Wawasee Wins NLC Thriller
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
PLYMOUTH - Had Wawasee's and Plymouth's offenses been any different, the Rockies would have worn leather helmets.
Friday night's Northern Lakes Conference battle pitted the Warriors' high-octane offense against Plymouth's old school grind-it-out ground attack.
The game, however, came down to the red shoes of Wawasee kicker John Miller.
Miller, a soccer player who was questionable for the game after sustaining a leg injury during a soccer match this week, stared down a 25-yard field goal attempt with 8.9 seconds left.
The senior kicker with the bright red football cleats split the uprights to give Wawasee a 31-29 win over No. 7 (4A) Plymouth, the Rockies' first loss of the year.
Plymouth coach John Baron made a gutsy call after Brett Corbett's four-yard touchdown with 1:25 left in the game brought the Rockies to within one point at 28-27.
Showing faith in his running attack, Baron called Corbett's number again and the 6-foot, 175-pound tailback didn't disappoint as he fell over the goaline for the two-point conversion to give Plymouth a 29-28 lead
On what may come to be known as "The Drive" in Wawasee lore, Warrior quarterback Joe Leach drove his team downfield.
The Warriors started their final drive of the game at their own 20 after a touchback and with less than a minute-and-a-half to play.
Leach called his own number for eight yards, then Plymouth was whistled for a roughing the passer penalty on the next play.
After another Leach run, he found Nick Richardson twice to put the ball at Plymouth's 39-yard line. Richardson caught a six-yard reception in traffic, then Leach ran a quarterback draw down to Plymouth's 12-yard line.
As Miller set up for a 29-yard field goal attempt, Wawasee was whistled for a false start. Miller's ensuing attempt went wide right but the Rockies were whistled for a personal foul that gave Miller and the Warriors new life.
"Johnny did what he had to do," said Wawasee coach Joe Rietveld. "We weren't sure whether he'd be able to go for us but he came through."
Trailing 21-7 at halftime, Wawasee connected on three straight big plays to take the lead. The Warriors took the lead at 28-21 when Leach found Richardson for a 65-yard score.
Wawasee tied the game at 21-all with 9:26 left in regulation on the Warriors' second big play of the night when Leach found Mock streaking down the middle of the field untouched.
The first play for Wawasee in the second half was vintage Warrior football as Leach faked an end around to Mock out of the shotgun and found a streaking Lance Zimmerman down the middle of the field.
Zimmerman scampered 71 yards untouched as Wawasee drew to within a touchdown at 21-14 with 10:03 left in the third quarter.
Zimmerman's reception nearly equaled all of Wawasee's offense in the first half. The Warriors ran 25 plays in the first 30 minutes for a total of 95 yards.
Plymouth's first score of the evening came after a Leach punt gave the Rockies the ball at their own 48-yard line.
After Austin Hodges started the game at quarterback for Plymouth and was intercepted by Zimmerman on the Rockies' first drive, an injured Chad Clinton came in to pilot the Plymouth offense.
Clinton connected with senior wide receiver Travis Loving for 24 yards to put the ball at Wawasee's 24.
The Rockies then used a healthy dose of Dustin White, who capped off the drive with a 16-yard rumbe off left tackle with 5:58 left in the first quarter. A Chris Tobolski extra point gave the Rockies the early 7-0 lead.
That lead didn't last long as White coughed up the football at Plymouth's own 24-yard line. There to pounce on the football was Wawasee's Eric Brown.
Wawasee needed just four plays until Leach found Mock from 14 yards out with 2:47 left in the opening period.
The Rockies regained the lead on a 14-play, 85-yard drive that saw Plymouth convert on two fourth down attempts.
Clinton connected with senior wide receiver Alex Quintana for 39 yards on a third-and-long to keep the drive alive.
White once again finished the drive on a three-yard run with 4:37 left in the half for his second touchdown of the night.
Tobolski's extra point attempt went wide left to leave Plymouth's lead at 13-7.
White recorded a first half touchdown trifecta on a two-yard rumble to cap a nine-play, 90-yard drive with 27 seconds left in the half.
Plymouth used its timeouts and the clock to perfection as the Rockies imposed its will on Wawasee with tough running.
Plymouth's last two scoring drives of the half totaled 23 plays for 175 yards and took 8:47 off the clock in the second quarter.
The Rockies also did a tremendous job of game planning for Leach in the first half.
While Leach completed 8 of 11 passes, the completions totaled just 61 yards and Leach gained 25 yards on eight carries.
Conversely, Clinton completed just two passes in the first half but they went for 37 and 24 yards, respectively.
Rietveld said that Friday night's game was one of the best he'd ever been involved with.
"The NorthWood game in 2004 in the Dome was one of the best games I've seen," said Rietveld. "This game ranks up right there with that one."
Wawasee upended the Panthers 38-34 at the RCA Dome and went to the 4A state finals that year behind quarterback Kory Lantz and running back Jordan Swain.
