Plum looks to build on victory in conference opener

By: Michael Love
Saturday, September 21, 2024 | 11:01 AM

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Plum senior wide receiver and linebacker Darian Nelson said that despite the tough start to the season, with losses to Franklin Regional, Latrobe and Gateway, he and his Mustangs teammates had to concentrate on going 1-0 when they faced Shaler in their Northeast Conference opener on Sept. 13 at Mustangs Stadium.

One week after a frustratingly close loss to the rival Gators, Plum was able to get into the win column against the Titans.

Several players on both sides of the ball broke out and contributed to the 24-7 conference victory.

“It felt like a breath of fresh air,” Nelson said.

“We worked hard all week and talked about how we had to win our first conference game. We had a mentality about starting fresh, 0-0. It felt good to be 1-0. Everyone continues to put the pieces together.”

Nelson said Friday’s home conference game against WPIAL Class 5A power Pine-Richland at Mustangs Stadium wasn’t going to be easy, but it was a chance to let it all hang out with a goal to take more steps forward.

The contest was to conclude past the deadline for this week’s edition.

Plum steps away from conference action this week as it pays a visit to Penn-Trafford at 7 p.m. Friday.

Next week (Oct. 4), the Mustangs get back into the conference at North Hills.

“We want to continue to fly around, hit somebody, play Plum football and make a name for ourselves,” Nelson said.

Senior Nick Odom scored on runs of 18 and 8 yards as Plum led Shaler, 14-7, after one quarter. Junior Olivia Bigger booted a 28-yard field goal, and Nelson scored on a 3-yard TD run to close out the victory.

“It was great to get the monkey off our backs with not having a win,” coach Matt Morgan said. “It was nice to start the conference with a win. There still were a lot of things we could’ve done better in that game. We kind of let the game get away from us the week prior against Gateway with turnovers in the red zone.

“It also was good to get a win against someone who we struggled with the last couple of years. It was nice to go out there and put together a pretty convincing performance. It was a good confidence builder for the guys.”

Odom finished the game with 123 yards on 21 carries and brought his four-game totals to 291 yards on 69 attempts. The TDs were his first two of the season.

“Nick has really come into his own the past couple of weeks,” Morgan said. “He was still nursing an ankle injury from the start of the season, and he has started to turn back into himself.”

Morgan said Odom and the offensive line of junior Ben Stricklin at left tackle, senior Dorrian Anderson at left guard, junior Frank Grazulis at center, junior Jackson Froehlich at right guard and senior Darian Slaughter at right tackle continue to develop that connection in the run game.

“We’ve been playing a lot better up front,” Morgan said. “This is the third or fourth week this group has been working together. It’s nice to see those guys really grow and communicate together and execute the plays. That really helps out Nick.

Sophomore quarterback John Nonnenberg has emerged as the starter after beginning the season splitting game reps with senior T.J. Futules.

“T.J. is a versatile player who can play a number of positions on offense, and we want to try and get the ball in his hands in space to let him run and make plays,” Morgan said.

Senior Trent Reese recorded a game-best 10 tackles against Shaler and led the team with 27 through four games. Nelson (26) and senior Nick Sheffo (23) also have been anchoring the Mustangs defense.

“Trent has been a special-teams guy for a lot of his career, and he is now getting the chance to play a lot of football on Friday nights,” Morgan said. “He’s done a really nice job. There are some things he needs to still clean up, but overall, he brings an energy to the defense.”

Slaughter, at defensive end, owned a team-high six sacks over the first four games, while sophomore Taivon Rupert recorded two interceptions from his defensive tackle post.

“Taivon just makes plays,” Morgan said. “He seems to always be in the right place at the right time when it comes to the ball. Our defensive front four has been doing really well to allow the guys behind them to make plays.”

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.

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