Two numbers - 68 and 27 - were all that mattered in Wawasee's football game with Plymouth.

Plymouth, ranked No. 4, won 35-6 over the Warriors, thanks to the help of 68 offensive plays. Wawasee's offense ran, yes, only 27 plays for the game. Out of the 48 minutes, the Warrior offense had the ball less than 10. First downs? Plymouth had 20; Wawasee had three.

Plymouth ended the game with 296 yards; Wawasee had but 70.

The Rockies didn't have to go very deep into their playbook. They didn't do anything fancy. They ran the ball 62 times and passed it only six.

Their offensive package basically consisted of quarterback Matt Cramer either pitching right or left to running back Mike Tremaine, who led the Rockies with 122 rushing yards on 23 carries. When Cramer wasn't pitching the ball away, he ran it himself. He had 62 rushing yards on 15 carries.

Every drive by the Plymouth offense in the first half ended in a touchdown.

Plymouth opened the game with the ball and drove down the field until just 2:47 remained in the first quarter. The Rockies ran 16 plays and picked up five first downs on the drive, and it was capped by Cramer's two-yard touchdown run.

Wawasee's only score came with 11:52 left in the second quarter. Quarterback Jeff Beer connected with Luke Sawyer on a 43-yard pass, pulling the Warriors within 7-6 at the time.

The problem was, the Warrior defense couldn't stop the run against a bigger and more physical Plymouth team.

Plymouth's second offensive series lasted nine plays and had four first downs. Cramer again capped it off, this time with a five-yard touchdown run.

Plymouth's third and final offensive series of the first half lasted 13 plays and had four first downs. The Rockies were 4-for-4 on third-down conversions this drive. Cramer connected with Nick Wise on a seven-yard pass for the touchdown with 20 seconds to go before halftime, giving Plymouth the 21-6 lead. Wawasee had the ball less than four minutes the first half and ran only 11 plays.

Nothing changed in the second half. Plymouth still moved the ball downfield, while Wawasee couldn't.

Wawasee opened the second half by going three downs and out. The Rockies then picked up where they left off the first half, scoring on their first drive of the second half. They opened the half with a drive lasting nine plays. Cramer ran in from a yard out, and Plymouth had the commanding 27-6 lead.

Beer was then sacked on Wawasee's first play following that Plymouth score, and he fumbled the ball at the Warrior six-yard line. Plymouth linebacker Rob Riewoldt picked it up and ran into the end zone, giving the Rockies their fifth and final touchdown.

"We obviously came in as the underdogs," Warrior coach Gene Mitz said. "When you play teams like Plymouth and NorthWood, you can't make mistakes. If they beat you, then they're better. But when you make the mistakes that beat yourself ... that's what we have to take out of our game."

Plymouth coach Tom Condon said earlier this week the key to Wawasee's offense is tailback Shawn Johnson. He wanted his team to stop him at all costs. The Rockies did, holding him to 16 yards on 11 carries.

Plymouth is 5-0 overall and 3-0 in the NLC.

Wawasee, 2-3 overall and 1-3 in the NLC, hosts Warsaw next Friday.

After this game Mitz again was trying to put a positive spin on his team, a team that has lost its last three games to Concord, NorthWood and Plymouth by a combined score of 105-6.

"You're never as bad as you think you are until you look at the film," Mitz said, "and you're never as good as you think you are." [[In-content Ad]]