The Warriors came closer to a win than they have all season, but lost 28-14 in a Northern Lakes Conference game at Plymouth.
“I felt like we were right there,” said Wawasee coach Mike Eshbach. “It was (Plymouth’s) three big plays: one right before the half, one right at the beginning of the third quarter, and one with 5:16 to go in the game.”
Before that last big play, the Warriors (0-6, 0-4 NLC) were down 21-14 midway through the fourth quarter.
Wawasee was deep in the Rockies’ territory, but failed to convert on a key fourth down.
Plymouth (4-2, 3-1 NLC) answered on the next play with Blake Reed’s 86-yard touchdown run.
Eshbach noted how crucial it would have been to convert on fourth down.
“I don’t know if we win, but I think it changes the entire dynamic of the game,” he said.
Wawasee scored on two touchdown passes from Evan Eshbach to Dylan Hepler.
Eshbach found Hepler for an 11-yard strike to even the score at 7 in the second quarter.
Down 21-7 in the third, the Warriors struck again when Eshbach connected with Hepler for a 16-yard score.
Coach Eshbach found value in defeat.
“I feel like we grew up a little bit as a team,” he said.
PLYMOUTH 28, WAWASEE 14
W 0 7 7 0 — 14
P 0 21 0 7 — 28
W P
1st downs 15 17
Rushing yds 100 295
Passing yds 168 118
Comp-Att-Int 18-27-1 11-16-2
Total yds 268 414
Fumbles/lost 1/1 0/0
Penalties/yds 5/55 4/35
Second Quarter
P – Blake Reed 10 run (Gamble kick), 10:12
W – Dylan Hepler 11 pass from Evan Eshbach (Brayden Johnson kick), 3:30
P – Seth Rundell 65 pass from Joe Barron (Gamble kick), 2:02
P – Rundell 13 run (Gamble kick), 1:08
Third Quarter
W – Hepler 16 pass from Eshbach (Johnson kick), 5:03
Fourth Quarter
P – Reed 86 run (Gamble kick) 5:16
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing — Wawasee, Keyan Peete 13-65, Levi Brown 10-30, Jesse Landeros 1-3, Evan Eshbach 9-1, Steven Cotton 1-1; Plymouth, Blake Reed 16-166, Seth Rundell 8-103, Joe Barron 3-20, Cole Filson 3-6, Jacob Deacon 2-0. Passing — Wawasee, Eshbach 18-27-168 2 TD, 1 INT; Plymouth, Barron 11-16-119 1 TD, 2 INT
Receiving — Wawasee, Hepler 10-81, Steven Hauntz 3-69, Kameron Salazar 1-15, Joshua Slabaugh 1-12, Levi Brown 1-2, Gabe Moore 2-(-11); Plymouth, Rundell 3-86, Filson 3-10, Deacon 3-5, Reed 2-18.
