Penn-Trafford routs Plum for 4th consecutive victory

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, September 28, 2018 | 10:27 PM

About two months ago, Penn-Trafford football coach John Ruane sat down in a room at Warrior Stadium to talk about this year’s group. He did so with no shoes, no socks and no reservations.

“We’re not packing it in,” Ruane said with an eerie calmness. “We won’t really know a lot until a lot of these guys get their feet wet.”

Six games into the schedule, the fresh-faced Warriors are splashing around in the pool and establishing their footing in the playoff race.

Dealt a hand of inexperience in the preseason, Penn-Trafford has stepped out of the shadow of last year’s senior-led group and is proving itself with four consecutive wins after an 0-2 start.

The latest victory came Friday night at Plum as the Warriors bashed the Mustangs, 45-3, in a Class 5A Big East game.

Penn-Trafford (4-2, 3-1) has outscored its last four opponents 192-15.

“It’s a gradual growth,” Ruane said. “These guys are taking strides every day in practice and games. Our younger guys are showing they are ready to play. Experience means everything.”

Conversely, Plum (1-5, 0-5) has dropped five straight and has been outscored 229-16 in that span. The Mustangs had 10 players out for the game for various reasons, mostly injuries. Coach Matt Morgan said two two-way starters did not play.

Still, he gave plenty of credit to Penn-Trafford.

“With P-T, they are never down,” Morgan said. “The staff and the kids do a great job executing. John has them rolling. We haven’t had the same team together since the Highlands game (on opening night).”

The Warriors stuffed the Mustangs on their homecoming night with some big defensive hits and a number of tackle-breaking runs in the first half.

Junior quarterback Gabe Dunlap threw three first-half touchdown passes, including two to senior Dimitri George, and junior tailback Caleb Lisbon rushed for 164 yards and two scores, including a 62-yard run on the second play from scrimmage.

The Warriors built a 31-0 lead by halftime as they scored on five of their first six possessions.

Senior kicker Keaton Hier connected on a 20-yard field goal.

Dunlap, who has shared time under center with sophomore Ethan Carr, went to his backup to put the Warriors up 21-0 late in the first quarter. Carr turned and pulled in a catch on the left side of the end zone.

That came after a nifty catch-and-run from George on a screen pass that went for 17 yards.

“We are trying to develop depth at wide receiver,” Ruane said. “You have to have more than one guy there.”

George caught three passes for 87 yards.

Dunlap finished 6 of 11 for 142 yards. He also made some nice scrambles and ran for 45 yards.

“We have guys who can make plays,” Ruane said.

George caught a 51-yard bomb to set up his second score. He spun through several tackles on the way to the end zone to push the advantage to 28-0.

“We’re really starting to play for each other, and you’re seeing better chemistry,” George said. “We’re all having fun playing football.”

Sam Fanelli added a short touchdown run, and Niko Rosso had an interception, his third of the season, for the Warriors.

Tyler Kolankowski made a 30-yard field goal for Plum with 6 minutes, 10 seconds left on a running clock.

“We just have to do a better job executing,” Morgan said. “We’ve had a lot of chances in the red zone this year and made too many mistakes.”

Penn-Trafford had a first and goal inside the final minute but took consecutive knees to run out the clock.

Bill Beckner is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Bill at bbeckner@tribweb.com or via Twitter @BillBeckner.

Tags: Penn-Trafford, Plum