PLYMOUTH – If you only saw the first possession of the game Friday night you never would have seen Plymouth’s lopsided 50-19 win coming.
Hammond Morton took the opening kickoff and drove calmly and efficiently to the Plymouth 13 yard line when the story of the game started – a fumble on the handoff that would result in a Plymouth drive for six. In all the Plymouth defense would continue what they started in a game one win over East Noble – providing takeaways in key situations. Five on Friday night to be exact.
“Nobody panicked. To play the way we played defensively was just outstanding,” said Plymouth head coach John Barron. “I know they got behind us a couple of times but our defense was all over the place.”
“They really kept us uneasy until five or six minutes to go in the fourth quarter,” said Barron. “They are very athletic on both sides of the ball. You could see they could stretch you vertically. You knew watching film they were going to try and run the football and I think their kids got a little tired because our kids on the defensive line started to play really well. (Graham) Chapman played great up front, (Cam) Frick played great up front, (Kendall) Himes played great up front and our linebackers were awfully sound making tackles in the open field.”
Nate LaFree had an interception, Braxton Bennitt had an interception, Zach Stiller had a fumble recovery and the defensive highlight of the night was a pick six by Jeremy Drudge caused by a crushing hit delivered by Payton Skirvin to knock the ball from Morton receiver Brendan Jones’ hands.
The story of the night was supposed to be sophomore Joe Barron getting his first start filling in for injured starter Cole Filson but Barron played like a veteran showing off the Plymouth depth on offense. Filson was in a boot on the sideline but is expected to be at full strength for next week’s NLC opener at Warsaw.
“This is a big win for us,” said Barron. “I know the score was lopsided but what does that say about our program right now? We brought a kid in and put a sophomore at quarterback and we score 50 points. Our kids rallied around that and that’s what you want to see. We have a lot of good football players there really is no other way to say it.”
It highlighted an offense that has multiple weapons and best of all a solid base in the offensive line.
“The turnover that we had with Joe was a bad read and you see what goes wrong when that happens,” said Barron. “Our offense was clicking on all cylinders. I think this may be one of the most intelligent offensive lines we’ve had. We have very athletic kids up front all around 200 pounds and they are all strong and they all play well together.”
Benji Nixon ended the night with four touchdowns and 134 yards rushing in the game. Blake Reed led the Rockies with 154 yards rushing and scored twice.
“We have a bunch of highly competitive kids. The personality of our team is that nobody cares who gets the credit,” said Barron. “When you have a weapon like Benji who can inside run, outside run catch the ball and block the way he does. Right now we have a very good combination. We have to stay healthy.”
Plymouth at 2-0 plays next week on the road for the first time against Warsaw (1-1).
Score by Quarters
Hammond Morton 0 7 6 0 – 13
Plymouth 8 15 20 7 – 50
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
P – Benji Nixon 30 Yd Run (Benji Nixon Run For Two-Point Conversion) Second Quarter P – Blake Reed 27 Yd Run (Jeremy Drudge Kick) P – Benji Nixon 5 Yd Run (Joe Barron Run For Two-Point Conversion) P – Khoreice Crawford 22 Yd Pass From Credell Prather (Dwight Townsend Kick)
Third Quarter
P – Benji Nixon 82 Yd Run (Failed Two-Point Conversion) P – Benji Nixon 3 Yd Pass From Joe Barron (Jeremy Drudge Kick) P – Jeremy Drudge 32 Yd Interception Return (Jeremy Drudge Kick)
H – Kashon Prather 65 Yd Pass From Credell Prather (Dwight Townsend Kick No Good)
Fourth Quarter
P – Blake Reed 30 Yd Run (Jeremy Drudge Kick)
Rushing – (Plymouth 47 carries for 337 yards) Reed 19-154 2TD, Nixon 9-135 3TD, Bennitt 5-12. (Hammond 30 rushes for 80 yards) Johnson 11-35, Battle 12-26, Collins 2-9, Prather 1-2, Spence 1-1.
Passing – Joe Barron 2-3, 37 yards, TD. Credell Prather 10-22, 184 yards 2TD, 3INT.
Receiving – K. Prather 6 rec. 131 yds, TD. Bennitt 1 rec. 34 yds.
Tackles – Elijah Allmon 6, Jeremy Drudge 6.
