In second half, Rams take charge

MARSHFIELD - After a rocky start to the seventh game of its still perfect season, No. 8 Marshfield (7-0) scored 13 unanswered second-half points last night to prevail over Atlantic Coast rival Plymouth South, 13-7.

Plymouth South elected to receive and immediately put the ball in the hands of its best player, quarterback Derrick Duquette (3 of 8, 38 yards, 1 interception; 10 carries, 93 yards, 1 touchdown).

The senior star, behind an unorthodox set of play calls, carried his team 64 yards on three plays. Duquette started the drive with a 44-yard rush that he broke down the left sideline utilizing a powerful stiff arm. He then found a hole up the middle for 16 more yards before walking into the end zone from 4 yards out to put the Panthers up, 7-0, just two minutes into the game.

Duquette's defense backed up his impressive start, limiting Marshfield to just one first down in the first half. The Rams went three and out to begin the game and then were stuffed on fourth down from South's 37.

The Rams came out of halftime looking to change momentum and did just that, running 11 plays over nearly seven minutes en route to their first score. Facing a fourth and 6 from the 26, Brad Poirier (6 carries, 105 yards, 1 TD) found room down the right sideline and outran his opponents to the end zone.

Duquette then made his first mistake. On third and 3 from his 28, Duquette was picked off around midfield by Brendon Fleming. Working from South's 40, Marshfield ran six plays that culminated in a 14-yard TD rush by Sam Nota. Nota bolted through the right side of South's line for the score at 9:49 of the fourth quarter. Phil Whittaker's extra point put the Rams ahead, 13-7.

"For six games we were running a lot [of plays] through the tight end," said Rams coach Lou Silva. "They took that away so we started attacking the split end side and that kind of worked for us."