PLYMOUTH – It was a second week of nearly perfect football as Plymouth’s Rockies shut out Rochester on senior night at Plymouth 43-0.
A week ago the physical toll taken on two way starters in a win at Bremen led to the re-evaluation of how many Rockies should be seeing action on both sides of the football. It also led to first time starting assignments for several Plymouth sophomore’s and more importantly to a sign of some very good things on the suddenly not too distant horizon.
“The sophomore’s that we put in the lineup tonight were outstanding,” said Plymouth head coach John Barron. “(Sean) Masson played really well, he got a fumble recovery early, had a big sack and played really solid. Benji (Nixon) made a nice catch over the middle – he’s a tough kid – Zane DeVault playing at safety didn’t hurt us at all, (Braxton) Bennit on the outside was solid. Those guys (DeVault and Bennit) are hitters they don’t weigh a whole lot but they’ll come up and hit you.
“(Nate) LaFree at tackle with a broken hand is one of the toughest kids we have. (Jarred) Hurford is a kid we’ve really thought is coming. He was one of the best lineman on that group last year and I think as his strength gains in the weight room your going to see a really solid player.”
Masson indeed set the tone early with his fumble recovery on the second Rochester series of plays and also sniffed out a reverse in the first quarter, turning it into a big loss. DeVault – in addition to his play at safety was a force on special teams.
But the story on senior night was written by a senior. Quarterback Jack Barron had a nearly perfect night, reading the option and his receivers, running for 179 yards and four touchdowns, and hitting on six of seven passing attempts for 75 more. Really the only thing that stopped the senior signal caller all night was when another sophomore – Peyton Skirvin – took over at quarterback with the game firmly in hand early in the fourth quarter.
“He played well but when you run the ball like that there are 10 other guys blocking up there and doing their jobs,” said Barron. “We have some unselfish players. You have to give credit to Mike Kershner our offensive coordinator.”
Another senior also had a big night with Cam Eveland picking up 59 yards on just three carries and 34 more on three pass receptions.
“He’s our only two way starter. He’s a heckuva an athlete,” said Barron. “He’s our cover guy. Whoever their best receiver is he’s going to be on him. And we want to get him as many touches as possible on offense because you see his explosiveness when he gets the ball in his hands.”
A defense that has been stellar through two games as well allowed just 54 total yards of offense to the Zebras. In addition to the new starters a couple of veterans pleased the coaches.
“(Brandt) Peters moved inside (to linebacker from defensive end) and I thought he played very, very well, said Barron. “We were worried about Koss’ ankle injury last week but to see him flying around out there was pleasant for us.”
Plymouth (2-0) is on the road for NLC contest number one at Warsaw next week. Rochester (0-2) is also on the road at Peru.
Score by Quarter
Rochester 0 0 0 0 – 0
Plymouth 15 14 14 0 – 43
Scoring Summary:
1st Quarter
4:25 PLYM – J. Barron 33 yd run (M. Friar pass from J. Barron),
2:57 PLYM – J. Splix 2 yd run (J. Splix kick)
2nd Quarter
5:23 PLYM – J. Barron 40 yd run (J. Splix kick)
1:47 PLYM – J. Barron 18 yd run (J. Splix kick)
3rd Quarter
5:34 PLYM – J. Barron 50 yd run (J. Splix kick)
2:14 PLYM – C. Eveland 15 yd run (J. Splix kick)
RUSHING: Rochester-McLochlin 16-52; Lee 7-18; Brooks 1-3; Holland 3-minus 6; Leininger 3-minus 17. Plymouth-J. Barron 12-179; C. Eveland 3-59; J. Splix 11-33; P. Skirvin 5-28; J. Drudge 6-22; T. Hooten 1-15.
PASSING: Rochester-Holland 1-3-0-4. Plymouth-J. Barron 6-7-0-75.
RECEIVING: Rochester-Lee 1-4. Plymouth-C. Eveland 3-34; B. Nixon 2-38; T. Hooten 1-3.
INTERCEPTIONS: Rochester-None. Plymouth-None.
FUMBLES: Rochester-Holland 2-1; McLochlin 1-0; Lee 1-1. Plymouth-J. Barron 2-0; J. Splix 1-0; C. Eveland 1-1.
TACKLES (UA-A): Rochester-McLochlin 2-6; Leininger 3-2; Bower 1-6; Lee 1-5. Plymouth- Koss 3-5; D. Bacon 1-7; Z. Devault 1-4; B. Peters 1-4; S. Masson 1-4; T. McMillen 0-6.
