McKeesport stopped by Plum

By MICHAEL LOVE

Trib Total Media

Plum and McKeesport were no strangers to each other when they met Friday at Plum’s Mustangs Stadium for a berth in the WPIAL Class 4A semifinals. 

The Tigers and Mustangs clashed for the eighth time in the past 10 years. 

The latest meeting was one of the closer matchups in the recent series and one of the lowest scoring. 

When the dust settled in the physical battle, Plum came away with a 12-9 victory. 

“Going into the game, we knew what we could do,” Plum coach Matt Morgan said. “We have the full capability of beating anybody. That’s our mentality. It’s been like that all year. People doubted us because our conference wasn’t ‘strong.’ But I think we just proved it tonight to the team that just beat the defending state champs last week.” 

Plum improved to 8-0 and will play in a WPIAL semifinal contest for the first time since 1996, Morgan’s sophomore year with the Mustangs.

“We expected a smash-mouth game,” Morgan said. “That’s how (McKeesport) plays their brand of football. We wanted to prove we belonged in that conversation, and we hit them just as much as they hit us. It was just a great game of football.” 

Plum, the No. 3 seed, will travel to No. 2 Thomas Jefferson next Friday. The 6-1 Jaguars advanced Friday with a 41-6 rout of Mars. 

McKeesport, which had not lost since its season opener and had upset Thomas Jefferson last week, concluded its season at 6-2. 

“We thought we would have a tough battle ahead of us, seeing what they could do all year,” said McKeesport coach Matt Miller, who saw his team beat Plum, 62-40, in a high-scoring regular-season matchup last year. “I thought our kids came out ready to go.” 

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