On a wet and soggy night at Mary Fate Park, home of the Plymouth Big Red, alumni from all over the state would find their way home to watch their Big Red take out the school’s biggest rival, the South Central Trojans. The game would be delayed a half-hour due to heavy rains, but the Big Red’s play did not reflect the sloppy conditions.
The Big Red built an early first quarter lead when senior defensive end Alex Picklesimer recovered a Trojan fumble in the end zone. Halfback senior Austin Durbin punched in a two point conversion to tally 8 points. The Plymouth Defense forced another fumble, which junior quarterback Hunter Bailey cashed in on a 9 yard run and added a two point conversion. With 7:59 left in the first quarter, the Big Red was in command with a 16-0 lead.
Durbin had a big night for the Plymouth with 217 yards on 16 carries with two touchdowns. Junior halfback Chance Butcher added 83 yards on 9 carries with one touchdown. Bailey would have a solid all around game with a rushing touchdown, 49 yards passing completing 5 of 12 passes and one touchdown through the air. Stein would add the other touchdown and rack up eleven yards on just three attempts.
The Trojans were not fazed, however; as they would used the rest of the first quarter and two minutes of the second quarter that ended in a one-yard punch in by junior quarterback Jacob Carney to bring things to 16-6.
The Plymouth Big Red would take over from there. Durbin used a 26 yard run to make the score 22-6 after a failed two point conversion. The Plymouth defense, which forced a total of 5 fumbles in the game, would use one of their fumble recoveries to score before the half would end. Durbin weaved 18 yards through the Trojan defense for a 30-6 lead 54 seconds before the half.
Third quarter scoring came from a 28 yard touchdown run by Butcher and a 9 yard pitch and catch from Bailey to senior wide out John Gillum.
At the end of the third quarter, with the score at 43-6, Plymouth Coach Mark Genders decided to get his young players some playing time.
Both teams struggled to move the ball, but Big Red eventually capitalized on a fumbled punt return. Freshman Jarred Stein eventually converted the turnover for 6 points on an untouched 8 yard burst to make it 49-6.
The Trojans responded quickly with a 35 yard touchdown run by junior halfback Michael Jenny to make the score 49-12, force a 3 and out, and score a final time when Freshman Josh Bonet ran for a 10 yard touchdown.
The young Big Red ran out the final two minutes to end at 49-20.
Carney put up impressive stats of his own for the Trojans compiling 65 rushing yards on 24 attempts with one touchdown and 96 yards through the air completing 4 of 16 passes. Jenny would have 127 yards on just four carries and one touchdown. Bonet would add the other touchdown with 15 yards rushing on two attempts.
Plymouth Head Coach Mark Genders spoke on behalf of his team saying, “It is nice going into next week gaining momentum these past two weeks, we are going to have to have one of our best weeks of preparation as we head into St. Paul.”
The road ahead may not be so smooth. When asked about a tough schedule remaining, Genders said,” It is going to be tough, but I like our chances. I truly love coaching each and every one of these players, and you do not find that very often.”
South Central Head Coach Aaron Brokaw dresses just 4 seniors, when asked about his young team he said, “I am excited that our guys are getting experience and getting better, I cannot wait to get a couple guys back from injury, it has been tough to field a practice squad. We will continue to put together solid game plans and I am proud of the effort our kids put out there every week.”
The Big Red is now 5-1 and with a win in one of their final four games they will be guaranteed a winning record for the first time since 1998. They travel to Norwalk to take on the St. Paul Flyers next week.
The Trojans drop to 0-6 on they year. They will travel to Monroeville to take on the Eagles.
