Porter guides Armstrong past Plum in Big East battle

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, September 30, 2017 | 12:00 AM

Dawson Porter already caused havoc for Plum in the second quarter by throwing for two touchdowns and rushing for another, but on the final play of the first half he provided a dagger.

Down three scores and facing fourth-and-goal at the 2-yard line with three seconds left before halftime, Plum decided to go for it. Mustangs quarterback Anthony Little raced around the corner and tried to get to the end zone, but Porter was waiting there along with Ryan Pearce to stop him short of the goal line.

The Mustangs scored two late TDs in the fourth, but the goal line stop proved to be a turning point in Armstrong's 27-14 win in a Class 5A Big East 9 game Friday.

“That was huge, because if they score there they go in to the locker room feeling pretty good,” Armstrong coach Frank Fabian said. “They were getting us a little bit on the edges. They called time out, and during that, coach Hooks made an adjustment to get more hats on the ball. Nate Baillie did a nice job stringing it out, and it was a good play by (Porter).”

Plum (2-4, 2-3) was aided by a couple of Armstrong (3-3, 1-3) personal fouls and drove deep into River Hawks territory before the stand.

“We called the play during the time out and one of our players misaligned,” Plum coach Matt Morgan said. “That made the difference, because he wasn't there to block. We shot ourselves in the foot in the first half being misaligned on offense and defense.”

After both teams struggled in the first quarter, Porter broke free on an 80-yard keeper for a touchdown two plays into the second to make it 7-0. On the next possession, Porter hit Devin Goodgasell with a 9-yard TD pass and connected with Pearce for a 30-yard score the next drive.

Porter was injured and did not play two weeks ago against Gateway but looked strong Friday. He finished with 117 yards rushing and 79 yards passing.

“It's a welcomed sight for us,” Fabian said. “He really hadn't been himself. Last week, I don't think that burst was there, but tonight it was definitely there on that 80-yard run.”

Plum intercepted Porter twice. On the second, Reed Coulson returned it to the Armstrong 23, but a block in the back pushed the ball back to the Mustangs' 27. The Mustangs ended up fumbling the ball away four plays later.

Plum played without two starting linemen, Cooper Aubele and Mike Giannuzzi. The Mustangs got the passing game working in the fourth when Little found Dominic Carlisano on a 25-yard score. Dakota Sunday scored on a 6-yard run late in the fourth to conclude the scoring.

“We asked a lot of the guys that came in to replace Cooper Aubele and Mike Giannuzzi,” Morgan said. “The thing about Giannuzzi is that he's been an all-conference caliber player on both sides of the ball for us this year. It's tough to lose a kid like that. It's been an injury plagued season so far, but I'm happy with the way the kids played in the second half. They didn't quit and we have some stuff to build upon.”

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported that Porter's second interception was caught by Ryan Vargo.

Jerin Steele is a freelance writer.

Tags: Armstrong, Plum