On the surface, Penn’s 42-21 win at LaPorte in Friday night’s Class 6A Sectional 2 championship game might look like just another routine outing for the Kingsmen against a Region team.
But the Slicers had their opportunities against the area’s perennial nemesis in a game that was closer than the score indicated.
Penn coach Cory Yeoman praised the performance from LaPorte, coached by Dave Sharpe.
“That’s a great offense,” Yeoman said. “What David’s done, you look at their win-loss record the last two years, and it’s pretty special. They’re a tough team to play and a tough team to defend. They can make you look silly in a hurry.”
Penn (11-0), which won its fourth straight sectional title and will play Crown Point in next week’s regionals, has won 22 straight games against Duneland Athletic Conference teams and 14 straight in the postseason against the DAC.
But LaPorte (9-2), which won the outright conference championship for the first time, competed well.
Trailing 14-7 and facing fourth-and-1 from their 37, the Slicers were stopped with 1:38 left in the first half. On the next play, James Iapalucci connected with Matt Kominkiewicz for a touchdown.
“That’s what we do — that’s what we do in short yardage,” Sharpe said when asked about the decision to go on fourth down. “That’s our offense. They were able to stop it, and they deserved to win.
“It’s on me. You have to take risks against them, and it didn’t pan put for us.”
The Slicers drove into position to cut their deficit before halftime, with Nolan Lorenz completing a 35-yard pass to Scott Cooper and Lorenz running for 41 yards to the Penn 8. But on second down, Paul Moala intercepted a pass with 18.9 seconds left.
The Slicers still drew within 21-14 on Brennen Long’s 19-yard TD run with 6:20 left in the third quarter.
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But Kominkiewicz returned the kickoff 85 yards to LaPorte’s 14. The Kingsmen turned that field position into Iapalucci’s 10-yard TD run to build a 28-14 edge.
“Great kickoff return, great answer,” Sharpe said. “That was the biggest play of the game.”
Moala’s second interception gave Penn possession at LaPorte’s 32. The Kingsmen capitalized with Rashid Maclin’s 1-yard TD on fourth down with 9:03 left in the game to make it 35-14.
“You have to play a perfect game to beat them,” Sharpe said.
Long, a senior running back, rushed for 81 yards and two TDs on 15 carries. Sophomore running back Caleb Kuzdas, replacing Chris Juszkiewicz after the senior suffered a broken arm last week against Chesterton, had 113 yards and a TD on 14 carries.
“He’s a good, he’s a good one,” Sharpe said of Juszkiewicz. “We’re excited about his future.”
Maclin rushed for 113 yards and three TDs on 16 carries for Penn.
Penn took a 7-0 lead on Landon Martz’s 11-yard TD run with 3:22 left in the first quarter.
But LaPorte responded with Long’s 5-yard TD run. The Slicers kept alive that drive when Lorenz hit Cooper for a first down on fourth-and-3 from the 50.
Penn answered with Maclin’s 1-yard TD to take a 14-7 lead.
The Slicers were proud of their season.
“We weren’t the most talented team in the DAC by a long stretch, but we are the champions,” Sharpe said. “We’re going to put up a big banner or flag that’s going to be there forever.
“I love this group. They’re going to come back and show their kids and grandkids what they did.”
Twitter @MichaelOsipoff