Wawasee Comes Up Short At Plymouth
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
PLYMOUTH - For all the thousands of yards Joe Leach has gained this year, he could have used just one more foot Friday.
The Warriors' electric quarterback came up just short on a two-point conversion in overtime Friday night against host Plymouth as Wawasee ended its season with a 21-20 loss to the Rockies in the Class 4A Sectional 10 semifinal.
Wawasee had a chance to win the game in regulation when Aaron Polsean set up for a 20-yard field goal with 9.3 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
Plymouth coach John Barron called two straight timeouts in the hopes of icing Polsean. While the timeouts may have had some effect, a bad snap, hold and low kick that was blocked into the line forced overtime.
The Warriors won the coin toss to start overtime and deferred and gave the Rockies the ball first.
Plymouth needed just two plays to score and capped the drive when quarterback Chad Clinton found 6-foot-4 receiver Alex Quintana just over the goal line for an 18-yard strike.
Quintana, the Rockies' standout receiver, was quiet most of the night, but made his prescence felt at the right time.
"We knew they were going to go to him," said Wawasee coach Joe Rietveld. "Ryan McDonald had good coverage on him, Quintana just made a play."
Wawasee quickly answered on its first possession of overtime when Leach found tight end Lance Zimmerman wide open in the endzone from 10 yards out.
Wawasee took over at the Rockies' 10-yard line as opposed to the 20, the usual spot teams take over possesion in overtime, after a Plymouth penalty.
On the failed rush by Leach, the senior signal caller went off left tackle and appeared to have a chance to get across the goalline but a hit by Quintana forced Leach's knee down just short.
The Warriors were given a second chance after trying an end around on their first two-point conversion attempt but a face mask call gave Wawasee new life and a closer shot at the endzone.
"When we had a yard and a half we had confidence in what we were going to do," said Rietveld. "You've got to make a decision there and I thought we could get it. I told our kids when they wake up in the morning they have no reason to hang their heads. Sometimes we don't know why we lose."
Friday night's game was just one in a series of classic encounters between Wawasee and Plymouth of late.
Wawasee topped Plymouth earlier in the season 31-29 on a late field goal by John Miller.
Last season, Plymouth topped Wawasee 31-30 in the regular season in double overtime.
Plymouth controled the game early as its defense stiffled Leach and the Warriors. Both teams struggled with the cold and rainy conditions that made running the ball difficult and passing almost impossible.
Clinton finished the night 3 of 9 through the air while Leach was a very unLeach-like 11 of 26.
The Rockies broke onto the scoreboard in the second quarter when Brent Corbett scored from three yards out with 8:15 left in the first half.
Wawasee answered at the end of the half when Leach scored from two yards out with 15 seconds left in the second quarter.
The score came after Barron choose to go for it on fourth down with his team on its own 40-yard line.
Clinton slipped after the exchange from center and was tackled for a loss.
Wawasee took its first and only lead of the game when Leach had another two-yard run, this time with 7:59 left in regulation.
The Warriors defense then stepped up as they forced Plymouth into a three-and-out on the Rockies ensuing possession.
Wawasee handed the ball right back when Plymouth linebacker Dustin White caused a fumble on a Leach carry with teammate Michael Hooker recovering.
With momentum in hand Plymouth tied the game when Clinton completed one of his only three receptions to tight end Mitch Glassburn from 37 yards out and 2:58 left in the game.
The Warriors stalled on their next drive after Leach threw three straight incompletions. Plymouth did the same as they failed to move the ball enough for a first down.
The loss dropped Wawasee's final record to 8-3. This year's senior class was the winningest in Wawasee history.
As freshmen, Wawasee went 9-0 and were part of a state-runner up team in 2004 then an 8-3 squad last year.
"They got better and made adjustments," said Rietveld of his seniors. "They didn't sit on their accomplishments and that's why our program is where it's at."
Rietveld has been the focus of rumors that several bigger schools might be interested in having him as their head coach.
Rietveld declined to comment on that, only saying that his future plans were to "go home. Go to the school and watch this (game) film and cry for a while."
Rietveld is 36-12 over the past four seasons at Wawasee.
Leach, who is being recruited by several Division I schools, finished well below his season averages in his high school finale.
