PLYMOUTH – In a game now dominated by “high tech” offense, Northridge’s Raiders used a distinctly low tech approach to take an old school 12-0 win over Plymouth Friday night.
The Raiders used good old fashioned power football, seven Plymouth turnovers and an outstanding defense to shut out Plymouth’s high powered attack that had averaged 38 points a game in the first three games of the year.
“That was a train wreck,” said Plymouth coach John Barron. “The wheels fell off for us tonight offensively and they had something to do with it. They are well coached and basically said if you are going to beat us your going to have to throw the ball. Over the years we’ve developed option football and they took some of that away from us too.”
“They are well coached and they do what they do. That team can win ugly. They are very physical and very well coached.”
Both team’s slugged it out for most of the first half with neither able to take the upper hand until the Raiders simply lined up and ran the play “Connor Graber right” and when that didn’t work, ran “Connor Graber left” until it was Connor Graber from four yards out for the first score of the night.
The Raiders senior running back ended the night with 22 carries for 100 yards, by far the top offensive numbers of the night.
Meanwhile the Raider defense was winning the battle in the trenches. The scheme to stop the Plymouth offense kept the Rockies completely off balance for the whole night.
“Their front seven guys beat us up pretty good,” said Barron. “We could never get a rhythm going offensively at all. They were more physical than us.”
The Raider defensive game plan kept Plymouth quarterback Cole Filson guessing all night and even when they could get a handle the Rockies couldn’t take advantage.
“That’s on us we obviously didn’t prepare the kids well enough to compete against that defense and what they were doing,” said Barron. “Even when we tried to show them on the sideline and in the locker room what they (Northridge) were doing we never had any confidence in what we were doing. And we certainly played like that.”
If there was a highlight for the Rockies it was a defense that survived seven offensive turnovers to hold the Raiders to a pair of scores on the night, one of those when the Rockies fumbled at their two and set up Northridge with first and goal.
“I thought our defense played outstanding but we never had any field position in the second half whatsoever to turn it around,” said Barron. “We turned the ball over a ton and we didn’t get any turnovers so we didn’t help ourselves out at all. Key to the game was turnovers and our inability to get any turnovers.”
“They just made us very uncomfortable. Any time you turn the ball over that much you can’t expect to win,” said Barron. “They are a really good football team.”
Benji Nixon had 73 all purpose yards (22 rushing, 51 receiving), Blake Reed ran for 53 on 16 carries, and Filson was able to throw for 62 on 8 of 20 passing.
Northridge stays unbeaten at 4-0 and plays at Warsaw next Friday. Plymouth takes their 3-1 record on the road to Elkhart Memorial.
Score by Quarters
Northridge 0 6 6 0 – 12
Plymouth. 0 0 0 0 – 0
Scoring Summary
Second Quarter
N – Connor Graber 4 yard run (Kick no good)
Third Quarter
N – Mason Troyer 1 yard run (Failed two point conversion).
Rushing – (Plymouth 30 rushes 62 yards) Reed 16-53, Nixon 7-22, Bennitt 2-0, Filson 3- -13. (Northridge 41 rushes 139 yards) Graber 22-100 TD, Troyer 6-20 TD, Hooley 7-17, Utley 1-2, Modglin 4-0, Schwartz 1-0.
Passing – Filson 8-20, 62 yards 4 INT, Bennitt 0-1 INT, Hooley 4-10 26 yards.
Tackles – Winkle 9.
