Wawasee Offense Overwhelms Rockies
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
Wawasee Offense Overwhelms Rockies
By Ryan Villanueva-
Reinhard completed 17 of 23 attempts for 321 yards, and along with his five TDs through the air, he also ran for a score for the Warriors.
Cook also had an outstanding performance, hauling in 12 catches for 227 yards.
It took a while for the Warriors to get things into gear as they and the Rockies turned the ball over nine times combined.
“There’s always an opportunity for turnovers,” said Wawasee head coach Josh Ekovich. “We played sloppy, they played sloppy...it was not a very sound football game on both sides.”
Plymouth opened with a strong start after halfback Michael Hartman ran up the middle 73 yards for a score and to get on the board first for the Rockies. Hartman would score again in the second quarter to go up 13-0.
Hartman stood out for the Rockies on offense, carrying the ball 23 times for 175 yards and two touchdowns.
“They got some great backs, and they’re a very well-coached football team,” said Ekovich.
The Warriors would respond kindly, with consecutive scoring drives coming by way of Reinhard passes to Cook and Sam Clark going into the half.
Just 29 seconds in to the second half, the Warriors’ Brandin McCulloch fumbled, leading to a Plymouth recovery and a 1-yard touchdown run by Jack Barron.
It was after Barron’s score that the Warriors began their onslaught and did not look back.
McCulloch made up for his lost fumble on the next possession with a 20-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 21-21.
Nate Prescott would add a 22-yard field goal to take a three-point lead, then Reinhard took command.
With the aid of the Warrior defense forcing back-to-back-to-back turnovers, Reinhard scored on the ground and through the air to extend their lead to 17 points in the third quarter.
Just before the end of the quarter, the Rockies showed some life after Barron completed a 72-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Dakota Brooke to cut Wawasee’s lead to 11.
In the fourth quarter, Reinhard would throw his fourth and fifth touchdown passes to secure the Warriors’ second NLC victory of the season.
“When you lay it all on the field and let the chips fall where they may, this is what happens sometimes,” said Ekovich.
Despite their offense running on full steam, penalties and turnovers muddied their 17-point victory.
Ekovich admits that perhaps there was some early celebration that could have contributed to some of their mistakes.
“When you’re up on a good team like Plymouth, it’s easy to start celebrating early,” said Ekovich. “So that’s why I tried to make sure they stay focused.”
The Warriors, improving to 3-3 (2-2 NLC) will head south on Friday to take on their in-county rival Warsaw, who defeated Goshen 34-12 Friday.
WAWASEE 52, PLYMOUTH 35
P 7 6 14 8 — 35
W 0 14 24 14 — 52
P W
1st downs 16 19
Rushing yds 198 180
Passing yds 148 321
Comp-Att-Int 7-15-2 17-23-0
Total yds 346 501
Fumbles/lost 2/2 3/0
Penalties/yds 4/31 8/90
Punts/avg 1/37 3/43
First Quarter
P – Michael Hartman 73 run (Jacob Lafree kick) 7:13, 7-0
Second Quarter
P – Michael Hartman 1 run (conversion failed) 10:03, 13-0
W - Gage Reinhard 15 pass to Clayton Cook (Prescott kick) 6:26, 13-7
W - Gage Reinhard 44 pass to Sam Clark (Prescott kick) 2:16, 14-13
Third Quarter
P – Jack Barron 1 run (Dakota Brooke conversion run) 11:31, 21-14
W – Brandin McCulloch 20 run (Prescott kick) 10:01, 21-21
W - Nate Prescott 22 yd FG, 4:28, 24-21
W - Gage Reinhard 1 run (Prescott kick) 2:02, 31-21
W - Reinhard 11 pass to Cook (Prescott kick) 0:24, 38-21
P - Barron 72 pass to Brooke (conversion failed) 0:13, 38-27
Fourth Quarter
W – Reinhard 66 pass to Cook (Prescott kick) 10:21, 45-27
P - Justin Drudge 4 run (Drudge 2-point conversion run) 6:59, 45-35
W - Reinhard 12 pass to Cook (Prescott kick) 3:06, 52-35
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing — Plymouth, Michael Hartman 23-175, Justin Drudge 7-24, Dakota Brook 2-23, Barron 10-(-24); Wawasee, Brandin McCulloch 28-139, Cook 1-15, Wilson 3-14, Reinhard 7-2
Passing — Plymouth, Jack Barron 7-15-148, 2 INT; Wawasee, Gage Reinhard 17-23-321, 0 INT.
