Class 4A No. 2 Rockies scored 29 unanswered points in 35-21 win
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Dale Hubler-dhubler@timesuniononline.com
Veteran coach Phil Jensen told his Warsaw football players earlier this week that Jack Barron is the best high school option quarterback he’s seen in years. Barron, the Plymouth Rockies’ 6-foot, 167-pound signal caller showed why Friday night at Fisher Field in the Northern Lakes Conference opener for both teams. A three-year starter under center for Plymouth, all Barron did was carry the ball 22 times for 129 yards and three second-half touchdowns, as the Class 4A No. 2 Rockies rallied from a 14-6 halftime deficit to beat the Tigers 35-21. Barron didn’t throw often, though he did complete 7 of 11 attempts for 67 yards. What he did was orchestrate a Plymouth rushing attack that simply wore down Warsaw’s defense in the second half, as the Rockies scored 29 unanswered points. “He just makes plays,” Jensen said of Barron. “How many did he just throw up, and their receivers would go make plays, or he’d keep it alive until he could find somebody open. “I told our kids this week he’s the best high school option quarterback I’ve seen in a long time ... and plus he moves and throws it up a little bit. He’s a good football player ... a great football player.” Having 5-10, 196-pound classmate Jeremy Splix on top of his game didn’t hurt Barron or the Rockies either. When Barron didn’t keep the ball himself, he handed off to the hard-working Splix, who broke tackle after tackle on his way to 234 yards and two touchdowns on 37 carries. All totaled, the Rockies racked up 461 yards of offense, 394 of them on the ground. The Tigers showed signs of offensive life at times, they just weren’t consistent. Warsaw took a 7-6 lead in the second quarter when junior Rob Sullivan raced in from five yards out. Sullivan pushed the Tigers’ advantage to 14-6 with 18 seconds remaining in the first half, and there was a buzz in the home stands at Fisher Field. The second half, however, wasn’t so pleasant for the hosts. The Tigers’ first three possessions of the second half were three-and-outs. Meanwhile, Plymouth’s offense chewed up yardage and game clock en route to its 15th-straight regular season win and its 11-straight NLC win. En route to their 461 yards of offense, the Rockies ran 76 plays and picked up 25 first downs. Plymouth, now 3-0 this season and 1-0 in conference play, had the ball for just over 31 minutes of the 48-minute contest. Warsaw’s 287 yards of offense and 15 first downs came on 57 plays. “It was a wasted first three series of offense in the second half,” Jensen said of his team, which fell to 1-2 on the season and 0-1 in the NLC. “We ran nine plays in what, a quarter and a few minutes? We showed what we can do when our offense is in rhythm and getting things going. But you can’t waste offensive opportunities against them, and we wasted three, at least. “We dropped some passes again, but overall, like I just told the kids, the final result is not because of their lack of effort on the field by any sense of the imagination.” Warsaw junior Michael Jensen completed 14 of 30 passes for 179 yards and a touchdown. His 15-yard scoring strike to classmate D’Andre Street cut Plymouth’s advantage to 35-21 with 3:33 remaining in the game. Sophomore Will McGarvey led the Tigers’ ground game with 62 yards on 14 carries, while Sullivan finished with 46 yards and the two scores on eight carries. Senior Riley Rhoades led Warsaw’s receiving corps with seven catches for 97 yards, including a 47-yard catch that set up Sullivan’s second touchdown. Friday’s game marked the 96th meeting between Plymouth and Warsaw. The Rockies now own a 50-44-2 record in the all-time series, which dates back to 1924 and has been continuous since 1931. The Tigers will try to bounce back when they travel to Elkhart Memorial Friday, while Plymouth hosts Northridge.
