Much as Greenwood coach Mike Campbell wanted to stop his team’s losing streak to Plainfield, it wasn’t to be.
Dangerous both on the ground and through the air, the visiting Quakers won, 43-14, on Friday in a clash of Mid-State Conference rivals.
“(Plainfield) won the battle in the trenches offensively and defensively,” Campbell said after watching the Woodmen fall to 1-4 overall and 0-3 in the league standings, losing its seventh straight game to coach Brian Woodard’s club. “They ran around us, they ran through us, they ran over us.
“Credit to them. They were the more physical team. The sport of football will boil down to physicality, and they certainly won that battle most of the night, and it showed in the score and it reflected in what they were able to do.”
Plainfield’s plan was to get its fastest athletes in space, namely senior receiver Noah Hessong and junior quarterback Hunter Newell.
Hessong rushed for 102 yards on nine carries, and caught three passes for 62. Newell, meanwhile, threw for 154 yards and three touchdowns and added another 44 yards on the ground.
Greenwood entered the game having lost the last three games against Plainfield by a combined 16 points. Friday night’s battle contained no such suspense.
Plainfield rolled up 319 yards of total offense in the first half to take a 28-8 lead.
The Quakers marched 93 yards in nine plays on their second series, with the speedy Hessong taking it the final 2 yards at 2:47 of the opening quarter.
It became a two-touchdown deficit after Plainfield took it 81 yards in seven plays on its ensuing offensive possession. Troy Larrison’s 28-yard run down to the Woodmen 5 was the biggest play; Antonio Williams cashed in on the following play early in the second.
The Quakers made it 21-0 with 5:29 remaining before intermission, Newell finding receiver Grant Irwin over the middle from 35 yards out.
Greenwood finally got on the board at the 2:57 mark when junior quarterback Brock Riddle tossed a perfect fade pass to senior tight end Carter Campbell for a touchdown. Ayden Houseman added the two-point conversion run.
With only 31.3 seconds left before the half, Newell connected from 7 yards on a slant pass to junior Isaiah Miller.
A Newell quarterback sneak for a touchdown with 2:43 left in the third period made the score 41-8. The ensuing two-point conversion, Newell’s pass to a sliding Caden Vanderbush, made the spread 35 points, meaning there was a running clock the rest of the way.
“We still need to figure out consistency,” Campbell said. “We do a couple of nice things, and then something will happen when things won’t go our way. But we’re going to get back at it tomorrow, so that’s where we’re at.”
Junior running back Alan Burnett rushed for 61 yards and a touchdown for Greenwood, while Riddle passed for 142 yard. Senior Ethan Pringle finished with four catches for 96 yards, including a 50-yarder that set up the team’s first TD.
The Woodmen play at Perry Meridian next Friday.
