Penn-Trafford shuts out Plum in dominant effort

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, September 8, 2017 | 10:51 PM

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The touchdown bell was ringing. The tomahawk chop was slicing through the air, and No. 2 Penn-Trafford was dominating its way to a 3-0 start.

The Warriors forced four turnovers and spread the wealth on offense on the way to a 48-0, mercy-ruled victory over Plum in a Class 5A Big East Conference game Friday night at Warrior Stadium.

Cam Laffoon completed 10 of 15 passes for 158 yards and a touchdown, and John Gay IV and Caleb Lisbon rushed for two scores each for the Warriors (3-0, 2-0), who have allowed only seven points all season — zero in the first half.

Penn-Trafford, ranked No. 8 in the state by PennLive, has not lost a home opener since 2010. The high-energy atmosphere carried over to the field.

“Our student section was great tonight, and the crowd was really into it,” Laffoon said. “We have a lot of weapons, and we showed that tonight.”

The Warriors overcame a pair of first-half turnovers to take a 24-0 lead into halftime, then sprinted away in the second half.

Laffoon found seven receivers, with Dimitri George catching three passes for 62 yards and a score.

“Our passing game was horrendous in the Norwin game, but we did a better job tonight,” Warriors coach John Ruane said. “We have a lot of guys on the perimeter, and we need to get them involved. That makes it hard for teams to defend us. You have to defend six guys at a time.”

Plum (1-2, 1-1) was shaken early by an injury to its starting quarterback, Corey Thomas. Three quarterbacks ended up playing in the first quarter before the Mustangs settled on Anthony Little. Thomas was lost on the Mustangs' opening drive after a short run and limped off the field.

Dominic Carlisano took over but was replaced by Little.

“He's our best player, and our gameplan on both sides of the ball are built around (Thomas),” Plum coach Matt Morgan said. “It's a devastating injury, and we never recovered from it.”

Penn-Trafford thoroughly took advantage of Thomas' absence.

“It made them one-dimensional,” Laffoon said.

Dylan Tomko had a fumble recovery and an interception for Plum, but the Mustangs could not convert either into points. Plum has nine points in three games.

Lisbon had a catch for a 22-yard gain before running in from 10 yards to give Penn-Trafford a 14-0 lead. Lisbon added a 41-yard score in the third quarter to jump-start the mercy rule.

Lisbon and Cam Suman had third-quarter interceptions. Matt Wilkie had 11 tackles to lead the Warriors.

“Home games are a totally different atmosphere, and it really got us pumped up,” Lisbon said. “We have a lot of playmakers so when your number is called, you go out and perform.”

After Plum recovered a fumble, Jackson Gildea, who kicked the winning field goal as time expired last week against Kiski Area, missed a 42-yard try.

Laffoon was picked off by Tomko, but Plum gave the ball right back on a fumble that was recovered by Tony Alcott.

The Warriors, despite a 31-yard hookup from Laffoon to Gay, settled on a 32-yard field goal by Nick Tarabrella for a 17-0 advantage.

Tarabrella was 6 or 6 on extra points.

Laffoon went over the top and found a wide-open George for a touchdown that covered 47 yards and gave the Warriors a 24-0 lead.

Gay scored on runs of 3 and 15 yards, the latter to extend the lead to 31-0.

Jon Peduzzi scored on a 44-yard burst late in the third. Backup kicker Keaton Hier connected on a 32-yard field goal in the fourth.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at bbeckner@tribweb.com or via Twitter @BillBeckner.

Tags: Penn-Trafford, Plum