The Plum Mustangs aren't guaranteed a spot in the playoffs. But the Mustangs made a good case for their inclusion following their first win over Penn Hills since 2014. 

Mustangs kicker Austin Kolankowski recovered his own kick after Penn Hills blocked his 24-yard attempt in the waning seconds. Plum, which suffered a four-game losing streak in the middle of its schedule, bounced back with an impressive 20-14 win over the Indians. The Indians (3-7, 2-3) have had a difficult system weighted down by injuries and inconsistency.

Watch the entire broadcast on the Penn Hills Football Network's YouTube page.

Strangely, this is the second time in the past five years Penn Hills has lost on a kick they blocked at the end of a game. The Indians lost in similar fashion to Central Catholic in 2022.

The Plum and Mars girls' soccer teams have been battling in the WPIAL Class 3A playoffs for the past six seasons. The Mustangs got their first win over the Planets in five meetings Thursday night at Plum. Allison Porter converted the winning kick for the Mustangs.

Read my story on the event in the Tribune Review. During regulation and overtime, there weren't too many solid scoring options for either side.

Plum and North Hills have much grander ambitions than their current spots in the Northeast Conference standings would indicate. The Mustangs have dropped three straight games and have yet to pick up a win in conference.

Plum's struggles have come despite quarterback John Nonnenberg showing flashes of ability to put up big numbers. Nonnenberg has passed for 1,002 yards with nine touchdowns and four interceptions. However, Plum's offense took a nosedive in the face of strong competition the past two weeks.

Nonnenberg, who has topped 200 yards passing three times this season, was limited to 37 passing yards in a 56-14 loss to defending WPIAL 5A champion Pine-Richland two weeks ago. He also had a hard time against Penn-Trafford, being limited to 73 passing yards in a 33-14 defeat.

The Indians (1-5, 1-1) put itself in the playoff race with a 56-7 win over Fox Chapel. North Hills is led by quarterback Kelly McCarthy, who has thrown for 660 yards and nine touchdowns. Johnell Edison leads the Indians in rushing, piling up 297 yards on 48 carries.

Can Central Valley scare North Catholic?
The Warriors have had their share of issues going into a Western Hills Conference battle with North Catholic Friday at Stone Field. Central Valley (2-4, 2-1) has taken on its fair share of difficult opponents. The Warriors lost a rematch of the Class 3A WPIAL title game to Avonworth, 34-6.

Central Valley has also taken losses against Thomas Jefferson and Belle Vernon. North Catholic has been beating up all of its opponents so far season. Before losing 36-16 to Imani Christian last week, the Trojans had scored 47 points or more in every game this season.

The Warriors (2-4) have a balanced offensive attack. Central Valley is led by dynamic back Ethan Shearer on the ground. He has 455 yards on 55 carries this season. Warriors quarterback Braddock Ambrose has struggled with interceptions, but has thrown for 737 yards and six touchdowns.

North Catholic quarterback Joey Felitsky has thrown for 1,329 yards and 22 touchdowns. Logan Schade has been his top target, catching 45 passes for 657 yards.

Westmoreland County rivals seek good health
Greensburg Central Catholic and Jeannette could both use a shot in the arm. The Centurions played without their top offensive weapon, Samir Crosby, and were outmuscled in a 26-7 Eastern Conference loss to Riverview. Jeannette is struggling with health issues and took its second consecutive loss against Clairton.

The Jayhawks are seeking to avoid a three-game skid that plagued them in playoff seeding last season. However, things worked out for Jeannette, as the Jayhawks made a run to the WPIAL Class 1A semifinals. Jeannette and GCC are both 3-3 overall and 1-2 in the conference. The teams are in a four-way tie for fourth place with Frazier and Brentwood. A win does a long way toward solidifying a spot in the postseason.

Can Franklin Regional collect first win?
The Panthers hung tough with Kiski last week. But Franklin Regional (0-6) fell short, 14-7, in Big East Conference action. The Panthers will welcome a team that had a tough weekend in the press.

Fox Chapel has two wins this season, but the Foxes' request to have their game with Pine-Richland be played with shortened quarters drew a mixed reaction. The Foxes received a lot of criticism for the request from a vocal segment of the local sports community. Some of the players agreed with the decision.

Josh Rizzo is the editor and publisher of Pittsburgh Preps and Colleges. Story ideas can be submitted to [email protected] or on X @J_oshRizzo.

MONROEVILLE - Gateway football coach Don Holl didn't care how the Gators won Friday night. He knew they needed a lift. Gateway avoided a four-game losing streak by making two key stops on defense in the fourth quarter at Antimarino Stadium.