If Wawasee hopes to make a state run this year it will be because of Leach, this year's version of Lantz.
Leach was responsible for an astounding 384 of Wawasee's 388 yards of total offense. Leach was 16 of 25 for 314 yards and four touchdowns through the air and 70 yards on the ground. Richardson had seven catches for 117 yards while Mock had four catches for 91 yards.
The Warriors, 5-1 overall and 3-1 in the NLC, host Warsaw Friday at Warrior Field.
WAWASEE 31, PLYMOUTH 29
Wawasee 7 0 7 17 - 31
Plymouth 7 14 0 8 - 29
W P
First downs 17 19
Rushing yards 74 231
Passing yards 314 157
Comp.-Att.-Int. 16-25-2 7-25-1
Total offense 388 388
Fumbles/lost 1-1 1-1
Punts/avg. 3-39.7 4-46
Penalties/yards 6-37 7-97
First Quarter
P - Dustin White 16 run (Chris Tobolski kick) 7-0, 5:58
W -ÊJoe Leach 15 pass to Andrew Mock (John Miller kick) 7-7, 2:47
Second Quarter
P -ÊWhite 3 run (kick failed) 13-7, 4:37
P - White 2 run (White run) 21-7, 0:27
Third Quarter
W -ÊLeach 71 pass to Lance Zimmerman (Miller kick) 21-14, 10:03
Fourth Quarter
W -ÊLeach 70 pas to Mock (Miller kick) 21-21, 9:26
W -ÊLeach 65 pass to Nick Richardson (Miller kick) 28-21, 5:40
P -ÊBrent Corbett 3 run (Corbett run) 29-28, 1:25
W - Miller 25 field goal, 31-29, 0:07
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing - Wawasee, Joe Leach 17-70, Brandon Geiger 1-3, Lukas Winegarden 1-2; Plymouth, Dustin White 28-98, Chad Clinton 13-76, Michael Hooker 2-38, Brent Corbett 3-11
Passing - Wawasee, Joe Leach 16-25-2, 4 TD, 2 INT; Plymouth, Clinton 7-24-157, 0 TD, 0 INT
Receiving - Wawasee, Nick Richardson 7-117, Andrew Mock 4-91, Geiger 4-35, Lance Zimmerman 1-71; Plymouth, Alex Quintana 3-70, Mitch Glassburn 2-52, Travis Loving 2-35 [[In-content Ad]]
PLYMOUTH - Had Wawasee's and Plymouth's offenses been any different, the Rockies would have worn leather helmets.
Friday night's Northern Lakes Conference battle pitted the Warriors' high-octane offense against Plymouth's old school grind-it-out ground attack.
The game, however, came down to the red shoes of Wawasee kicker John Miller.
Miller, a soccer player who was questionable for the game after sustaining a leg injury during a soccer match this week, stared down a 25-yard field goal attempt with 8.9 seconds left.
The senior kicker with the bright red football cleats split the uprights to give Wawasee a 31-29 win over No. 7 (4A) Plymouth, the Rockies' first loss of the year.
Plymouth coach John Baron made a gutsy call after Brett Corbett's four-yard touchdown with 1:25 left in the game brought the Rockies to within one point at 28-27.
Showing faith in his running attack, Baron called Corbett's number again and the 6-foot, 175-pound tailback didn't disappoint as he fell over the goaline for the two-point conversion to give Plymouth a 29-28 lead
On what may come to be known as "The Drive" in Wawasee lore, Warrior quarterback Joe Leach drove his team downfield.
The Warriors started their final drive of the game at their own 20 after a touchback and with less than a minute-and-a-half to play.
Leach called his own number for eight yards, then Plymouth was whistled for a roughing the passer penalty on the next play.
After another Leach run, he found Nick Richardson twice to put the ball at Plymouth's 39-yard line. Richardson caught a six-yard reception in traffic, then Leach ran a quarterback draw down to Plymouth's 12-yard line.
As Miller set up for a 29-yard field goal attempt, Wawasee was whistled for a false start. Miller's ensuing attempt went wide right but the Rockies were whistled for a personal foul that gave Miller and the Warriors new life.
"Johnny did what he had to do," said Wawasee coach Joe Rietveld. "We weren't sure whether he'd be able to go for us but he came through."
Trailing 21-7 at halftime, Wawasee connected on three straight big plays to take the lead. The Warriors took the lead at 28-21 when Leach found Richardson for a 65-yard score.
Wawasee tied the game at 21-all with 9:26 left in regulation on the Warriors' second big play of the night when Leach found Mock streaking down the middle of the field untouched.
The first play for Wawasee in the second half was vintage Warrior football as Leach faked an end around to Mock out of the shotgun and found a streaking Lance Zimmerman down the middle of the field.
