Shaler uses big second half to topple Plum

By: Justin McCauley
Friday, September 8, 2023 | 10:59 PM

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The Shaler and Plum football teams entered Friday’s game undefeated, looking to take a big step forward in the Class 5A playoff picture.

Opportunistic and explosive Shaler scored three second-half touchdowns to claim a 28-14 victory.

Shaler started the game with a bang as senior quarterback Keegan Smetanka found receiver Kaden Orga wide open behind the Plum secondary for a 51-yard touchdown.

After trading positions the rest of the first half, Plum strung together a 13-play drive, capped by a 9-yard touchdown run from Nick Odom, who scored the first of his two touchdowns on the night.

On Shaler’s first drive of the second half, it went right down the field thanks to a brilliant catch over a defender by Orga for 37 of his 138 receiving yards on the night that took Shaler to the two-yard line. His teammate Nathan Rozzo did the rest, running it in from one yard out to give the Titans the lead. Rozzo finished the night with 102 yards on 24 attempts.

After Plum tied the game on the next possession, it was all Shaler the rest of the way, thanks to some miscues from the Plum offense. The final one was a fumble by Plum quarterback Sean Franzi, who was fighting for extra yards and had the ball punched out around midfield. Just a minute and a half later, Shaler’s Joe Rispoli found the end zone from 22 yards out to extend the Titans’ lead to 28-14.

Shaler finished with more than 350 yards of total offense, 261 coming through the air from Smetanka.

Plum will head to Norwin next week for their first Big East Conference game of the year, while Shaler will travel to Westmoreland County to face Hempfield in another non-conference matchup.

Tags: Plum, Shaler