A pair of teams that went into Friday night's Northern Lakes Conference battle even in the all-time series, Warsaw and Plymouth were anything but close on the field.
Fueled by a power running game that racked up 284 yards, Plymouth manhandled the host Tigers 41-7 at Fisher Field in the NLC opener for both schools.The Rockies, who now hold a 46-45 advantage in the all-time series, improved to 3-0 on the season, while the Tigers fell to 1-2.
"We got beat and beat bad by a very good high school football team," said Warsaw coach Phil Jensen, who was a teammate of Plymouth coach John Barron at Butler University. "The kids have two choices, they can come back and work hard and get better, or...."
Against a Warsaw team that was playing without the services of senior quarterback Justin Clemens (shoulder injury), amongst others, the Rockies dominated the game from the opening whistle.
The Rockies forced the Tigers to punt on their first possession of the game, and then Plymouth scored on its first possession, as senior Spencer Schalliol barrelled in from eight yards out.
Eighteen seconds later, Plymouth was on the board again, as senior Trent Keyser picked up a fumbled lateral from Warsaw junior quarterback Jeremy Coppes and carried it 21 yards to paydirt.
Brock Smith's extra-point kick not only gave the Rockies a 14-0 lead with 7:24 to play in the first quarter, it also seemed to take the wind out of Warsaw's sail.
"That turnover was huge," Barron said of the lateral. "When Keyser got that turnover, that was huge. It really seemed to deflate Warsaw. When teams win the turnover battle, those teams usually win."
Warsaw turned the ball over three times, two fumbles and an interception, while Plymouth threw one interception and lost one fumble.
"They're an outstanding team," Jensen said of the Rockies. "They do what they do and they do it very well. They're very strong and very physical."
"There's cockiness and there's confidence," added Jensen. "They're confident in themselves and in each other. They don't have any flash or hype, it's just 11 guys out there giving every thing they have."
Schalliol finished the game with 17 carries for 107 yards and two touchdowns, while Houston Hodges carried nine times for 98 yards and a score and Smith finished with 85 yards and two touchdowns on nine carries.
"We feel very fortunate to have that speed," Barron said of his plethora of running backs. "The guys up front also do a great job. We have some weapons. Scholliol ran hard. Smith ran hard. Hodges ran hard. They're all like little clones of each other. They all work very hard in the weight room."
Scholliol and Hodges each scored a touchdown in the second quarter and the Rockies took a 28-0 lead into the locker room.
Smith scored on runs of 36 and 3 yards in the third quarter, giving Plymouth a 41-0 lead with 4:16 to play in the frame after his extra-point kick failed.
The Tigers, who gave up 31 unanswered points in last week's loss at Homestead, got on the scoreboard with a tenth of a second remaining in the fourth quarter Friday, as Coppes ran in from two yards out.
While the score was lopsided, as was much of the game, there were bright spots for the Tigers.
Warsaw's defense held Plymouth out of the end zone on a fourth-down play on the 1-yard line in the first half.
"It's not very often you're down 28-0 at halftime and you tell your defense you're proud of them," said Jensen. "I was very happy with that goal-line stand, and then we got that interception."
The interception came with 5:18 to play in the second quarter, when Brendan Barber picked off an errant Gordy Holloway pass.
The only problem was, Plymouth picked off Coppes on the first play of the ensuing drive, and it resulted in an 18-yard touchdown run for Hodges.
In beating the Tigers for the sixth time in seven years, Plymouth outgained Warsaw 284-126 on the ground.
Senior Andy Conrad, who came into Fridays game averaging 137 rushing yards per game, finished with 17 carries for 54 yards, whille Coppes carried eight times for 33 yards and Tyler Adams had eight carries for 19 yards.
Coppes, who started the game under center, was 2 of 11 through the air for 48 yards. Sophomore Jordyn Coon started the second half at quarterback and completed 4 of 7 passes for 41 yards.
"I thought the two young quarterbacks did a nice job," Jensen said of Coppes and Coon. "They didn't miss blocks and drop balls. I thought they did a nice job."
Zack Linky caught two passes for 21 yards, while Tom Daniels had one reception for 28 yards and both Frank Shell and Zach Rooney caught one pass for 20 yards.
Warsaw, which has lost five of its last six games, is in action again Friday at Elkhart Memorial.
The Rockies, who have won eight straight NLC contests, host Northridge Friday.
