End 21-game losing streak.
Check.
Get first road conference win since 2019.
Check.
The to-do-list has a couple of items wiped off of it by the Plymouth Rockies football team as it enters Week 5 with a 2-2 record (1-1 NLC).
Last week, the Rockies overcame deficits in the first and second halves to upend Wawasee, 25-19. One of the leading contributors was a sophomore, Finn Holm. Holm had 110 yards receiving, rushed for 30 and a touchdown to go along with 5 1/2 tackles on the defensive side of the ball.
Head coach Adam Handley says they’ve been watching Holm grow into this varsity role.
There are only two teams undefeated in the Northern Lakes Conference through two weeks of conference play. Warsaw is one. The other is Friday’s opponent, seventh-ranked (5A) Mishawaka (3-1, 2-0 NLC). The only loss for the Cavemen was on the road to 14th-ranked (6A) Penn in Week 2.
Handley knows Mishawaka is yet another team ranked or receiving votes on the Rockies’ schedule. But the growth upwards from recent struggles for the Plymouth football program calls for, sometime…somewhere, a win over an opponent you’re ‘not supposed to beat.’
Plymouth will have to defend against a Flexbone offense that generated over 300 yards rushing per game last season. In 2023, the loss to Penn was the only time the Cavemen scored less than 37 points in a game. Mishawaka is averaging over 286 rushing yards through the first four weeks led by senior Brady Fisher (107 rush/game) and junior Novell Miller (101 rush/game). The two running backs have combined for 12 rushing touchdowns.
Handley says there’s game planning and video work to prep the defense. But just sticking your nose into the fight may be just as key in this matchup.
GIANT fm Sports on WTCA coverage is at 6:30 p.m. with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m.
Coverage available on 106.1 FM, AM 1050, www.giant.fm .
