-time series between the two schools, 25-19.
Tags: Franklin Regional, Plum
More Football
• Westmoreland high school notebook: Football rivalry games put on hold this season• Girls flag football catching on at Shaler
• Westmoreland high school notebook: Penn-Trafford football to honor newest hall of fame class
• Central Catholic QB Payton Wehner wins Willie Thrower Award
• What to watch for in WPIAL sports on April 6, 2024: Top WPIAL QB to be honored with Willie Thrower Award
