Plum ends 13-game losing skid against Gateway with well-balanced victory

By: Michael Love
Friday, September 5, 2025 | 10:38 PM

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In Week Zero, Plum snapped a seven-game losing streak to rival Franklin Regional.

On Friday, the Mustangs ended another long streak. This time to neighboring Gateway.

Plum had lost 13 in a row to the Gators, but the Mustangs were able to make the plays they needed to in all three phases to come away with a 23-14 victory at Gateway’s Anti­marino Stadium.

The Mustangs bounced back from last week’s overtime loss to Latrobe to improve to 2-1 with the Northeast Conference opener against Shaler looming next week.

“That was a complete win for us,” Plum coach Matt Morgan said.

“Defensively, we struggled early making tackles, especially in the open field. We were just diving at guys. They didn’t have confidence to finish the tackles. You saw a difference in that in the second half. Special teams were clutch all night. It was unbelievable what those guys did. That was a big part of that win. Offensively, we struck when we had to, and I told the offensive and defensive lines that it was their toughest battle to date because (the Gators) have some really good guys up front. They answered the bell, and the outcome is the outcome.”

Gateway, which fell to 0-3, scored touchdowns in the second and third quarters, but opportunities were missed several times to add to their total on the scoreboard.

“We had many chances to make a play tonight,” Gateway coach Don Holl said. “We had things open all night, and we didn’t execute enough. That’s our fault. We will get better in executing what we do.”

Down nine late in the fourth, Gateway made a push down the field. Quarterback Mayson Mitchell, in the game for starter Jackson Smith, drove the Gators from their 20 to the Plum 8.

Pushed back to the 15 on a delay of game penalty and a run for a loss, Mitchell, on fourth-and-goal, made a dash for the end zone. But the Plum defense stopped him at the 1, and the Mustangs took over and closed out the win.

Holding a tenuous three-point lead at halftime, Plum came out and put a pair of touchdowns on the board in the third quarter with the help of two special teams plays.

The Mustangs stopped a Gateway fake punt near midfield, and on the third play of the ensuing drive, John Nonnenberg found Semaj Robinson for a 50-yard TD connection.

Robinson caught three balls for 88 yards.

Late in the third, Plum punted deep into Gators territory. The Gateway punt returner muffed the ball, and Rocco Lamia recovered it at the 3.

CJ Hart scored on the next play to extend the Mustangs advantage to 23-7.

Gateway answered quickly as Mitchell, on his first pass attempt, completed a pass to Shawn Moorfield, and Moorfield did the rest, weaving his way through the Plum defense for 58 yards to the end zone.

The point-after kick pulled the Gators to within nine, but they could get no closer.

Mitchell finished 8 of 14 for 134 yards and the TD, and Smith was 17 of 23 for 127 yards. Moorfield finished with eight catches for 158 yards.

Nonnenberg threw for 228 yards and two scores, giving him 625 yards, nine touchdowns, and just one interception through three games.

Gateway ran 38 plays in the first half to Plum’s 16, but the Mustangs led at the break.

The Gators moved the ball deep into Plum territory on its second drive of the game.

But the drive stalled, and Jackson Mikulandrich missed a 39-yard field goal with 1:54 left in the first quarter.

The Gators forced a punt and got the ball back at their 34.

Smith marched his team down the field and inside the Plum 10.

A holding penalty drove Gateway back to the 18, but Smith called his own number and pinballed his way to the end zone for the score with 3:57 left until halftime.

Plum answered quickly as Nonnenberg found Sloan Humphries over the middle for 57 yards to tie the score. Humphries snagged four passes for 87 yards.

Gateway drove to the Plum 18 on the ensuing drive. But Mustangs defensive lineman Ben Stricklin tipped a Smith pass to himself and rambled down to the Gators 35. Plum turned the turnover into points as Austin Kolankowski booted a 29-yard field goal as time expired in the half to give Plum the lead at 10-7.

“Every win means a lot,” Morgan said.

“We just take every day as an opportunity to get better so we can come out and get the job done on Friday night. This is a special group of kids. They fight for each other and for their coaches, and the coaches fight for them. We have something good going, and this is our year to make a little noise. I am excited about what these kids can do in the future.”

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Gateway, Plum