Friday’s WPIAL Class 5A first-round playoff game between Upper St. Clair and Plum started with a bang for the team that got in the playoffs thanks in, large part, to what has been dubbed the “Mustang Miracle.” But it was all Upper St. Clair after that bang, as the Panthers advanced with a mercy-rule win at home, 46-8.
After being forced to punt after gaining one first down, Plum took the field on defense, and on the first play from scrimmage, USC quarterback Ethan Hellmann’s pass was deflected and intercepted by Niko Signor, who returned the pick 37 yards for a touchdown. On the point-after kick, offsides was called against Upper St. Clair (9-2), so the Mustangs went for two. Quarterback John Nonnenberg connected with Signor to give No. 11 Plum (5-6) an 8-0 lead.
The Panthers responded quickly with what coach Mike Junko called a statement drive. On the legs of John Banbury and Dante Coury, Upper St. Clair marched straight down the field and scored with Banbury scoring in from 6 yards. Jacobo Echeverria added the PAT, making it 8-7 Plum.
“We kind of signaled that we understand it’s the playoffs, and that calls for physicality,” Junko said. “I was proud of how they responded, really, all night long. We saw some adversity, and our kids did a nice job overcoming it.”
A fumble by Nonnenberg gave the ball back to the Panthers, who took advantage with a touchdown pass to Randy Yan from Hellmann, making it 14-8.
Upper St. Clair added a score on a 3-yard run by Banbury in the second quarter and took a 21-8 lead into halftime.
“They have a good running game. It was tough, and we had a hard time getting their backs down early,” Plum coach Matt Morgan said. “We were down 13 at the half, but they exploded on us a bit in the second half.”
Explode the Panthers did.
Upper St. Clair scored on two touchdown runs by Coury in the third quarter before adding a score in the early portion of the fourth on a 14-yard run by Max Ligier. Upper St. Clair went to Banbury to run it in for two points, invoking the mercy rule.
Echeverria added a 30-yard field goal with just over three minutes to play as the clock wound down, bringing the game to its final.
“I think we were much more consistent in the second half, making good reads, protecting a little better. … That was good to see,” Junko said.
The Mustangs got 109 yards through the air from Nonnenberg but struggled to get the run going, averaging just a hair over 2 yards a carry.
Plum’s season, which started at 2-5, ended at 5-6 with a three-game winning streak snapped with the first-round loss.
“I told the young kids this is what playoff football’s about. You’re going to run into guys like this, and you’ve got to be able to handle it,” Morgan said. “We’re proud of these seniors, you know. They could’ve folded when we started 2-5, but they fought and we gave them a good game tonight in the first half.”
Upper St. Clair advances to take on No. 3 Woodland Hills at the Wolvarena next week at 7 p.m. in the quarterfinals.
“We get after it tomorrow morning,” said Junko. “There’s no easy outs in this bracket. Our kids are excited and ready for another chance to compete. Woodland Hills is a great team and that’s a great venue so we’re looking forward to the challenge.”