Leach led the Warriors with 110 yards rushing and had 132 yards through the air. For the season, Leach had 1,602 yards rushing, 2,082 yards passing, 22 rushing touchdowns, 23 passing touchdowns and just five interceptions.
Fellow senior Andrew Mock finished his high school football career with three catches for 50 yards.
Wawasee graduates 21 seniors, 18 of whom started on a regular basis at some point during the season for the Warriors.
Plymouth (8-3) advanced to the sectional final against Concord (11-0) Friday night in Dunlap.
PLYMOUTH 21, WAWASEE 20
Wawasee 0 7 0 7 6 - 20
Plymouth 0 7 0 7 7 - 21
W P
First downs 15 9
Rushing yards 160 140
Passing yards 132 57
Comp.-Att.-Int. 11-26-0 3-9-0
Total offense 292 197
Fumbles/lost 1-1 1-1
Punts/avg. 4-40 5-27.6
Penalties/yards 3-26 4-27
Second Quarter
P -ÊBrent Corbett 3 run (Chris Tobolski kick) 7-0, 5:36
W - Joe Leach 2 run (Aaron Polsean kick) 7-7, 1:21
Fourth Quarter
W - Leach 2 run (Polsean kick) 14-14
P -ÊChad Clinton 37 pass to Mitch Glassburn (Tobolski kick) 14-14, 7:59
Overtime
P -ÊClinton 8 pass to Alex Quintana (Tobolski kick) 21-14
W -ÊLeach 10 pass to Zimmerman (run failed) 20-21
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing - Wawasee, Joe Leach 29-110, Tom Schwartz 9-50; Plymouth, Brent Corbett 15-88, Chad Clinton 22-51.
Passing - Wawasee, Leach 11-26-132 1 TD, O INT; Plymouth, Clinton 3-9-57 2 TD, 0 INT.
Receiving - Wawasee, Andrew Mock 3-50, Nick Richardson 3-36, Lance Zimmerman 2-23, Tom Brown 1-15; Plymouth, Mitch Glassburn 1-37, Alex Quintana 2-20 [[In-content Ad]]
PLYMOUTH - For all the thousands of yards Joe Leach has gained this year, he could have used just one more foot Friday.
The Warriors' electric quarterback came up just short on a two-point conversion in overtime Friday night against host Plymouth as Wawasee ended its season with a 21-20 loss to the Rockies in the Class 4A Sectional 10 semifinal.
Wawasee had a chance to win the game in regulation when Aaron Polsean set up for a 20-yard field goal with 9.3 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
Plymouth coach John Barron called two straight timeouts in the hopes of icing Polsean. While the timeouts may have had some effect, a bad snap, hold and low kick that was blocked into the line forced overtime.
The Warriors won the coin toss to start overtime and deferred and gave the Rockies the ball first.
Plymouth needed just two plays to score and capped the drive when quarterback Chad Clinton found 6-foot-4 receiver Alex Quintana just over the goal line for an 18-yard strike.
Quintana, the Rockies' standout receiver, was quiet most of the night, but made his prescence felt at the right time.
"We knew they were going to go to him," said Wawasee coach Joe Rietveld. "Ryan McDonald had good coverage on him, Quintana just made a play."
Wawasee quickly answered on its first possession of overtime when Leach found tight end Lance Zimmerman wide open in the endzone from 10 yards out.
Wawasee took over at the Rockies' 10-yard line as opposed to the 20, the usual spot teams take over possesion in overtime, after a Plymouth penalty.
On the failed rush by Leach, the senior signal caller went off left tackle and appeared to have a chance to get across the goalline but a hit by Quintana forced Leach's knee down just short.
The Warriors were given a second chance after trying an end around on their first two-point conversion attempt but a face mask call gave Wawasee new life and a closer shot at the endzone.
"When we had a yard and a half we had confidence in what we were going to do," said Rietveld. "You've got to make a decision there and I thought we could get it. I told our kids when they wake up in the morning they have no reason to hang their heads. Sometimes we don't know why we lose."
Friday night's game was just one in a series of classic encounters between Wawasee and Plymouth of late.
Wawasee topped Plymouth earlier in the season 31-29 on a late field goal by John Miller.
