Plymouth South finds success

It’s no wonder then, that as seniors at Plymouth South, they have found success together.

They have grown up together.

“It definitely makes a huge difference,’’ Carroll said of having a teammate for so long. “We hang out all the time outside of school, we’re together on defense, in the backfield. I know he’ll have my back and he knows I’ll have his back. It’s always been that way. It’s just a good relationship.’’

Gustafson agreed, adding that they both just “know what needs to be done.’’

“He’s always been my quarterback,’’ Gustafson said of Carroll. “When we’ve been playing together for that long, we just click. We just know where the other one is going to be.’’

Thanks to the efforts of Carroll, Gufstafson, and 22 other seniors - 21 of whom have been together since their freshmen year, South is off to a 4-0 start after Friday’s 14-0 nonleague win over Quincy.

“It’s a pretty unique number to have,’’ South coach Scott Fry said of his senior-heavy team. “These guys have been together for a long time.’’

Gustafson agreed that having so many seniors is an advantage.

“Everyone on the team is a leader,’’ he said.

The experience, and forcing turnovers, is paying off for a team coming off a 2-9 season. South has forced 11 turnovers in four games, while committing just one (an interception in the first game), for a plus-10.

“Everyone knows we’re a different team,’’ Carroll said. “We have more confidence. Last year you could tell we were young, timid. We hadn’t proved ourselves. [This year] everyone is ready to play. That’s why we’re 4-0 right now. Everyone has done the work.’’

In the victory over visiting Quincy, Carroll once again played a leading role. The 5-foot-10, 175-pound QB threw a 67-yard TD pass to senior tight end Devin Dondero in the third quarter and then capped the scoring with a 25-yard run.

“I knew that it was my time,’’ said Carroll, who has rushed for 325 yards and two touchdowns on 47 carries (6.19 yards per carry) this season.

Gustafson went down with an ankle injury in the second quarter. While he did return in the second half and is expected to play tomorrow night at Dennis-Yarmouth, Fry said it says a lot about a team when a key player can go down but the team doesn’t fall.

“Both of them are very unselfish,’’ Fry said of the two captains. “I think John stepped up very well.’’

The 6-foot, 180-pound Gustafson is averaging 195.5 yards rushing per game and his 60 points (10 touchdowns) place him fourth among Division 2A scorers in Eastern Mass. The senior stayed modest though when asked about nearing the 1,000 yard rushing mark.

“It feels pretty good I guess,’’ he said. “I’ve never broken a thousand yards before. I owe it all to my linemen.’’

The focus, according to Fry, is one game at a time. While he is excited about the undefeated start, the schedule will only get tougher, starting with tomorrow’s game at D-Y.

“I’m excited but I’m also realistic,’’ he said. “We have some really good teams in the league and we still have three undefeated teams to play. . . . We have to take it one game at a time.’’

“I don’t think Carver picked up a first down until just before the half,’’ Afanasiw said. “[The defense] really executed. They played excellent all night long and played very physical football as well.’’

Three linebackers, junior Jake Kissick, senior Andy McKenna, and senior cocaptain Jake Wheelwright were also major playmakers, according to Afanasiw, and junior cornerback Robert Jones had two interceptions.

Tomorrow night Cohasset takes on another undefeated team with Mashpee at 7.

“We have the potential [to score a lot] every time we play,’’ he said after his team improved to 5-0.

The Eagles have enjoyed every minute of their unbeaten run. Walsh and Wood each scored a pair of touchdowns, one rushing and receiving. But Burkhead believed a major key was that Cosgrove “had one of his best games,’’ throwing 44- and 6-yard scoring passes.

Tomorrow night the Eagles will host Marshfield (3-2) at 7.

Lizzy Snell can be reached at esnell@globe.com