BY ED WRIGHT
STAFF WRITER
If variety is the spice of life, then Plymouth's offensive game plan Friday night came right out of the spice rack.
During stretches of their 37-14 homecoming victory over Wayne Memorial, the Wildcats played starting QB Brent Jones at running back, starting tight end Josh Le Duc at quarterback and - for most of the night - back-up running back_quarterback Jeff Harrison at quarterback.
The variety added more life to a Wildcats' offense that went into the game averaging a robust 33.2 points a game.
"We feel like we have a lot of offensive weapons and we wanted to use them in different ways tonight," said Plymouth coach Jay Blaylock. "We have some big games coming up and we don't want to be too predictable."
The victory improved Plymouth's record to 5-1 overall and 3-1 in the Western Lakes Activities Association's Western Division. The Zebras fell to 1-5 and 0-4.
The Wildcats entered the night with slim hopes of a Western Division crown. Those hopes evaporated, however, with Livonia Franklin's 29-19 victory Friday night over Walled Lake Western.
"This was the best game we've played all year," Wayne coach Craig Hnatuk said. "It was drastically different from last week when we lost to Canton (55-6) on this field. Even though we're losing, no one on this team is quitting.
"Plymouth has some great athletes. They're a darned good team. But I thought we were more physical than they were tonight."
When Plymouth switched up its offensive backfield, good things happened. On one play in the third quarter, Le Duc, a 6-foot-4 tight end, spiraled a 28-yard completion to Jones, who normally lines up under center.
The versatile Le Duc also hauled in a 53-yard touchdown pass from Harrison.
The Wildcats finished with 349 total yards compared to the Zebras' 257. Wayne's Andrew Crushshon was the night's brightest star, rushing for 258 yards on 15 carries. The senior two-way player accounted for both Wayne TD's - a 92-yard sprint mid-way through the first quarter and a 69-yard rumble during the game's waning moments.
"He's a fantastic running back, but he'd be even better if he didn't have to play linebacker for us on defense," Hnatuk said. "That kid is a warrior. It takes a lot to get him down."
The bad news for the Zebras was that their four ball-carriers besides Crushshon were held to a combined minus-one yard rushing on 13 attempts.
Jones led the Wildcats with 101 yards on 10 carries. Nathan Gholston produced 74 on 13 rushes and Anthony Green churned out 62 on 14.
Harrison was solid behind center, rushing for 23 yards and completing 1-of-2 aerials for 53 yards.
"I thought Jeff did a great job back there, just like he's done all year when he's come in for Brent," Blaylock said. "I'm glad we got a chance to get him a lot of reps."
The fact that the Zebras outweighed the Wildcats across the front line didn't slow down Plymouth.
"A lot of the conditioning we do is all about explosiveness and getting off the ball," Blaylock said. "Plus, you know what they say: It's not the size of the dog in the fight that matters, it's the size of the fight in the dog."
Jones started the scoring less than two minutes after the opening kick-off when he dashed 48 yards to paydirt. Jeff Lucco added the first of his four extra points to make it 7-0.
Two minutes later, Plymouth linebacker Nick Rosochacki made it 14-0 when he scooped up a fumble at the Wayne 41 and rumbled untouched to the end zone.
The Zebras cut their deficit in half on their next possession when Crushshon scored from 92 yards away. Plymouth came right back, however, on a 32-yard keeper by Jones.
Some special-teams trickery by Wayne failed on its next drive when a botched fake punt gave the Wildcats the ball at the Zebra 27. Eight plays later, Lucco booted a 26-yard field goal to make it 23-7.
Plymouth closed out the first-half scoring on Jones' 3-yard run with 47 seconds left in the half to go up 30-7.
The Wildcats' final tally came on Green's one-yard TD run with 10:03 remaining in the game.
