By Mark A. Howe
Contributing Writer
ELKHART â??? Senior wideout Mike Meade corralled two third-quarter touchdown
passes from Bob Cira, while James Cira joined Meade with a 100-yard receiving
game Sept. 29 as Class 4A second-ranked Concord posted a 42-21 victory over visiting
Plymouth.
Meade had
three touchdown receptions on the night, Bob Cira threw for 293 yards and four
touchdowns, and Monty Marion added 77 yards rushing and two TDs (one receiving)
for the Minutemen. The win virtually assures
(7-0 overall, 5-0 in conference play) of the Northern Lakes Conference title.
â??Our
offense played well,â? said Plymouth
coach John Barron. â??Our defensive secondary played way too soft, but give them (Concord) credit. Theyâ??re
a great football team, and they made plays when they had to.
â??You
cannot expect to beat a great team unless you play great, and we did not play
great tonight.â?
Leading
21-14 at halftime, Concord held the Rockies to a three-and-out possession to open the second
half. Quicker than you could say â??conference crown,â? the Minutemen busted this
thing wide open.
First, Bob
Cira hit Meade on a 24-yard corner route with a high-arching pass, increasing
the lead to 14. Three plays later, Plymouth
quarterback Chad Clinton attempted a weak-side screen pass that was intercepted
by Nick Yoder and returned to the Rockie 23. Bob Cira was thrown for a huge
loss, but two plays later he again hit Meade, this time on a 29-yard flanker
screen that gave the Minutemen a commanding three-touchdown lead.
â??We are
not a good third-quarter team,â? Barron said. â??We havenâ??t been the last couple
of weeks. We talked about we need to get first downs, drive the ball down the
field, and tie the ballgame up.â?
While the
Rockies werenâ??t throwing in the towel, their next drive started at their own 4-yard
line when Concord
kicker Jeremy Howard, who had touchbacks on all his previous kickoffs in the
game, had his kick stall at the 1. Only an alert pickup by Brent Corbett kept Concord from scoring
another touchdown, this one of the special teams variety.
MORE TO COME â?¦
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