Plum earns dominant shutout victory over Fox Chapel

By: Henry O'Brien
Friday, October 10, 2025 | 9:43 PM

Fox Chapel needed an early spark from its kicker, Harran Zureikat. The senior set the WPIAL record last week with a 57-yard field goal in a loss to Franklin Regional.

Down 7-0 to Plum in a Class 5A Northeast clash Friday, the Foxes tried to test their luck with Zureikat with a 65-yard attempt near the end of the first quarter. But Zureikat’s kick landed about 4 yards short.

When Plum took over at the 20, the Mustangs’ Elijah Jackson made the Foxes pay with a 69-yard run. Then quarterback Antonio Hanzlik finished the drive with a 7-yard run to increase the lead to 14-0.

That second-quarter sequence would tell the story of Plum’s 35-0 victory over Fox Chapel: Zureikat providing the homecoming crowd with a moment of excitement while the opponent dominated on both sides of the ball. The win was the first for the Mustangs (3-5, 1-3 Northeast) in more than a month. Jackson rushed for 162 yards, and Hanzlik and running back CJ Hart had two rushing touchdowns each.

“It was nice to see them rally behind each other and take care of business and take care of the football, run the ball,” Plum coach Matt Morgan said. “It was a good team win.”

After the Foxes (2-6, 0-4) stalled on their opening drive, Zureikat pinned the Mustangs at the 2, but a methodical drive from Jackson and Hanzlik gave Plum an emphatic opening score, courtesy of junior Hart on a 15-yard score.

After Hanzlik’s score, Plum began to capitalize. On the first play of the next Fox Chapel drive, Niko Signor intercepted a pass from quarterback Joey Geller for a 22-yard pick-6.

The rout was on. All told, Plum had 257 yards and four scores in the first half compared to Fox Chapel’s 49 and no points. Foxes coach Dave Leasure attributed the difference in offense to being outplayed in the trenches and being outsized at the skill positions, such as running back.

“Their running backs are 190 pounds. They’re big boys, and that’s a huge difference,” Leasure said. “And we preach the weight room and the importance of getting bigger every year. But we need to start buying into that to have a chance to be successful against teams like this.”

As the first half dwindled, Hanzlik commanded another efficient drive for the Mustangs, with quick darts to his receivers and more carries for Jackson. The quarterback started the year as the backup behind John Nonnenberg but got his chance to shine after Nonnenberg suffered an injury.

The second half didn’t go any better for the Foxes. The Mustangs used a trick play on a pass to Hanzlik to move the ball up to the 50. Morgan said he and Hanzlik talked about the play throughout the week.

“He was like, ‘We gotta call it, we gotta call it, we gotta call it,’ ” Morgan said. “And I said, ‘Hell, yeah, we’re gonna call it.’ ”

From there, Hart darted for a 50-yard touchdown where he was untouched. The running clock began from there, and the Plum defense stifled any hope for Fox Chapel or Zureikat to get a score.

Tags: Fox Chapel, Plum