New coordinator has Plum offense humming in victory over Franklin Regional

By: Josh Rizzo
Friday, August 22, 2025 | 10:29 PM

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Plum junior quarterback John Nonnenberg believed in offensive coordinator Marty Steele. That’s why Nonnenberg didn’t fret when the Mustangs didn’t touch the ball for nearly nine minutes after halftime as Franklin Regional shaved its deficit from 21 points to eight.

When Taivon Rupert and the defense gave the ball back with a fumble, Nonnenberg delivered.

He found Semaj Robinson for a 32-yard catch-and-run that sparked Plum to a 42-13 nonconference win Friday on the road.

Nonnenberg, who appeared in eight games and threw for 566 yards and six touchdowns last season, finished with 228 passing yards and threw four touchdowns.

“Our offensive coordinator, we just got him. He’s a stud man,” Nonnenberg said. “Right calls every time. Every time, it’s a perfect call. I think we can do better, though.”

Seeing an improvement on this performance is a high bar for Plum to set. The Mustangs offense produced five plays of 30 yards. Nonnenberg had a 36-yard run on the Mustangs’ opening touchdown drive.

“I like what we are doing offensively,” Plum coach Matt Morgan said. “Our new offensive coordinator makes it tough to deal with. We are balanced and have threats everywhere.”

The Panthers, who graduated 16 seniors from last year’s team, showed moxie in the second half. Franklin Regional opened the second half with a lengthy drive that ended with a 4-yard rushing touchdown by Jet Taylor.

The Panthers recovered the ensuing kickoff and went back to work. Franklin Regional quarterback Dominic Devola shook off his struggles and completed his best pass of the night, an 11-yard strike to Tommy Veruggio on fourth-and-10 to keep the drive alive.

Devola finished the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run to cut the deficit to 21-13 with 3:57 left in the third quarter.

Robinson said Plum had to regain its motivation.

“When we had motivation, we were the best team in the WPIAL,” Robinson said. “That 13 points was on us. It won’t happen again next week, you better believe that.”

Franklin Regional coach Lance Getsy said he was proud of how his kids overcame the adversity they have faced. In addition to having young players on the field, the Panthers had four ejected after a fight in the second quarter.

Plum also had several players kicked out.

“The kids kept fighting,” Getsy said. “That’s the key thing. We had five or six sophomores on the field. We lost a couple players to the fight. We lost two kids during camp.”

Plum took risks from the opening possession. The Mustangs’ first touchdown came on a 2-yard pass from Nonnenberg to Brendan Marsten on fourth-and-goal.

Plum added two more touchdowns — a 6-yard catch by Sloan Humphries and a 23-yard catch from Marsten — before halftime on passes by Nonnenberg. Humphires led Plum with 96 receiving yards.

Franklin Regional’s offense had a hard time finishing drives. The Panthers’ possession before halftime ended when Robinson recorded a pivotal interception by stepping in front of Veruggio in the end zone. Robinson added another touchdown in the fourth quarter when he scored on a 44-yard run.

“This team is beautiful,” Robinson said. “When you have chemistry like us, we are unstoppable.”

Tags: Franklin Regional, Plum