Wildcats explode in second quarter in run-away victory over Salem

BY ED WRIGHT
Aug. 27, 2010, 11:15 p.m.

  When you're shopping for a used car, the best advice to remember is "buyer beware."

  When you're playing Plymouth's football team, it's more like "beware Beyer."

  Senior Brennen Beyer, who has committed to play football for the University of Michigan beginning next fall, scored three touchdowns in a five-minute span of the second quarter Friday night to lead the Wildcats to a 48-0 triumph over Salem.

  "That's why he's going to Michigan," Plymouth head coach Mike Sawchuk said, when asked about Beyer's game-changing exploits. "He worked his butt off during the off-season. He's even better now than he was last year."

  Beyer's offensive explosion was ignited 55 seconds into the second quarter when the 6-foot-4, 225-pound wide-out out-jumped Salem defensive back Evian Pardo for a 32-touchdown pass from junior quarterback Shaun Austin.

  Following Kyle Brindza's extra point, Plymouth led 7-0.

  "Shaun told me to run a fly route and to look for the ball," said Beyer, recounting his first TD. "He threw me a great pass. It was a jump ball and I went up and got it."

  Just over two minutes later, Beyer broke through the right side of the Salem offensive line and blocked Ethan Walsh's punt before pouncing on the loose pigskin in the end zone.

  "Our defensive coach said, 'Beyer, if you want to go, you can go'," Beyer said. "I saw an opening, took it, and it worked out well."

  Beyer capped his gridiron hat-trick with 6:45 left in the half when he pulled in an 11-yard Austin spiral in the back corner of the end zone to make it 21-0.

  Much like last year's season opener, Salem gave Plymouth all it could handle early on before falling victim to the Wildcats' impressive depth.

  "We're better than that," said Salem head coach Kurt Britnell. "We played too slow against a very good team. They're fast and athletic. It was an embarrassing way to start, but we'll keep working and get better."

  Beyer was just one bright spot in a galaxy of stars for the Wildcats Friday night.

  Austin sparkled in his varsity debut, completing 13 of 18 passes for 247 yards and three touchdowns.

  Senior Vic Hicks -- the Wildcats' starting quarterback last season -- intercepted a pair of Salem passes, caught one pass from Austin for 26 yards and ran once for nine.

  "Shaun knew going into this season that it was going to be a challenge to beat out Vic; they're this close," said Sawchuk, putting his index finger and thumb less than an inch from one another. "Shaun is so poised in the pocket. Even when he's not playing quarterback, Vic's a weapon, both on offense and defense.

  "Vic has handled it awesome. This gives us another dimension for when we do put Vic in there."

  Senior receiver Jake Morris snared four passes for 53 yards and a TD, while Jerrel Jenkins rushed seven times for 45 yards.

  Defensively, junior linebacker Tyler Goble was a magnet to the ball, registering double-digit tackles. He was playing in front of an inspired defensive front, which included Bobby Riche, Beyer, Kenny Durham, Brandon Landers and Ryan Gomoll.

  "Coming into the season, one thing I was a little leery of was our defensive line," Sawchuk said, "simply because we had lost so many guys to graduation. But those guys came out tonight and played tough. Our D-line coach, Pat O'Connell, has done a great job with that group."

  Plymouth limited Salem to just 83 total yards of offense. The Wildcats amassed 376 offensive yards.

  Plymouth's 35-point second quarter also included two touchdowns from Dante Fox, who scored on a 12-yard up-the-gut run with 5:36 left in the half and a 1-yard plunge at the 1:15 mark.

  The Wildcats' final two scores came on a 1-yard Austin-to-Morris TD strike and an 11-yard scamper by Freddie Dunbar.

  Salem came within a foot of scoring in the fourth quarter. On fourth and inches inside the Plymouth 1, Thompson barely misfired on a quick pass to an uncovered Brian Auquier.

  "It's plays like that we have to execute better," said Britnell.

  Thompson started strong, completing his first three pass attempts -- one a 20-yard bullet to Matt Morton.

  "We just didn't give him a lot of help after that," Britnell lamented.

  The game was stopped for close to 45 minutes with 8:07 left in the game when Salem senior defensive back Davon Mullins suffered a neck injury while making a valiant, diving tackle on Dante Fox at the Rock 1-yard line.

  Mullins was taken from the field on a stretcher and transported to the hospital in an ambulance.

  "He wasn't moving much," said Salem head coach Kurt Britnell. "But he was squeezing our trainer's hand, so that was a good sign."

  Players from both teams met at mid-field following the game to pray for Mullins.

  PlymouthCantonSports.com will have updates on Mullins' condition sometime this weekend.

  Ed Wright can be reached at (734) 453-1980 or info@plymouthcantonsports.com.

Salem's Evian Pardo hauls in a Drew Thompson pass that tipped off the fingers of teammate Ethan Walsh (33). (Ed Wright photo)

Brennen Beyer stretches to try to deflect a Drew Thompson pass. (Ed Wright photo)

Plymouth's Jake Morris is finally hauled down after a sparkling 29-yard catch and run. (Ed Wright photo)

Nick Troher pounces on a fumble during the first quarter. (Ed Wright photo)

Dante Fox bursts through the line for a 12-yard touchdown run. (Ed Wright photo)

Ethan Walsh (33) and an unidentified Rock bring down Jerrell Jenkins following a three-yard run. (Ed Wright photo)