Passing game added a different wrinkle for Plymouth football

Chris Sanborn had an idea of what his Plymouth High School football team might see from the Bow defense in Saturday's Division II championship game.

A week before, in the Bobcats semifinal win over St. Thomas, the Saints had moved one of their linebackers into more of a safety position in the middle of the field to help support the run defense.

With the opportunity to throw the ball more, Plymouth did, and the result was a subpar day for quarterback Ben Olmstead and the lowest offensive output for the Bobcats all season.

But in the final, when Bow lined up in a similar defense, Olmstead was ready to redeem himself, and in the first half, the senior was 4 of 8 passing for 161 yards and two touchdowns. Those two scores helped Plymouth to a 20-0 halftime lead and the Bobcats went on for a 27-8 win over the Falcons for their second straight D2 title.

"They put (Jack Corriveau), who is an outside linebacker, at middle safety to come down and play the run," Sanborn said. "St. Thomas did it last week and we couldn’t throw to save our lives. We left touchdowns on the board. We said they might do that and they tried to do the same thing. He came downhill, but if you can hit your passes, it’s open."

Plymouth went deep over the middle on their second possession, as Olmstead found Wesley Lambert open for a 49-yard gain to the Bow 19-yard line. But two plays later, Nolan Farina fumbled and Bow's Tanner Cammett recovered at the Falcons' 16.

The defense made a stop for Plymouth, getting the Bobcats the ball back at their own 37, and after a couple of running plays, they went to the air again. This time Olmstead found Farina all alone down the middle of the field for a 59-yard touchdown pass that gave Plymouth a 7-0 lead.

With time running out in the first half, Plymouth looked for a big strike again. Olmstead found Jordan Docen, who wrestled the deep ball away from a Bow defender and took it into the end zone for a 53-yard touchdown with 20 seconds left in the half.

"Ben had a rough game last week (against St. Thomas) and was disappointed about it," Sanborn said. "He came back and redeemed himself."

Olmstead was one of a handful of seniors who came up with big plays throughout Saturday's game.

Farina finished with 73 yards of offense to go with his touchdown catch, while Docen and Lambert are also seniors and contributed on defense. Isaiah Crane had an interception and led Plymouth in tackles with 10, while Connor Magowan had 63 yards rushing and added nine tackles and Colby Moore scored a touchdown.

"This group of seniors, I remember when they were in eighth grade, going to met them and trying to get them to play," Sanborn said. "They were a squirrelly bunch. They’re a group that we’ve been on for four years. We told them it’s not going to be easy. We pushed them and got it."

And then there was Garrett Macomber, who rushed for a 153 yards, including a 69-yard touchdown run that seemed to turn momentum completely Plymouth's way.

"They were the better team and that’s a hard pill to swallow," Bow coach Paul Cohen said. "They played well and we didn’t execute as well as we needed to. If we were going to take them, it would have to be playing the perfect game and we didn’t do that."