Receiving — Plymouth, Brooke 2-79, Hartman 1-10; Wawasee, Cook 12-227, Clark 3-43, Lutz 2-51, Wilson 1-8[[In-content Ad]]
Reinhard completed 17 of 23 attempts for 321 yards, and along with his five TDs through the air, he also ran for a score for the Warriors.
Cook also had an outstanding performance, hauling in 12 catches for 227 yards.
It took a while for the Warriors to get things into gear as they and the Rockies turned the ball over nine times combined.
“There’s always an opportunity for turnovers,” said Wawasee head coach Josh Ekovich. “We played sloppy, they played sloppy...it was not a very sound football game on both sides.”
Plymouth opened with a strong start after halfback Michael Hartman ran up the middle 73 yards for a score and to get on the board first for the Rockies. Hartman would score again in the second quarter to go up 13-0.
Hartman stood out for the Rockies on offense, carrying the ball 23 times for 175 yards and two touchdowns.
“They got some great backs, and they’re a very well-coached football team,” said Ekovich.
The Warriors would respond kindly, with consecutive scoring drives coming by way of Reinhard passes to Cook and Sam Clark going into the half.
Just 29 seconds in to the second half, the Warriors’ Brandin McCulloch fumbled, leading to a Plymouth recovery and a 1-yard touchdown run by Jack Barron.
It was after Barron’s score that the Warriors began their onslaught and did not look back.
McCulloch made up for his lost fumble on the next possession with a 20-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 21-21.
Nate Prescott would add a 22-yard field goal to take a three-point lead, then Reinhard took command.
With the aid of the Warrior defense forcing back-to-back-to-back turnovers, Reinhard scored on the ground and through the air to extend their lead to 17 points in the third quarter.
Just before the end of the quarter, the Rockies showed some life after Barron completed a 72-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Dakota Brooke to cut Wawasee’s lead to 11.
In the fourth quarter, Reinhard would throw his fourth and fifth touchdown passes to secure the Warriors’ second NLC victory of the season.
“When you lay it all on the field and let the chips fall where they may, this is what happens sometimes,” said Ekovich.
Despite their offense running on full steam, penalties and turnovers muddied their 17-point victory.
Ekovich admits that perhaps there was some early celebration that could have contributed to some of their mistakes.
“When you’re up on a good team like Plymouth, it’s easy to start celebrating early,” said Ekovich. “So that’s why I tried to make sure they stay focused.”
The Warriors, improving to 3-3 (2-2 NLC) will head south on Friday to take on their in-county rival Warsaw, who defeated Goshen 34-12 Friday.
WAWASEE 52, PLYMOUTH 35
P 7 6 14 8 — 35
W 0 14 24 14 — 52
P W
1st downs 16 19
Rushing yds 198 180
Passing yds 148 321
Comp-Att-Int 7-15-2 17-23-0
Total yds 346 501
Fumbles/lost 2/2 3/0
Penalties/yds 4/31 8/90
Punts/avg 1/37 3/43
First Quarter
P – Michael Hartman 73 run (Jacob Lafree kick) 7:13, 7-0
Second Quarter
P – Michael Hartman 1 run (conversion failed) 10:03, 13-0
W - Gage Reinhard 15 pass to Clayton Cook (Prescott kick) 6:26, 13-7
W - Gage Reinhard 44 pass to Sam Clark (Prescott kick) 2:16, 14-13
Third Quarter
P – Jack Barron 1 run (Dakota Brooke conversion run) 11:31, 21-14
W – Brandin McCulloch 20 run (Prescott kick) 10:01, 21-21
W - Nate Prescott 22 yd FG, 4:28, 24-21
W - Gage Reinhard 1 run (Prescott kick) 2:02, 31-21
W - Reinhard 11 pass to Cook (Prescott kick) 0:24, 38-21
P - Barron 72 pass to Brooke (conversion failed) 0:13, 38-27
Fourth Quarter
W – Reinhard 66 pass to Cook (Prescott kick) 10:21, 45-27
P - Justin Drudge 4 run (Drudge 2-point conversion run) 6:59, 45-35
W - Reinhard 12 pass to Cook (Prescott kick) 3:06, 52-35
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing — Plymouth, Michael Hartman 23-175, Justin Drudge 7-24, Dakota Brook 2-23, Barron 10-(-24); Wawasee, Brandin McCulloch 28-139, Cook 1-15, Wilson 3-14, Reinhard 7-2
Passing — Plymouth, Jack Barron 7-15-148, 2 INT; Wawasee, Gage Reinhard 17-23-321, 0 INT.
Receiving — Plymouth, Brooke 2-79, Hartman 1-10; Wawasee, Cook 12-227, Clark 3-43, Lutz 2-51, Wilson 1-8[[In-content Ad]]
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