Last season, Plainfield started the year red-hot with an impressive 5-0 record. However, the Quakers would go 1-4 down the stretch and fizzle out in their sectional opener against Harrison.
A year later, the same Quaker team returning a good chunk of production was determined to have a better finish to the season.
Heading into their Oct. 18 match-up against undefeated Martinsville, Plainfield had a chance to play spoiler on senior night and get a share of the Mid-State conference title.
Under head coach Tyler Bless, play spoiler is exactly what they did.
“It was one of our season goals,” Bless said. “It is a really hard conference, sharing [the title] with Martinsville and Decatur Central, those are really good programs. [I am] extremely proud of those kids for just showing up every day.”
On a day when a share of the conference title was on the line, it was the two running backs — senior Westyn Weyrich and junior Luke Starnes — that stole the show. Splitting carries, the electric duo combined for six of Plainfields’ seven touchdowns and continually made big plays when it mattered most.
“I made it pretty clear in fall camp that we were going to run the ball,” Bless said. “It’s what our motto has been. The defense has bought in and our receivers have bought in, [which is] probably the biggest group to give [props] to. Just their ability to be selfless and be great at perimeter blocking and understand that when the ball is in the air they need to make a play on it.”
The 50-37 victory for Plainfield was not all sweet and simple. The impressive air raid offense of Martinsville got them ahead early and kept things interesting down the stretch.
The Artesians started up early 8-0 after quarterback A.J. Reynolds took in a short-designed run near the goal line.
However, before the Artesians could blink the score read 36-11 in favor of Plainfield.
It was the special teams unit that gave the Quakers the push in their 29-0 scoring stretch from midway through the second quarter to the beginning of the third. After going up 22-11, sophomore Jordan Meyer sprinted down the field and was able to recover a muffed kick and give the Quakers a short field to work with — resulting in Weyrich’s second score of the half.
Receiving the ball to start the second half, it was sophomore Ethan Ellis who would return the ball inside the 15-yard line — setting up Weyrich’s third and final score of the game.
Now in desperation mode and starting their first offensive drive since the score was 15-11, Reynolds was able to start targeting and connecting with senior receivers Hunter Stroud and Josh Jones.
Catching a collective three touchdown passes in the late stages of the second half, there were serious momentum shifts that could be felt throughout the stadium.
Ultimately, the disasters of the second quarter and around four failed onside kicks were too much to overcome as the Artesians would wind up suffering their first loss of the season.
“I am glad they are in 4A,” Bless said. “[Their] quarterback is really good, [their] receivers are really good, I am glad we see them [only] once a year. They’ll be just fine in the 4A tournament.”
While Martinsville will take on Charlestown in their opening round of sectionals, the Quakers will be using this victory as a springboard into their Nov. 1 date against Anderson.
“We all had a part in the success and the downfall of last year,” Bless said. “One thing that has helped us in our senior leadership in the locker room. [Going into the season] our bullet points were ‘let’s learn from it, how can we be better as coaches, and how can we do things better in the offseason?’ Our kids have responded very well and I’m happy for them.”