Great Scott! Botched Play Helps Tigers Win
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
Most coaches hate to hear the term "shoot themselves in the foot", but that's exactly what happened to the Plymouth Rockies Friday night in their Northern Lakes Conference opener with Warsaw.
With help from No. 7 (4A) Plymouth, Warsaw beat the Rockies 14-13.
With the Tigers leading 14-7, Plymouth quarterback John Pettibone connected on a 60-yard touchdown strike to senior Mike Scott who, with no defender within nearly 20 yards, dove in from the 2-yard line and was whistled with an excessive-celebration penalty. Plymouth then had to settle for a near 25-yard extra-point attempt that was blocked by Warsaw's defense, leaving the Tigers in control 14-13 rather than tying the score.
Scott's mishap came with 1:43 remaining in the second half. And the score was the same when the final seconds ticked off the clock.
The win improves Warsaw's overall record to 3-0, but more importantly 1-0 in the NLC. Plymouth falls to 2-1 and 0-1 in the NLC.
Warsaw sophomore running back Brad Seiss was held under 100 yards rushing for the first time this season with his 19 carries for 60 yards. Going into Friday's contest he was averaging just over nine yards per carry. Quarterback Greg Seiss gained 38 yards on the ground on 11 carries. Seiss tallied 155 yards through the air on 12-of-22 passing with two interceptions, his only two interceptions of the season.
Pettibone put the ball on the ground 12 times for a total of 125 yards and threw for another 170 on 8-of-18 passing with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Andy Barker rushed for 59 yards on 18 carries.
The two teams played to a scoreless stalemate in the opening stanza and for the first 31 seconds of the second quarter when Brad Seiss charged in from two yards out giving the Tigers a 6-0 lead before Gabe Koser added the extra point. Just over three minutes later Pettibone found Scott for a 30-yard touchdown strike. Pettibone connected on the extra point and the score was tied at seven.
The Tigers struck again with 2:35 remaining in the half when Greg Seiss trotted in from seven yards out. Koser's kick gave Warsaw what turned out to be the winning score, thanks to Scott's antics that caused the penalty that set up the blocked extra-point attempt.
"This was a great high school football game," said Warsaw coach Phil Jensen, who is 3-0 for the first time in his tenure at Warsaw. "Both teams prepared and played hard. It's sad to see a loser in a game like this. Both teams came with great plays."
With all the scoring coming in the second quarter, the game was won defensively in the second half. In the third quarter Warsaw's defense haltered Plymouth on a near seven-minute, 17-play drive that resulted in a missed field goal attempt.
In the fourth quarter Warsaw senior Joey Navarro stopped Pettibone on a fourth and three attempt from Warsaw's 25-yard line.
"This was a huge defensive game," said Jensen. "Our defense played a fantastic game. That's a fine football team we beat."
In the end it was Warsaw's defense that secured the win. In the waning minutes of the fourth quarter, senior linebacker Aaron Chabot picked off Pettibone, the Tigers' second interception of the game.
"Everybody was holding their breath at that point," said Jensen. "Anything could've happened but the defense comes up and makes a great read. It was a great play by Aaron."
Greg Seiss downed the ball to take the last minute off the clock.
Warsaw (3-0, 1-0) will host Gary Wallace on Friday. And then will travel to Northridge the following week for its second conference game of the year.
"One and zero in this conference can go a long way," said Jensen. "We're in control of our destiny for one more week. Next week we play a Gary Wallace team we don't know much about. And as far as the conference goes it doesn't get any easier from here. The kids played with emotion, heart and poise. That's the important important thing, they played with poise and didn't fold."
WARSAW 14, PLYMOUTH 13
Plymouth 0 13 0 0 - 13
Warsaw 0 14 0 0 - 14
P W
First Downs 12 18
Rushes-Yards 35-227 38-122
Passing Yards 170 155
Total Offense 397 277
Comp.-Att.-Int. 8-18-2 12-22-2
Fumbles/Lost 2-2 1-0
Punts-Avg. 3-26 4-30.5
Penalties-Yards 9-75 5-50
Second Quarter
W - Brad Seiss 2 run (Gabe Koser kick) 11:29
P - Mike Scott 30 catch from John Pettibone (Pettibone kick) 8:21
W - Greg Seiss 7 run (Koser kick) 2:35
P - Scott 60 catch from Pettibone (kick failed) 1:43
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing - Plymouth, Pettibone 12-125, Barker 18-59; Warsaw, B. Seiss 19-60, G. Seiss 11-38, Mike Moore 8-24
Passing - Plymouth, Pettibone 8-18-170-2; Warsaw, G. Seiss 12-22-155-2
Receiving - Plymouth, Scott 2-90, Jason Lewis 1-41, Matt Arvesen 3-37; Warsaw, B. Seiss 4-51, Kesler 3-31, Nelson 2-33, Buck 1-26 [[In-content Ad]]
Most coaches hate to hear the term "shoot themselves in the foot", but that's exactly what happened to the Plymouth Rockies Friday night in their Northern Lakes Conference opener with Warsaw.