Zimmerman scampered 71 yards untouched as Wawasee drew to within a touchdown at 21-14 with 10:03 left in the third quarter.
Zimmerman's reception nearly equaled all of Wawasee's offense in the first half. The Warriors ran 25 plays in the first 30 minutes for a total of 95 yards.
Plymouth's first score of the evening came after a Leach punt gave the Rockies the ball at their own 48-yard line.
After Austin Hodges started the game at quarterback for Plymouth and was intercepted by Zimmerman on the Rockies' first drive, an injured Chad Clinton came in to pilot the Plymouth offense.
Clinton connected with senior wide receiver Travis Loving for 24 yards to put the ball at Wawasee's 24.
The Rockies then used a healthy dose of Dustin White, who capped off the drive with a 16-yard rumbe off left tackle with 5:58 left in the first quarter. A Chris Tobolski extra point gave the Rockies the early 7-0 lead.
That lead didn't last long as White coughed up the football at Plymouth's own 24-yard line. There to pounce on the football was Wawasee's Eric Brown.
Wawasee needed just four plays until Leach found Mock from 14 yards out with 2:47 left in the opening period.
The Rockies regained the lead on a 14-play, 85-yard drive that saw Plymouth convert on two fourth down attempts.
Clinton connected with senior wide receiver Alex Quintana for 39 yards on a third-and-long to keep the drive alive.
White once again finished the drive on a three-yard run with 4:37 left in the half for his second touchdown of the night.
Tobolski's extra point attempt went wide left to leave Plymouth's lead at 13-7.
White recorded a first half touchdown trifecta on a two-yard rumble to cap a nine-play, 90-yard drive with 27 seconds left in the half.
Plymouth used its timeouts and the clock to perfection as the Rockies imposed its will on Wawasee with tough running.
Plymouth's last two scoring drives of the half totaled 23 plays for 175 yards and took 8:47 off the clock in the second quarter.
The Rockies also did a tremendous job of game planning for Leach in the first half.
While Leach completed 8 of 11 passes, the completions totaled just 61 yards and Leach gained 25 yards on eight carries.
Conversely, Clinton completed just two passes in the first half but they went for 37 and 24 yards, respectively.
Rietveld said that Friday night's game was one of the best he'd ever been involved with.
"The NorthWood game in 2004 in the Dome was one of the best games I've seen," said Rietveld. "This game ranks up right there with that one."
Wawasee upended the Panthers 38-34 at the RCA Dome and went to the 4A state finals that year behind quarterback Kory Lantz and running back Jordan Swain.
If Wawasee hopes to make a state run this year it will be because of Leach, this year's version of Lantz.
Leach was responsible for an astounding 384 of Wawasee's 388 yards of total offense. Leach was 16 of 25 for 314 yards and four touchdowns through the air and 70 yards on the ground. Richardson had seven catches for 117 yards while Mock had four catches for 91 yards.
The Warriors, 5-1 overall and 3-1 in the NLC, host Warsaw Friday at Warrior Field.
WAWASEE 31, PLYMOUTH 29
Wawasee 7 0 7 17 - 31
Plymouth 7 14 0 8 - 29
W P
First downs 17 19
Rushing yards 74 231
Passing yards 314 157
Comp.-Att.-Int. 16-25-2 7-25-1
Total offense 388 388
Fumbles/lost 1-1 1-1
Punts/avg. 3-39.7 4-46
Penalties/yards 6-37 7-97
First Quarter
P - Dustin White 16 run (Chris Tobolski kick) 7-0, 5:58
W -ÊJoe Leach 15 pass to Andrew Mock (John Miller kick) 7-7, 2:47
Second Quarter
P -ÊWhite 3 run (kick failed) 13-7, 4:37
P - White 2 run (White run) 21-7, 0:27
Third Quarter
W -ÊLeach 71 pass to Lance Zimmerman (Miller kick) 21-14, 10:03
Fourth Quarter
W -ÊLeach 70 pas to Mock (Miller kick) 21-21, 9:26
W -ÊLeach 65 pass to Nick Richardson (Miller kick) 28-21, 5:40
P -ÊBrent Corbett 3 run (Corbett run) 29-28, 1:25
W - Miller 25 field goal, 31-29, 0:07
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing - Wawasee, Joe Leach 17-70, Brandon Geiger 1-3, Lukas Winegarden 1-2; Plymouth, Dustin White 28-98, Chad Clinton 13-76, Michael Hooker 2-38, Brent Corbett 3-11
Passing - Wawasee, Joe Leach 16-25-2, 4 TD, 2 INT; Plymouth, Clinton 7-24-157, 0 TD, 0 INT
Receiving - Wawasee, Nick Richardson 7-117, Andrew Mock 4-91, Geiger 4-35, Lance Zimmerman 1-71; Plymouth, Alex Quintana 3-70, Mitch Glassburn 2-52, Travis Loving 2-35 [[In-content Ad]]