The Gators saw their lead shrink from 15 to three points over a six-minute stretch. But Gateway's defense forced a three-and-out and a turnover on downs to seal a 34-31 Big East Conference win over Kiski Area.

"You gotta find a way to win," Holl said. "People talk about complimentary football. Tonight, sometimes the defense had issues. Sometimes, the offense and special team had issues. You have to find a way to win a game. I think our defense said this is going to be us if the offense can't put it away."

The Gators (1-3, 1-0) helped themselves by getting off to a fast start. Gateway scored 28 points in the first half. The Gators recovered a fumble on the opening kickoff and scored three plays later. Gateway quarterback Mayson Mitchell made several big plays for the Gators.

Mitchell scored on a 1-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-goal early in the fourth quarter to stretch the lead to 34-19. He also threw three touchdown passes. Mitchell was also intercepted three times.

Mitchell said he wanted to move on quickly from mistakes.

"You have to talk to your coaches," Mitchell said. "You have to flush it you know. You gotta go to the next play and just keep going. You have a whole game."

Shaler snaps losing skid
The Titans had lost each of their first three games by eight points or fewer. Shaler threw its hat in the ring for the Northeast Conference playoff race by picking up a 27-20 win over Plum. The Titans forced six turnovers and made life miserable for the Mustangs.

Penn Hills blows by Fox Chapel
The Indians (1-3, 1-0) struggled to score during the first three weeks of the season. All of Penn Hills' scoring issues went out the window during a 49-14 win. Doryean Peay led the Indians with 180 rushing yards.

Putting the work in
Aliquippa's J.J. Work helped pull the Quips out of the Flames Friday night. Aliquippa won 19-6 over Mars, but the game was closer than the score may indicate.

The Planets were ahead 6-0 after three quarters. But Aliquippa rallied behind two touchdowns from J.J. Work. Qalil Goode iced the win with a 43-yard pick-six with 6 seconds remaining.

Josh Rizzo is the editor of Pittsburgh Preps and Colleges. Story ideas can be sent to [email protected] or on X @J_oshRizzo.

Two Pittsburgh-area fighters had a good night at the Cage Fury Fight Championships event at the Hard Rock Casino & Hotel in Atlantic City. Justin Patton made his debut with the organization by picking up a unanimous decision win over Frank Wells. Patton, a Plum graduate, improved to 9-4 on his career.

Patton was coming off a loss during his last fight to Chuka Willis in April. Karli Jo Thomas, an Albert Gallatin graduate, picked up her second win as a professional. Thomas won by submission in the third round by locking up a rear-naked choke on Annabel Kelly.

Both Patton and Thomas train out of The Mat Factory in Lower Burrell.

​Josh Rizzo is the editor and publisher of Pittsburgh Preps and Colleges. Story ideas can be submitted to [email protected] or on X @J_oshRizzo.

​MURRYSVILLE - Semaj Robinson took what Plum football coach Matt Morgan said to heart. Before what turned out to be Franklin Regional's final drive of the first half, Robinson was challenged to do better.

The way Robinson responded -- and how Plum handed adversity during a 42-13 road win over Franklin Regional Friday night -- may be an indicator for which direction the Mustangs are headed. Plum finished last season 2-8 and weren't a major player in the WPIAL Class 5A playoff picture. 

Robinson intercepted Franklin Regional sophomore quarterback Dom Devola in the endzone before halftime to slam the Panthers' momentum to a halt. Plum was ahead 21-0 and Robinson made sure it stayed that way with a leaping grab.

​"Last drive, I got in trouble because I wasn't trying my hardest," Robinson said. "In practice, I know I can be better. That gave me more motivation to get the pick."

Plum (1-0) took risks throughout the first half. The Mustangs saw the good and bad sides of taking chances. Plum's first gamble, on fourth-and-goal from the 2-yard line on the game's opening possession, ended with a 2-yard touchdown pass from quarterback John Nonnenberg to Brendan Marsten.

"We wanted to get the ball early and score early," Morgan said. "We wanted to control the game from the start. That's how we wanted to approach this whole night. I thought we gave it to them on both sides of the ball."

The second time Plum went for it on fourth down, running back Elijah Jackson was stacked up an inch short on fourth and one. The Mustangs' offense was effective at pulling them out of the hole.

The Mustangs' first-half success allowed Plum to survive a second-half swoon. The Panthers cut the lead to 21-13 toward the end of the third quarter, but Plum responded with 21 unanswered points to pull away.
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"We had to respond on offense," Morgan said. "We had a guy miss a line on the kickoff. That's why they got the ball back. We knew they were going there to and the guy didn't shift. We bounced back and finished the game."

