PLYMOUTH – It was a big game a week ago and in spite of a big win there were several reasons for concern headed into “The Game” this weekend for Plymouth’s Rockies at Concord.
One – injuries – with several players nursing health issues including the flu. Two – a sudden propensity by the Plymouth offense to leave the ball on the ground.
“We try to keep everybody on an even keel and control the things we can control like our effort in practic to prepare to win a football game,” said Plymouth coach John Barron. “I can see why were a little sluggish offensively to start the game but our defense was stellar, That’s what helped us overcome a lot of turnovers.
The spat of turnovers that plagued early drives the past two weeks at Plymouth have the coaching staff scratching their heads as well.
“We’ve focused on our run game in practice, and we talked about this in our coaches meeting Sunday. Maybe we’re doing too much,” said Barron. “I don’t know why we had those exchange problems between (fullback) Taylor (Fulton) and (quarterback) Jack (Barron), they’ve been the same guys there all year.
“The turnovers are going to get you. They are negative plays and you’re giving the opponent another possession but even as well as our defense has played you don’t want to do that against Concord – you don’t want to do that heading into the playoffs. The exchange problems I think we have figured out. The interceptions are us holding the ball too long and routes getting kind of murky. Jack like’s to make things happen with his feet and extend plays and that’s gotten us some big plays but it’s also gotten us in some trouble too.”
Also a concern is the punishing nature of the running game on key players in the Rockie attack. Barron had a season high 19 carries a week ago and responded with a game high rushing total including a touchdown. It did not come without a price in physical punishment on the Rockie signal caller.
“That’s a lot of carries for him but if that’s what they’re going to give us that’s what we have to take,” said Barron of the amount of work on his junior QB. “We ran a lot of midline last week and that means Jack with the ball in his hands. As long as we can continue to get the ball to 20 (Justin Drudge) he does some good things.
It’s a red letter game on the schedule for the past 10 years with the winner many times claiming the conference title. This year’s Rockie team knows that.
“It’s been pretty easy to get them focused in on the opponent,” said Barron. “I’ve tried to emphasize this as a great opportunity for us. They’ve (Concord) got kids that can exploit any defense. They’ve been the team to beat the past 10 years. I think some of our success recently has come from them having to play Jimtown the week before us and coming in a little beat up. That’s not the case this year.
“You have to be sound when you play against that offensive front. They’re lineman don’t come out and attack, they are just a moving wall and they let their back pick a hole. If you overplay it the cut back is always there. They will run the ball if they can. They’ve got a lot of guys that can do good things with the ball.
“They know us too. They aren’t going to let Taylor eat them up. Jack is going to have to run the ball. If we can not turn the ball over and beat ourselves we’ll be fine. There is a reason they are number one, they are very talented they are very well coached.”
