The Pilot News - Rockies perfect again

“It says a lot about our kids not to have our leading rusher and to do what they did tonight,” said Plymouth head coach John Barron. “Ours kids are playing pretty good. They’re very good at communicating and very physical, and we’ve got good size.”
The Rockies had no trouble moving the ball even without their star running back, as they amassed 369 yards in 48 carries for the win. Trent Keyser had a career night on offense averaging nearly 18 yards a touch for 179 total yards and a touchdown, while Brock Smith — who was moved to fullback in one of several personnel adjustments necessitated by Schalliol’s absence — nearly reached the century mark himself with 91 yards in 15 carries and a touchdown of his own. Even IU recruit tight end Leneil Himes got some touches with 55 yards rushing, all gained in the third quarter.
“Keyser can run. He’s a good runner, and he’s always complaining that he doesn’t get the ball enough,” smiled Barron. “He obviously stepped up for Spencer and we moved Brock to fullback and just moved those guys around. (Tyler) Shook played in there, and (Houston) Hodges, and they all ran hard. We even put the big guy back there just to give him a little taste of it.”
Schalliol was sidelined for disciplinary reasons at the game — although he is expected to return to play in Plymouth’s Sectional 10 opener next week — and his absence at the NorthWood game as well as the Rockies’ response to it was par for the course this year.
The team has seen its fair share of adversity, starting the season down two leading rushers from the 2008 season, and when four-year starting QB Gordy Holloway — who connected at a 4-for-6 passing rate with a 2-1 touchdown to turnover ratio Friday — was forced to sit out following an emergency appendectomy halfway through the year, senior back-up Kevin Garrity helped lead the team to a pair of NLC wins on the road.
It’s those kinds of challenges that made the Rockies’ perfect run this year, in which they outscored opponents 360-96, even more enjoyable to watch.
“I think it shows when you lose your quarterback, and Kevin comes in and wins two games, and we didn’t have Spencer tonight coming in with 800 yards rushing — I think it just shows how focused our kids are and how together they are,” said Barron. “We support one another. I just think our kids play well together, and they play hard, and we do have good football players.... Throw all those things together and you have a year like this.”
Barron was also quick to point out the contributions of his staff, including assistant coaches Gene Skirvin, Paul Patrick, Mike Kershner, Bob Garrity, Phil Bockman and Mike Hite, as well as volunteers Ted Brown, Dave Shook and Curt Samuelson.
“This conference championship and being undefeated, a lot of the credit needs to go to our assistant coaches,” he said. “Our guys do a tremendous job of working together. They work hard and put in a lot of hours and a lot of time away from their families. It’s very important to them as well, and the coaching staff’s on the same page. When those things happen, then good things like this can happen.”
Plymouth jumped off to an early lead at NorthWood as Himes juggled a 28-yard pass from Holloway that was tipped up just outside the end zone. The tight end’s touch and a kick from Shook put the team up 7-0 just a minute and a half in, but NorthWood was quick to respond.
Derek Yoder broke loose on the ensuing kickoff return for 64 yds to give the Panthers a short field, and Tony Miranda — who finished with both NorthWood’s touchdowns against Plymouth — eventually punched it in from a yard out to even the score at 7-all.
Plymouth scored again just four plays and 62 yards later as Hodges reeled off a 19-yard run, spinning into the end zone at the 5:14 mark, and the Rockies never looked back.
To their credit, the Panthers did score once more in the fourth quarter on a 99-yard drive following a key stop on a first-and-goal situation for the Rockies to become one of just four teams to score more than seven points on Plymouth this season.
With its regular season wrapped up, the Rockies are looking forward to their Class 4A, Sectional 10 opener against Lowell next Friday. The Red Devils have knocked Plymouth out of the state tournament the past two seasons, and Plymouth is looking for a measure of revenge at home this year.
“Lowell is a great school and a great program, but we are too,” said Barron. “We’re going to have to play them and Concord at some time, so we might as well play them first, and hopefully we can send them home with the three-hour bus ride that we had last year when we ended our season there.”
• PLYMOUTH 35, NORTHWOOD 14
At Nappanee
Score by quarters
P: 14 28 28 35
NW: 7 7 7 14
Scoring summary
First quarter
P — Leneil Himes 28-yd pass from Gordy Holloway (Tyler Shook PAT), 10:29
NW — Tony Miranda 1-yd run (Connor Beckwith PAT), 6:43
P — Houston Hodges 19-yd run (Shook PAT), 5:14
Second quarter
P — Brock Smith 1-yd run (run fail), 10:34
P — Trent Keyser 14-yd run, (Smith run 2-pt. conversion), 0:42.9
Fourth quarter
NW — Miranda 2-yd pass from Brant Nine (Beckwith PAT), 9:33
P — Hodges 28-yd pass from Holloway (Shook PAT), 3:32
Plymouth stats
Rushing: 48-369; Keyser 10-179 (1 TD), Smith 15-91 (1 TD), Himes 7-55, Hodges 6-36 (1TD)
Passing: Holloway 4-6-1 for 77 yds, 2 TDs; Himes 0-1-0 for 0 yds
Receiving: Himes 1-28 (1TD), Hodges 1-28 (1TD), Ed Johnson 1-13, Smith 1-8
First downs: 19
Fumbles-lost: 2-0
Penalties-yds: 5-60
Possession time: 26:09
Third-down conversions: 6-11
Fourth-down conversions: 2-5
NorthWood stats
Rushing: 34-124; Christian Diemer 12-62, Nine 8-23, Coy Brown 6-18, Miranda 5-15 (1 TD)
Passing: Nine 9-14-2, 94 yds, 1 TD
Receiving: Derek Yoder 2-44, Brown 2-22
First downs: 12
Fumbles-lost: 3-2
Penalties-yds: 6-40
Possession time: 21:51
Third-down conversions: 3-7
Fourth-down conversions: 1-2
Records: Plymouth 9-0 (7-0 NLC), NorthWood 5-4 (4-3 NLC)