After a 14-13 Northeast Conference loss to North Hills in Week 6, the Plum football team stood at 2-5 overall and 0-3 in conference play.
Some thought the Mustangs were dead in the water.
But Plum coach Matt Morgan, his coaching staff, and his players carried on, taking one game at a time, starting with a nonconference game with Fox Chapel.
The Mustangs built momentum with a 35-0 victory and then went on to top Kiski Area, 29-12, at home to score their first win in conference play.
Then, in what will go down as one of the biggest wins in program history, Plum topped rival Penn Hills, 20-14, on senior night with what has become known as the “Mustang Miracle,” capping a victory it needed to stay alive for the playoffs.
While Plum didn’t get in by virtue of an automatic conference bid — those went to Pine-Richland, Shaler and North Hills — the Mustangs’ finish to the season, and an earlier nonconference win over Gateway, went a long way in convincing the WPIAL selection committee that they deserved a wildcard bid into the Class 5A tournament.
Morgan was positive about where his team stood despite its 46-8 first-round loss at No. 6 Upper St. Clair on Oct. 31.
“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 told the Tribune-Review shortly after the playoff game concluded.
“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 in the first half.”
Plum, which finished 5-6 overall, returned to the playoffs for the first time since qualifying in back-to-back years in 2020 and 2021. The covid-affected 2020 season saw the Mustangs advance to the WPIAL Class 4A semifinals before suffering a heartbreaking 20-17 loss to WPIAL power Thomas Jefferson.
The Mustang Miracle game started promising for Plum as senior Elijah Jackson scored on an 18-yard run in the first quarter. Penn Hills scored twice in the second quarter to take a 14-7 halftime lead, but Plum rallied.
Senior Cam Wilson caught a 6-yard TD pass from junior quarterback John Nonnenberg to tie the game in the third quarter.
The Plum defense forced a turnover on downs at its own 17 with two minutes left and started what would be its game-winning march. Nonnenberg had two big runs on the drive as the Mustangs drove inside the 10.
With two seconds on the clock, Plum set up for a field goal by senior kicker Austin Kolankowski.
The kick was blocked, and the ball sat spinning at about the 10-yard line. Kolankowski kept his focus and picked up the ball. He started moving toward the end zone as his teammates around him started to make room. The Penn Hills defenders, realizing what was happening, did everything they could to bring Kolankowski down.
But the 22-player mass of humanity continued to move in unison until Kolankowski scored. It set off a massive celebration that continued well after the scoreboard read all zeros.
Morgan’s reaction to what happened was a mix of excitement and emotion, his eyes glassy with tears as he sat down on the bench to collect his thoughts.
He was on the sidelines in his second year for what was Plum’s most recent win over Penn Hills, a 17-6 Quad-A first-round triumph in 2014 at Penn Hills’ McGinley-Yuhas Stadium.
“The guys have worked so damn hard this year,” Morgan said in the moment.
“All offseason long, they put in the work and bought in, and that carried over to the season. All the bad things that happened throughout the season, turnovers and stupid penalties and all of the other crazy things that were out of our control, to see something happen in the right way like this for them, it is such a special feeling. That last play, they were working so hard for each other. That is what this team is all about.”
Plum players also were working together to end a couple of losing streaks to other area rivals.
The Mustangs rolled past Franklin Regional in Week Zero, ending a seven-game skid against the Panthers.
They went into Gateway in Week 2 and handed the Gators a 23-14 defeat which snapped a 13-game losing streak dating back to 2001.
“That was a complete win for us,” Morgan said after the victory against the team he coached with as an assistant until 2012, the year before being hired at Plum.
Seniors with experience, underclassmen growing in their roles, and varsity newcomers all helped fuel Plum this season.
Nonnenberg finished the season with 1,416 passing yards and 12 touchdowns against eight interceptions in 10 games. He also rushed for 321 yards and three scores while battling through knee and ankle issues over the last third of the season.
Jackson and junior CJ Hart were a solid 1-2 punch in the run game. The duo combined for 1,091 ground yards and 11 touchdowns.
Seniors Niko Signor and Sloan Humphries each hauled in 33 passes for more than 450 yards apiece. Humphries led the way with five touchdown grabs.
Senior Landon Ekiert was the powerful heart and soul of a Plum defense which gave up just 10 points a game over its final four regular-season contests.
He finished with 115 tackles to go along with two interceptions and one forced fumble for a Mustangs group which surrendered just 10 points a game over its final four regular-season contests.