TJ gets physical in playoff win over Plum

By JEREMY TEPPER

MVI Sports

Conner Murga describes the way he plays football in a simple manner that exemplifies the philosophy at Thomas Jefferson.

“I just play physical,” said Murga, the Jaguars junior running back/linebacker. “I’m just coming to hit you, that’s pretty much it.” 

When the stakes were high and Thomas Jefferson needed to play its best in the second half Friday, the Jaguars leaned on their hallmark physicality, imposing their will on offense and defense against Plum. 

In a battle between Plum’s (8-1) speed and Thomas Jefferson’s (7-1) physicality, the Jaguars’ style prevailed, as they pulled off a 20-17 win in the WPIAL 4A semifinals. Thomas Jefferson will play Aliquippa next week in what will be the Jaguars sixth consecutive appearance in the WPIAL championship.

“We feel we can be physical with anybody, and we’re gonna have to be next week. That’s our game,” said Jaguars coach Bill Cherpak. “Our game is not speed, so we had to turn this game into a game that was good for us, and I think we did that.”

Cherpak and Murga acknowledged that Plum posed a tough matchup. With a depleted secondary, Thomas Jefferson is more suited to defend the run than deal with a speedy, spread team like the Mustangs. 

That was clear in the first half, which saw Plum take a 17-13 lead largely behind quick freshman running back Eryck Moore, who ran for 130 yards on the night, 103 of which came in the first half. 

But the Jaguars adjusted on defense, and leaned on its reliable run game in the second half. Murga led the offense, bruising his way to 116 yards on 20 carries, and sealed the victory with a crucial first down run that enabled the Jaguars to run the clock out.

“We just played physical football,” Murga said. “Defensively, we widened our ends because they were running outside more. They were running like a wide-sweep, and we widened our ends to take away the running back no matter what, and we shut that down pretty quick. So they started running counter, and we shut that down easy, too.”

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