Last season, Plymouth topped Wawasee 31-30 in the regular season in double overtime.
Plymouth controled the game early as its defense stiffled Leach and the Warriors. Both teams struggled with the cold and rainy conditions that made running the ball difficult and passing almost impossible.
Clinton finished the night 3 of 9 through the air while Leach was a very unLeach-like 11 of 26.
The Rockies broke onto the scoreboard in the second quarter when Brent Corbett scored from three yards out with 8:15 left in the first half.
Wawasee answered at the end of the half when Leach scored from two yards out with 15 seconds left in the second quarter.
The score came after Barron choose to go for it on fourth down with his team on its own 40-yard line.
Clinton slipped after the exchange from center and was tackled for a loss.
Wawasee took its first and only lead of the game when Leach had another two-yard run, this time with 7:59 left in regulation.
The Warriors defense then stepped up as they forced Plymouth into a three-and-out on the Rockies ensuing possession.
Wawasee handed the ball right back when Plymouth linebacker Dustin White caused a fumble on a Leach carry with teammate Michael Hooker recovering.
With momentum in hand Plymouth tied the game when Clinton completed one of his only three receptions to tight end Mitch Glassburn from 37 yards out and 2:58 left in the game.
The Warriors stalled on their next drive after Leach threw three straight incompletions. Plymouth did the same as they failed to move the ball enough for a first down.
The loss dropped Wawasee's final record to 8-3. This year's senior class was the winningest in Wawasee history.
As freshmen, Wawasee went 9-0 and were part of a state-runner up team in 2004 then an 8-3 squad last year.
"They got better and made adjustments," said Rietveld of his seniors. "They didn't sit on their accomplishments and that's why our program is where it's at."
Rietveld has been the focus of rumors that several bigger schools might be interested in having him as their head coach.
Rietveld declined to comment on that, only saying that his future plans were to "go home. Go to the school and watch this (game) film and cry for a while."
Rietveld is 36-12 over the past four seasons at Wawasee.
Leach, who is being recruited by several Division I schools, finished well below his season averages in his high school finale.
Leach led the Warriors with 110 yards rushing and had 132 yards through the air. For the season, Leach had 1,602 yards rushing, 2,082 yards passing, 22 rushing touchdowns, 23 passing touchdowns and just five interceptions.
Fellow senior Andrew Mock finished his high school football career with three catches for 50 yards.
Wawasee graduates 21 seniors, 18 of whom started on a regular basis at some point during the season for the Warriors.
Plymouth (8-3) advanced to the sectional final against Concord (11-0) Friday night in Dunlap.
PLYMOUTH 21, WAWASEE 20
Wawasee 0 7 0 7 6 - 20
Plymouth 0 7 0 7 7 - 21
W P
First downs 15 9
Rushing yards 160 140
Passing yards 132 57
Comp.-Att.-Int. 11-26-0 3-9-0
Total offense 292 197
Fumbles/lost 1-1 1-1
Punts/avg. 4-40 5-27.6
Penalties/yards 3-26 4-27
Second Quarter
P -ÊBrent Corbett 3 run (Chris Tobolski kick) 7-0, 5:36
W - Joe Leach 2 run (Aaron Polsean kick) 7-7, 1:21
Fourth Quarter
W - Leach 2 run (Polsean kick) 14-14
P -ÊChad Clinton 37 pass to Mitch Glassburn (Tobolski kick) 14-14, 7:59
Overtime
P -ÊClinton 8 pass to Alex Quintana (Tobolski kick) 21-14
W -ÊLeach 10 pass to Zimmerman (run failed) 20-21
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing - Wawasee, Joe Leach 29-110, Tom Schwartz 9-50; Plymouth, Brent Corbett 15-88, Chad Clinton 22-51.
Passing - Wawasee, Leach 11-26-132 1 TD, O INT; Plymouth, Clinton 3-9-57 2 TD, 0 INT.
Receiving - Wawasee, Andrew Mock 3-50, Nick Richardson 3-36, Lance Zimmerman 2-23, Tom Brown 1-15; Plymouth, Mitch Glassburn 1-37, Alex Quintana 2-20 [[In-content Ad]]