With help from No. 7 (4A) Plymouth, Warsaw beat the Rockies 14-13.
With the Tigers leading 14-7, Plymouth quarterback John Pettibone connected on a 60-yard touchdown strike to senior Mike Scott who, with no defender within nearly 20 yards, dove in from the 2-yard line and was whistled with an excessive-celebration penalty. Plymouth then had to settle for a near 25-yard extra-point attempt that was blocked by Warsaw's defense, leaving the Tigers in control 14-13 rather than tying the score.
Scott's mishap came with 1:43 remaining in the second half. And the score was the same when the final seconds ticked off the clock.
The win improves Warsaw's overall record to 3-0, but more importantly 1-0 in the NLC. Plymouth falls to 2-1 and 0-1 in the NLC.
Warsaw sophomore running back Brad Seiss was held under 100 yards rushing for the first time this season with his 19 carries for 60 yards. Going into Friday's contest he was averaging just over nine yards per carry. Quarterback Greg Seiss gained 38 yards on the ground on 11 carries. Seiss tallied 155 yards through the air on 12-of-22 passing with two interceptions, his only two interceptions of the season.
Pettibone put the ball on the ground 12 times for a total of 125 yards and threw for another 170 on 8-of-18 passing with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Andy Barker rushed for 59 yards on 18 carries.
The two teams played to a scoreless stalemate in the opening stanza and for the first 31 seconds of the second quarter when Brad Seiss charged in from two yards out giving the Tigers a 6-0 lead before Gabe Koser added the extra point. Just over three minutes later Pettibone found Scott for a 30-yard touchdown strike. Pettibone connected on the extra point and the score was tied at seven.
The Tigers struck again with 2:35 remaining in the half when Greg Seiss trotted in from seven yards out. Koser's kick gave Warsaw what turned out to be the winning score, thanks to Scott's antics that caused the penalty that set up the blocked extra-point attempt.
"This was a great high school football game," said Warsaw coach Phil Jensen, who is 3-0 for the first time in his tenure at Warsaw. "Both teams prepared and played hard. It's sad to see a loser in a game like this. Both teams came with great plays."
With all the scoring coming in the second quarter, the game was won defensively in the second half. In the third quarter Warsaw's defense haltered Plymouth on a near seven-minute, 17-play drive that resulted in a missed field goal attempt.
In the fourth quarter Warsaw senior Joey Navarro stopped Pettibone on a fourth and three attempt from Warsaw's 25-yard line.
"This was a huge defensive game," said Jensen. "Our defense played a fantastic game. That's a fine football team we beat."
In the end it was Warsaw's defense that secured the win. In the waning minutes of the fourth quarter, senior linebacker Aaron Chabot picked off Pettibone, the Tigers' second interception of the game.
"Everybody was holding their breath at that point," said Jensen. "Anything could've happened but the defense comes up and makes a great read. It was a great play by Aaron."
Greg Seiss downed the ball to take the last minute off the clock.
Warsaw (3-0, 1-0) will host Gary Wallace on Friday. And then will travel to Northridge the following week for its second conference game of the year.
"One and zero in this conference can go a long way," said Jensen. "We're in control of our destiny for one more week. Next week we play a Gary Wallace team we don't know much about. And as far as the conference goes it doesn't get any easier from here. The kids played with emotion, heart and poise. That's the important important thing, they played with poise and didn't fold."
WARSAW 14, PLYMOUTH 13
Plymouth 0 13 0 0 - 13
Warsaw 0 14 0 0 - 14
P W
First Downs 12 18
Rushes-Yards 35-227 38-122
Passing Yards 170 155
Total Offense 397 277
Comp.-Att.-Int. 8-18-2 12-22-2
Fumbles/Lost 2-2 1-0
Punts-Avg. 3-26 4-30.5
Penalties-Yards 9-75 5-50
Second Quarter
W - Brad Seiss 2 run (Gabe Koser kick) 11:29
P - Mike Scott 30 catch from John Pettibone (Pettibone kick) 8:21
W - Greg Seiss 7 run (Koser kick) 2:35
P - Scott 60 catch from Pettibone (kick failed) 1:43
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing - Plymouth, Pettibone 12-125, Barker 18-59; Warsaw, B. Seiss 19-60, G. Seiss 11-38, Mike Moore 8-24
Passing - Plymouth, Pettibone 8-18-170-2; Warsaw, G. Seiss 12-22-155-2
Receiving - Plymouth, Scott 2-90, Jason Lewis 1-41, Matt Arvesen 3-37; Warsaw, B. Seiss 4-51, Kesler 3-31, Nelson 2-33, Buck 1-26 [[In-content Ad]]