Clairton has special night spoiled

Tyler Boyd made the trek back to hometown to see his alma mater, Clairton, open the stadium that now bears his name with an interesting matchup with Imani Christian. The Bears scored the opening touchdown before allowing 19 consecutive points in a 19-12 loss to Imani Christian. The Saints (1-0) are viewed as the top contender for the WPIAL Class 3A crown.

Taris Wooding earned the honor of becoming the first player to score in the refurbished stadium, catching a 19-yard touchdown pass from Jeff Thompson. David Davis and Gabe Jenkins -- both Penn State recruits -- scored touchdowns for the Saints.

Vikings return favor, stun Jeannette
The Jeannette Jayhawks snapped out of a midseason 3-game losing streak to make the WPIAL Class 1A semifinals this season. After a few years in the wilderness, people were thinking Jeannette had turned a corner. The Jayhawks, however, built a 23-0 lead before seeing it slip away against Mount Pleasant.

The Vikings had blown a lead against Jeannette last season, allowing a late touchdown pass in a loss. Mount Pleasant returned the favor by not allowing Jeanette to score in the final two quarters.

North Allegheny holds off Wolverines
Woodland Hills made it known that the Wolverines want to be serious players on the WPIAL stage during the preseason. North Allegheny had to score on fourth-and-goal with 50 seconds left to escape the Wolvarena with a 28-26 win.

Luke Rohan scored the game-winning touchdown for the Tigers. The game featured several lead changes and was a good choice for first game of the KDKA Kickoff Classic. Pittsburgh Central Catholic played in the night cap at the Wolvarena, dropping a 23-6 decision to La Salle College.

Josh Rizzo is the editor and publisher of Pittsburgh Preps and Colleges. Story ideas can be sent to [email protected] or on X @J_oshRizzo.

Plum senior guard William Beckner announced his commitment to Saint Vincent College on X Friday afternoon. Beckner averaged 12 points, four rebounds and three assists per game for the Mustangs. 

Beckner was selected second-team all-section by the Big 56.

The 5-foot-9 guard will be heading to a program that has had strong run of season in the past few seasons. The Bearcats went 20-6 this season, but were eliminated by the Washington & Jefferson in the Presidents' Athletic Conference semifinals. Two years ago, Saint Vincent lost in the PAC championship game to Geneva.
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Josh Rizzo is the editor and publisher of Pittsburgh Preps and College. Story ideas can be submitted at [email protected] or on X @J_oshrizzo.

Kiski set up a first-place Section 2-5A showdown with Penn Hills next week by beating Plum 57-30. The Cavaliers were dominant defensively, limited the Mustangs to 11 points in the first half. 

Jacob Musselman led Kiski with 16 points, while Colin Keller had 14. Max Grice and Mekhi Samuels each scored 10 points for the Mustangs.

Story ideas can be submitted to [email protected] or on X @J_oshrizzo

By Josh Rizzo
Penn Hills boys basketball coach Chris Giles would love for all of his adjustments to work out like they did Tuesday night during a Section 2-5A matchup with Plum. The Indians played with an impeccable flow that allowed them to bury the Mustangs from the outside during the first quarter of a 79-57 win.

"We've made some changes to our philosophy offensively and defensively to put our guys in a better position," Giles said. "That's what you are supposed to do as a coach. You've got to make adjustments and you have to change your system based on your personnel. Quite frankly, it took me a while to figure out what we were going to do."

The fruits of Giles and his staff's labor reflected in how they played against the Mustangs (6-5, 2-2). Penn Hills shot 67 percent (10-of-15) from the 3-point line in the first half. Amon Hawthorne led the Indians with 20 points and made six 3-pointers.

Calix Clark finished with a double-double for the Indians, putting up 17 points and 11 rebounds. Cam Glenn (14 points), Aiden Thompson (13) and Cato Womack Call (10) also scored in double figures.

Plum coach Dave Pucka said it was an impressive shooting display to witness.

"I, personally, have never seen a team shoot like that in the first half of a basketball game," Pucka said. "All the credit to Penn Hills, they shot very well. But I'm still going to give credit to our team. We didn't stop fighting until the last buzzer went off. We have to get back to work for sure."

Will Beckner led the Mustangs with 15 points, while Owen Proskin added 11. The Indians (5-6, 5-0) are in sole possession of first place and will look to carry that momentum forward.

Giles said he knew the Indians shot well, but doesn't get into the numbers during games.

"I don't know the numbers," Giles said. "I'll have to look at the stats after the same. When you are on the sideline, you see it happening, but you don't appreciate it like you do like when you see it in the stands."

Story ideas can be submitted to [email protected] or at @J_oshrizzo