One play could have made difference for Plum football

By: George Guido
Friday, November 1, 2019 | 6:37 PM

Purchase Photo Options

Oh, but for the lack of one yard.

That could be the lament of this year’s Plum football team.

The difference between making the WPIAL Class 5A playoffs and putting away the team equipment earlier this week could well be three feet.

Late in Plum’s game at Latrobe on Oct. 11, a thrilling comeback by the Mustangs ended at the Latrobe 1 when Reed Martin was stopped by Wildcats defender Logan Gustafson.

The result was a 28-20 setback that eliminated Plum (3-7, 1-5) from WPIAL playoff consideration. Had Plum scored, made a 2-point conversion and won in overtime, the Mustangs would have tied Latrobe for the final playoff spot from the Big East Conference and made the playoffs on the head-to-head victory.

“We were just one game away,” Plum coach Matt Morgan said. “They jumped on us early in that game, but we never gave up.”

Sophomore quarterback Jake Miller suffered a serious knee injury during the game and was replaced by junior Ryan Hubner, who guided the rally that fell just short.

Plum got behind, 21-0, but had its furious comeback attempt thwarted.

After the Latrobe game, the wheels came off for the Mustangs as they yielded a total of 118 points to Belle Vernon and Hempfield over the season’s final two weeks.

“There was a lot of learning as we had a mix of younger and older kids,” said Morgan, who finished his seventh season at the helm. “We wanted to be a lot better team than what we were. We had a lot of freshmen playing varsity ball at the end of the year.”

Morgan hopes the experience gained by younger players can be parlayed into playoff contention next season.

But the question is, where will Plum play?

It’s the end of the two-year enrollment cycle. How many classifications will the WPIAL employ in 2020 and 2021?

“There’s been talk of going to five classifications, or, back to four,” Morgan said. “I have no clue. I’ve heard a lot of different things.”

Plum is 11th in enrollment among the 23 Class 5A schools. The PIAA is expected to come out with enrollment barriers for the next two seasons sometime in mid-November.

Wherever the Mustangs play, Morgan is optimistic that the team can get back into playoff contention after missing the postseason for four straight years.

“We have lots of kids coming back,” he said. “We have to get over the hump and play a complete football game. We can play a good 2 ½ or three quarters, but we have to grow from that.”

One player who will provide a nucleus next season is Max Matolcsy, who’s led the Mustangs in receiving yardage the last two seasons. He will be a senior and is already getting looks from Division I FBS and Division II schools.

Motolcsy, also all-conference at outside linebacker, is also effective on running plays from different backfield formations.

Miller threw for 810 yards and seven touchdowns and Huber contributed 759 passing yards and eight touchdowns.

Martin, who led the team in receptions with 29, will also return for his senior season, along with Bill Guzzi, who led in rushing with 513 yards.

Among the key players graduating are receiver Nic Sluka, two-way lineman Braeden Koehler and linebacker Rocco Knauss.

Tags: Plum