GREENWOOD — It was homecoming night at Greenwood but the Woodmen were anything but welcome hosts to the Plainfield Quakers.
In a battle of ranked Mid-State Conference foes, the Class 4A, No. 15-ranked Quakers fell 31-3 to the Class 4A, No. 7-ranked Woodmen.
Plainfield (3-2) stayed within reach during the first quarter but Greenwood (5-0) pulled away as the game progressed, leading to the Quakers loss.
“Turnovers in the first half in inopportune times and the inability of our offense to execute… those are things that we had an issue with,” Plainfield coach Brian Woodard said. “Obviously, Greenwood is a very good football team, take nothing away from them.”
Plainfield’s opening possession was a punt and Greenwood responded with a Ben Heller 1-yard touchdown run. When the Quakers got the ball back, a botched handoff caused Plainfield to fumble and Woodmen linebacker Ethan Bailey was there for the recovery. Kicker Griffin Oakes tacked on a 37-yard field goal for the 10-0 first quarter Greenwood lead.
On the first play of the second quarter, Quaker running back Auggie Blevins fumbled inside Woodman territory. Woodard called the two early fumbles, “devastating” to his team.
Greenwood responded with an 11 play, 83-yard drive, ending with a Heller to Kyle Deal 19-yard touchdown pass. Kole Stogner then added a touchdown before the end of the first half, giving Greenwood a 24-0 halftime lead.
Through the first two quarters, Stogner had 119 yards rushing. The senior running back would finish with 206 yards and two touchdowns as Plainfield had trouble slowing him down.
“I thought they did a really nice job executing their schemes in terms of downhill runners,” Woodard said.
Blevins paced the Quakers with 111 yards on 24 carries and senior receiver Chad Middleton had four catches for 53 yards.
Plainfield crossed into Greenwood territory on only four possessions through the night as the offense struggled to get moving.
“It’ll be interesting to see the film because I felt like we were doing some good things,” Woodard said. “I don’t know if our guys were expecting 15-yard gains, I don’t know, there was certainly a lack of momentum and consistency.”
Woodard was happy with how his team tightened up in the second half, allowing just seven points.
“Our defense at times played well enough for us to win, we just couldn’t help them out on offense,” he said.
The Quakers started the season 3-0 but after a tough 15-10 defeat to Roncalli last week and the loss to the Woodman last night, Plainfield sits 3-2. Woodard wants his team to keep fighting and improving through the two losses.
“I hope our players will take the fact that they came back out in the second half and fought like heck,” he said. “Greenwood is a good football team but they need to understand that we need to be better.”
Officials: Truck Hit Bridge Before Collapse
Sheriff: No Sign Killing of 2 Kids Was Planned
Obama Defends Drone Strikes, With Limits
Raw: Jurors Deadlock on Jodi Arias Penalty
Boy Scouts Decision "First Step" Say Activists
Raw: Utah Teen Arrested in Death of His Brothers
Closer Look at Okla. School Where Children Died
Two Suspects in Murder Known to London Police
Boy Scouts Mom Supports Gay Inclusiveness
"Be Ready": NOAA Warns of Busy Hurricane Season
SeaWorld: Penguins Are Coolest Thing in Florida
Obama Renews Call to Close Gitmo
Obama Offers Drone Strike Defense
Raw: Heckler Interrupts Obama on Guantanamo
A Slice of Apple History Up for Grabs
