Rockies playing for their football lives this week
“These guys are great kids and I would really love to see them smile after a football game.”
PLYMOUTH - Heading to playoff football, Plymouth’s Rockies found themselves with a week off due to Fall Break.
So what do you do to decompress after a long day of practice?
“We went down to Ft. Knox Paintball and took the whole team,” said Plymouth coach John Barron. “Coach Kershner, Coach Dingledine and myself went and I’m feeling like a 54-year-old. We had a great time and it was for the kids to have a great time together, some team bonding. The purpose is to bring these guys together when they have a whole week off. We tried to have some fun. It was intense at times, but it was a lot of fun.”
Team bonding hasn’t been a problem for this winless team. In spite of the record, in spite of the difficulties, the team has bounced back and worked hard.
“I’ve learned a lot this year and I hope it doesn’t
Plymouth football coach John Barron
end this week,” said Barron. “We had another great week of practice this week and I know it’s been hard. It’s been hard on them, it’s been hard on the parents, it’s been hard on the community. It’s certainly been hard on
our football staff. These guys are great kids and I would really love to see them smile after a football game.”
If the smiles are to come it will be deserved as the Rockies have a formidable opponent in front of them
in Class 4A 12th-ranked New Prairie (7-2).
“They’ve got tough kids,” said Barron. “You flip the film on and they have kids that will get after you on defense. They have really, really big kids up front offensively. They
have a kid that is going to Illinois. He’s legit 6-foot8, 350 pounds and they have a couple of 290s and a 310 upfront. They have
a sophomore quarterback and they’ve kind of ridden him the past two weeks.”
One thing seems to be a given in a New Prairie football team.
“They are going to run the football,” said Barron. “They will sprinkle in the deep ball if they can catch you peeking in the backfield too much. They want to possess the clock, but they are explosive.
“We are going to have to slow them down, but if we can, force a turnover or flip the field one time. They are wellcoached and they play hard. It will be a big task.”
The end result is a simple one for Plymouth.
“We just want to be 1-0 after this game,” said Barron. “We have 48 minutes for their football lives. I feel like our kids are ready. If we can hang in there you never know what can happen in high school football.”