Trio of late interceptions helps Plum pull away from Kiski Area, bolster playoff hopes

By: Michael Love
Friday, October 17, 2025 | 10:34 PM

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Plum trailed Kiski Area by two points late in the third quarter of Friday’s nonconference rivalry clash at Mustangs Stadium.

But the Mustangs rallied, with both sides of the ball contributing.

The Plum defense intercepted three passes from Cavaliers sophomore quarterback Landyn Artman. The Mustangs offense converted all three of them into touchdowns in the fourth quarter for a 29-12 senior-night victory.

“Kiski is a great, young football team that is going to be pretty good and tough to beat the next couple of years, and they gave us a battle tonight,” Plum coach Matt Morgan said. “Our seniors showed up today. I am proud of them and really happy for them. It’s what we wanted and expected with this win.”

Both teams return to conference play next week with games that could and should shape their playoff hopes.

Plum (4-5, 2-3 Northeast) travels to rival Penn Hills to cap the regular season.

“This win was huge,” Morgan said. “The game we have to have next week doesn’t exist if we didn’t take care of business tonight. We have to win out to have a shot at the playoffs. This one is great momentum for us. Penn Hills is such a big rivalry game, especially for me. Penn Hills and Plum, it doesn’t get any bigger than that. It’s time to go.”

Kiski Area (4-5, 3-2 Big East) will face Woodland Hills with the postseason on the line.

“These guys have one guaranteed game left to play as a brotherhood,” Kiski Area coach Colyn Haugh said. “We can’t look ahead or assume we’re here or there. They have to realize that they are honoring a legacy with the way they attack this week moving forward.”

Junior Tyler Baleno got Plum’s first interception of Artman at the Kiski 46 with 3 seconds left in the third quarter. Plum converted the takeaway into points early in the fourth as junior CJ Hart ran it in from 4 yards.

Senior Landen Eikert then picked off Artman at the Cavaliers 33. On the fifth play of the ensuing drive, senior Elijah Jackson scored on a 1-yard run with 4:13 left to extend Plum’s led to two scores.

Freshman Jayden Bruce then all but clinched the win for the Mustangs with his interception with 4:04 to play. From there, junior John Nonnenberg gave Plum some insurance with a 29-yard TD strike to senior Niko Signor with 1:59 left.

“Tyler got that one, which was one of the harder catches I’ve ever seen him make,” Morgan said. “That was a huge play for us. Landen then made a really nice play, and our freshman, Jayden, came up big and took it right off the receiver. I am proud of him for that play that sealed the game for us.”

Six Plum ball carriers ran 33 times for 157 yards. Senior Antonio Hanzlik started at quarterback and ran eight times for a team-best 48 yards, and Hart added eight carries for 42 yards.

Artman finished 13 of 24 for 178 yards and a touchdown along with the three interceptions.

He scored on a 2-yard run to cap a 13-play drive with 1:42 left in the third quarter, which gave Kiski its two-point advantage at 12-10.

“The game came down to momentum, and we were on the wrong side of it more often than not,” Haugh said. “We had opportunities. Early on, we squandered a few of them away by not capitalizing on a few plays that were out there. Plum was able to stick around, and good teams are going to make you pay for that.”

The first quarter was somewhat of a feeling out process for both teams.

Kiski turned the ball over on downs on its first two possessions, the first time at midfield and the second time at the Plum 38.

Plum moved the ball 11 yards combined on its first two possessions and was forced to punt twice.

But the Mustangs got the ball at their own 26 at the start of the second quarter and proceeded to march the football to the Kiski Area 8.

The drive stalled there, and Austin Kolankowski came on to convert a 25-yard field goal with 3:50 left until halftime.

But Kiski Area responded quickly and with electricity as Artman found wideout Andrew Finney in space, and Finney raced to the end zone to finish off an 85-yard touchdown. The point-after kick was no good, but the Cavaliers led 6-3.

Kiski recovered a Plum fumble by Nonnenberg at the Mustangs 12, but they were not able to take advantage of the turnover. Finney’s field goal attempt of 34 yards was blocked by Signor.

Plum went to work fast as Nonnenberg connected with Sloan Humphries for 63 yards and then again for a 5-yard TD with 10 seconds left in the half. Olivia Bigger hit the PAT kick for a 10-6 lead.

“That touchdown was huge,” Morgan said. “We brought Johnny in, and he was able to throw the ball well. We weren’t sure if he could play with his ankle. But he actually ran the ball pretty well in the second half, too.

“Antonio played a great game, too. I was proud of the stuff he did.”

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: Kiski Area, Plum