The Plum Mustangs are taking a road trip to square off against the Kiski Area Cavaliers at 7:15 p.m. on Friday. Plum will be hoping to continue their three-game streak of scoring more points each matchup than the last.
Plum took a loss when they played away from home two weeks ago, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Friday. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Fox Chapel 49-10 at home. Given the Mustangs' advantage in MaxPreps' Pennsylvania football rankings (they are ranked 143rd, while the Foxes are ranked 297th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Darian Nelson was nothing short of spectacular: he rushed for 153 yards and two touchdowns on only eight carries. Those 153 rushing yards gave him a new career-high. Nick Sheffo was in the mix too, providing Plum with a touchdown.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Plum was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 347 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, Kiski Area beat Armstrong 21-14 on Friday. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Cavaliers.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Kiski Area to victory, but perhaps none more so than Carson Heinle, who threw for 124 yards and two touchdowns while completing 76.5% of his passes, and also rushed for 65 yards. Aven Shirley was Heinle's top target, picking up 56 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Kiski Area's defense stepped up as well, laying out Jaydon Oliver. four times. Braden Anderson was particularly dangerous to the passing game, picking up two sackshimself. He is also on a roll when it comes to total tackles, as he's now made five or more in the last seven games he's played dating back to last season.
With the victory, Plum broke their three-game losing streak and moved their record to 2-6. As for Kiski Area, their record now sits at 3-5.
Friday's match might be decided in the on the ground. Plum has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 152.8 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Kiski Area struggles in that department as they've been averaging 158. It's looking like Friday's game might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Plum was able to grind out a solid win over Kiski Area in their previous meeting back in August of 2023, winning 28-18. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Heinle, who rushed for 113 yards and two touchdowns, and also threw for 109 yards and a touchdown. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Plum still be able to contain Heinle? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
