In the end, Greenwood’s ability to grind out long, clock-consuming drives wasn’t enough to match Plainfield’s big plays on Friday.
The visiting Quakers got out of Johnson County with an exciting 38-35 victory that, while entertaining, dropped the Woodmen to 0-3 in the Mid-State Conference standings and 2-3 overall.
Plainfield’s win, its fifth straight in the series, overshadowed the efforts of Greenwood senior running back Ethan Haessig, architect of a monster night (37 carries, 246 yards, two touchdowns) maneuvering behind his team’s veteran offensive line.
The Woodmen rushed for 424 yards overall.
“It was a fun football game, I’m sure, from a fan’s standpoint of getting up and down the field,” Greenwood coach Mike Campbell said. “Really, I think it came down to the turnover battle. They got one and it resulted in a touchdown, and we didn’t force one tonight.
“Our kids’ effort and resiliency was great. I think there are things we can build on from this. I know there are things we can build on. We talk about it every week. Consistency, consistency, consistency. Once we figure that out, I think we’re going to be a really solid football team moving forward. In the Mid-State, there aren’t weeks off, so we’ve got to continue to improve.”
Plainfield’s go-ahead touchdown with 5:06 remaining in the fourth quarter still supplied the Woodmen with plenty of time to counter.
Starting at its own 19, Greenwood made it to the Quakers’ 42. But on fourth and 3, junior quarterback Gavin Ruppert, who had already scored three rushing touchdowns, had his pass over the middle tipped by a Plainfield defender with 2:49 remaining.
The Quakers ran out the clock to improve to 3-2 and 2-1.
A Harris Nichols field goal of 44 yards as time expired in the second quarter gave the Quakers the lead at halftime, 24-21.
Plainfield ran only 13 offensive plays in the opening half, one-third of the Woodmen’s 39.
The visitors cashed in on the first play of the game when running back Juan Nieto found space along the right side and was gone down the right side for a 75-yard touchdown run.
Greenwood countered with a 20-yard drive — 19 of those running plays — and tied the score on Ruppert’s 5-yard run up the middle at 3:01 of the first quarter.
On the next play from scrimmage, the Quakers covered 59 yards on Aiden Moyers’ pass to Cael Vanderbush to advance the ball to the Greenwood 1. Nieto took it in on the next play for put his team back on top at the 2:39 mark.
Haessig’s first TD run of the night, a 15-yarder, capped Greenwood’s rebuttal, a 60-yard drive, at 9:04 of the second stanza. The Woodmen finally forced the Quakers to punt, but disaster struck on the next series when a fumble led to Plainfield’s Hunter Hrbek returning the ball 46 yards to paydirt.
The Woodmen marched 80 yards in 14 plays to tie it on Haessig’s 19-yard burst to the end zone.
The Woodmen are back on the road next Friday at Perry Meridian.
