By Justin Whitaker
Hendricks County Flyer
INDIANAPOLIS —
In the first game of the Warren Central Gridiron Classic tripleheader, the Plainfield Quakers took on the Pickerington Tigers from central Ohio.
The three-hour drive on I-70 from Pickerington, Ohio turned out to be a worthwhile trip for the Tigers as they handily defeated Plainfield 38-0.
Pickerington running back Speedy Hammond was named game MVP after rushing for 105 yards on 12 carries and two touchdowns. Hammond broke in from a yard out for his first score in the second quarter then capped his day with a 37-yard touchdown catch from quarterback Grant Hammond in the third.
Plainfield (1-1) held tough for the game's first eight minutes until Pickerington and Notre Dame commit Eilar Hardy broke free on a 30-yard run to put the Tigers up 7-0.
The second quarter featured a 31-yard field goal from Nick Ellis and Hammond's 1-yard score to put Pickerington ahead 17-0 at halftime.
But through the first half, Plainfield was the more disciplined team. Pickerington had 6 penalties for 45 yards compared to Plainfield's single 5-yard penalty.
"The old cliche is fatigue makes cowards of us all," said Plainfield coach Brian Woodard. "That begins with your mind. We had some mental things we were doing well early. Then in the second half it was obviously different."
After two back-to-back personal foul penalties inside their own 20, the frustration had set in for Plainfield
"We just started losing our heads a little bit," said senior offensive/defensive lineman Brian Brock. "Some guys made some mistakes but that's just how it goes sometimes."
For the game, Pickerington was penalized nine times for 75 yards and Plainfield was whistled three times for 26 yards.
Then in the third quarter, the game was broke open. The Tigers scored 21 points in five minutes to end the scoring for the game. Pickerington finished with 297 yards rushing and 135 through the air.
Plainfield gained 114 yards on the ground, including 39 yards from senior Joey Cadwell and 38 yards from senior Evan Wilson.
The Quakers were unable to cross into enemy territory until the final minute of the game. They got as close as their own 49 before the end of the first half but a false start penalty dropped them back.
After a tough outcome, Coach Woodard was able to find positives in the game.
"Number one, our kids competed hard," Woodard said. "People will look at the score today and say 'What was Plainfield doing in that game?' But I'll tell you what, I'm proud as heck of our kids. They fought for four quarters against a team that athletically was obviously a lot better.
The biggest issue we faced was a war of attrition and you saw that in the second half. I thought our guys hung right with them for two quarters. By the time we got to the third we were just on fumes."
