MIDDLEBURY – In 2001 the second George Bush was in the White House, the  Baltimore Ravens – with Trent Dilfer at quarterback were Super Bowl champs and the Arizona Diamondbacks won their first World Series.

Until last night it was also the last time that Northridge defeated Plymouth in football. The Rockies fell to the Raiders at Middlebury Friday night by a final of 22-14, taking their first win of the year and handing Plymouth their first loss on the field.

“They played better than we did,” said Plymouth head coach John Barron. “Turnovers are going to be a factor but they just wanted it more than we did. They played harder than we did. That’s discouraging, but we’ll see what we’re made of.”

In a sloppy first half that will never be played as a highlight reel for either team, two Cam Nickell field goals for Northridge were the only scoring either team could manage. While the Rockies had positive moments, turnovers – three in the first half – along with a plethora of penalties would end any drive.

“I think it was frustrating for both teams,” said Barron. “There were a lot of flags thrown. No offense is good when it’s first and 25. We faced a lot of third and long and we put our quarterbacks in a lot of bad situations, when it’s obvious pass.

“We’ve got some inexperienced guys out there. (Northridge) created a great situation out there and the longer they hung in they gained more confidence.”

Plymouth gained confidence of their own with an 89 yard kickoff return by Colten Schuler to start the second half and two power runs by Tristen McMillen later Plymouth had their first lead at 7-6.

Northridge answered back with a pair of scores, but a 69 yard touchdown pass from Cole Filson to Benji Nixon had the Rockies back in it at 19-14. The Raiders decided to grind it out, and were able to add a field goal while killing clock and taking a win.

“Our kids battled out there but their running backs run hard,” said Barron. “They were able to run through some arm tackles late in the game. Our run defense was good there but they made some great plays over the top. It was just determination. They were determined to beat us tonight.”

The Rockies (2-2) return home next week to battle with Elkhart Memorial. Northridge is now 1-3 and play at home next week against Warsaw.