Neither lightning nor a gritty Greenwood defense could stop Plainfield.
The Quakers, the No. 1-ranked team in Class 5A, survived an anemic start and weathered an hour and 16-minute stoppage due to inclement weather to roll to an ultimately impressive 28-0 win over Mid-State Conference rival Greenwood and spoil the Woodmen’s homecoming game.
The loss effectively eliminates the Woodmen (2-3, 1-2) from any chance of a piece of the conference title, dropping them to 1-2 and 2-3 total.
Overall, it adds to the frustration for Greenwood as Plainfield (5-0, 3-0) had now made it nine straight wins over the Woodmen. And except for a two-year stretch in 2020 and 2021, it hasn’t even been close. The Quakers had been averaging 40.3 points against Greenwood.
Not this time. Greenwood’s strategy was clear — clog up the running game and stifle the Quakers leading rusher junior Luke Starnes and perhaps force a passing game.
“We had a really good game plan,” Greenwood coach Justin Boser said. “Our defense really stepped up. We put three guys in new spots.”
That worked to perfection in the first quarter as the Quakers amassed a surprising 2 total yards, but Plainfield wasn’t about to abandon its plan. Sooner or later, the Quakers were going to punch Greenwood in the face.
While the Quakers didn’t throw a thundering left early, things picked up a bit for them for a series in the second quarter, as they drove 64 yards, all on the ground. They capped it off with a 2-yard touchdown run by Starnes for the 7-0 lead and the only score of the first half.
Plainfield didn’t deliver any knockout blows in the third quarter, but they did ruin Greenwood’s defensive plan a bit with two more touchdowns on runs of 13 and 6 yards by Westin Weyrich and Starnes to make it 21-0.
Greenwood, which was without starting quarterback Ayden Houseman, did move the ball with replacement Gunner Ruppert, normally a running back, but a lost fumble and three failed fourth down attempts made things difficult.
A final touchdown by Weyrich from 10 yards out was the final knockdown, giving the Quakers their second shutout of a conference opponent in three weeks.
It wasn’t like Greenwood couldn’t move the ball — far from it, as the Woodmen garnered 236 total yards — but a field goal that hit the crossbar contributed to Greenwood’s goose egg. It was the first time they were shut out in a regular-season game since 2018.
“We got movement up front against the biggest team I’ve ever seen,” Boser said. “It was the little things like missing some third and shorts where we came up short.”
Ruppert led all rushers with 133 yards and, despite not being the regular quarterback, completed three passes for 10 yards.
Starnes led the Quakers with 117 yards, his second lowest total of the season, to go with his two touchdowns. Weyrich also hit the 100-yard mark. Plainfield stuck to its plan of running the ball on all but one play.
Week 6 will see Greenwood travel to Perry Meridian.
