WARSAW – When it came down to crunch time, Plymouth showed why it is regarded as one of the top football teams in the state. Trailing 14-6 at the half, Plymouth outscored Warsaw 29-7 in the second half to pull together a 35-21 victory Friday night at Fisher Field.

Not straying from what Plymouth has done well all year, and seemingly its entire football program existence, the veer option was working for quarterback Jack Barron, who runs it as well as anyone around. Plymouth as a team rushed for 394 yards in the option offense and compiled 467 total yards against what for most of the game was a competent Tiger defense.

Barron rushed for 129 yards and three touchdowns, but much of the patting on the back goes to Jeremy Spinx, who was the Rockies’ workhouse Friday night. The beefy 5’10, 196-pound fullback looked much more stout carrying the ball 37 times for 234 yards and two scores.

The first possession of the second half for Plymouth was the tide turner. Facing fourth and six at the Warsaw 35, Barron flipped up a jump ball pass that Colten Schuler caught for seven yards. Plymouth continued its march, ending with a Barron four-yard touchdown run, and the two-pointer to Cam Eveland was good, tying the score at 14.

A bad snap on a punt attempt on Warsaw’s next possession gave the ball to Plymouth at the Warsaw 14, which ended with Barron’s second touchdown from seven yards. In a flash Warsaw went from up eight to down seven.

Barron would punch in his third touchdown after a lengthy drive to open the fourth quarter, and following another Warsaw punt, the Rockies needed just a couple minutes to find paydirt when Splix scored from seven yards out.

“You can’t waste offensive opportunities against them and we wasted three,” said Warsaw head coach Phil Jensen. “The final result is not because of their lack of effort on the field, by any sense of imagination.

“They make great adjustments to what you are doing. They know that offense inside and out. They also get more physical as the game goes on. You can see it in their fullback and Barron’s eyes.”

The barrage was as fascinating as it was effective, which covered up a first half that had Plymouth unable to generate momentum while Warsaw was making the key plays.

Plymouth turned the ball over twice inside the Warsaw 20 in its first two possessions. While Warsaw wasn’t able to capitalize, Plymouth left the door open. Splix’s first score, from seven yards out, gave the Rockies a 6-0 lead, but Warsaw responded quickly. A 49-yard catch and run by Riley Rhoades over the middle set up a 12-yard touchdown run from Rob Sullivan.

After Plymouth was turned away on fourth and one at midfield, Tiger quarterback Michael Jensen found Rhoades again to get Warsaw inside the Plymouth 20. Sullivan capped the drive with a five-yard jaunt, and the Tigers were feeling really good about themselves, up 14-6 heading into the lockerroom.

Warsaw, despite the barrage of Plymouth scores in the second half, were not completely dead. Jensen completed a 15-yard touchdown pass to D’Andre Street with 3:33 to go. After a Plymouth fumble was recovered by Drew Brock, Warsaw had the ball in the Plymouth red zone, but a fourth down pass to Rhoades went sailing away, and with it, a second straight loss.

“We can’t worry about (Plymouth) and what they do the rest of the way out,” Jensen said. “All we can do is regroup, get better this week and get ready to play Elkhart Memorial, who is next up for us.”

Michael Jensen would finish the night 14-30 for 179 yards, Rhoades catching seven of those passes for 97 yards. Sullivan and Will McGarvey combined for 108 yards rushing and the Warsaw offense did string together 287 yards of offense on a Plymouth defense that had allowed just 17 points in its first two wins.

Plymouth (3-0, 1-0 NLC) will play another marquee conference matchup next Friday when it hosts Northridge while Warsaw (1-2, 0-1 NLC) will visit Memorial. Northridge (3-0) beat Wawasee 21-0 while Memorial lost 17-14 to sudden juggernaut Goshen, which is 3-0 for the first time since 2002.