PLYMOUTH - The request was made in the pressbox, and at some point this season public address announcer John Scott may just refer to Plymouth High School's football team as the Brockies.
The visiting Warsaw Tigers were close for three quarters Friday night, but in the end, senior running back Brock Smith's performance led the Class 4A No. 5 Rockies to a 34-14 win in the Northern Lakes Conference opener for both teams."He's good," Warsaw coach Phil Jensen said of Smith, who carried the ball 32 times for 236 yards and four touchdowns. "They're all good. They're a very good football team. All of their kids play hard and they know the game of football."
Smith scored on runs of 17, 3, 2 and 27 yards, and through three games has rushed for 617 yards and 11 touchdowns, as well as returning an interception for a touchdown.
His final two scoring scampers Friday night came in the fourth quarter, as the Rockies turned a 21-14 lead into a 34-14 victory.
With the win, Plymouth improved to 3-0 overall, while Warsaw fell to 0-3 for the first time since 1996 - Jensen's first year with the Tigers.
The Rockies, who were without the services of head coach John Barron after he was ejected from last week's win over Rochester and was serving a mandatory one-game suspension, have now won 21 consecutive regular season games and 15 straight conference games.
While the Tigers lost by 20 points, Friday night's score wasn't indicative of how close they were.
For three quarters, Warsaw went toe-to-toe with Plymouth, which came into the game averaging 45 points per game.
The two teams were scoreless after one quarter of play, were tied 7-7 at halftime and the Rockies clung to a 21-14 advantage going into the fourth quarter.
Though he was disappointed in the loss, Jensen was proud of how hard his players played, trying to pull things together after a 35-16 loss at Columbia City and a 52-3 setback to Homestead.
"They played hard for three quarters," Jensen said of his players. "We're tied 7-7, then Plymouth goes up 14-7 and 21-7, but we came back and made it 21-14. The kids didn't give up, they fought and they were right there. We just don't know how to finish yet. But I'm proud of them, they played hard. Lesser kids wouldn't have come to Plymouth and been ready to go."
After forcing the Tigers into a three-and-out, the Rockies put together a five-play, 52-yard drive that ended with a two-yard Smith touchdown with just under six minutes remaining in the game.
Plymouth forced Warsaw into a three-and-out on its next possession as well, and Smith made the Tigers pay again, this time juking defenders and rushing in from 27 yards out to cap a one-play drive that took just six seconds off the clock.
"Plymouth plays the game the right way," said Jensen. "Their kids come at you and they play hard. That starts with John Barron and his assistant coaches. They're a very good football team. I'm proud of my kids, we just have to find a way to finish. We're going to get there. There's no place I'd rather be than coaching this team. The score wasn't indicative of how close this game was."
Senior quarterback Houston Hodges scored Plymouth's other touchdown, rushing 69 yards to paydirt in the third quarter to give the Rockies a 21-7 advantage. Hodges finished the game with 79 yards on three carries.
The Tigers came back and scored when senior quarterback Jeremy Coppes connected on a 21-yard pass to sophomore Taylor Cone.
Coppes, who scored Warsaw's first touchdown of the game on a 4-yard run in the second quarter, led the Tigers in rushing with 58 yards on 18 carries. He completed 5 of 14 passes for 65 yards.
Senior Tyler Adams added 11 carries for 44 yards.
Junior Jordan Wray led Warsaw's receivers with two catches for 22 yards.
The Tigers host NLC foe Elkhart Memorial Friday, while the Rockies travel to conference rival Northridge.
