Prep football notes: Penn finally No. 1
By CLIFF BRUNT
ISL Editor
After rolling through its competition all season, the Penn Kingsmen finally have climbed to the top of The Associated Press’ Indiana Class 6A football poll.
The top spot opened up after previous No. 1 Center Grove lost to Indianapolis Ben Davis.
Penn shut out five consecutive opponents before a 58-7 win over South Bend St. Joseph’s, one of the better teams in northern Indiana, last Friday. The Kingsmen have outscored their opponents 352-14 this season.
The game against St. Joseph’s was called with 4:18 left in the third quarter due to lightning. That’s right, the Kingsmen crushed a quality opponent by 51 points in 2 1/2 quarters.
It’s hard to say whether Penn’s dominance will transfer to the postseason. The Kingsmen shouldn’t be challenged in Sectional 2, but the next step could be challenging. Merrillville is 6-1 and ranked No. 8, and Lake Central is 6-1 and ranked No. 10 in Sectional 1.
If the Kingsmen get past those challenges, Carmel and Fishers are ranked in Sectional 4 and Hamilton Southeastern is 11th in votes. Penn would have to get through those teams just to get to the state final.
Past history leads to questions about whether Penn is really that good. The Kingsmen were squashed 54-0 by Carmel in the 5A final two years ago, giving the impression that the disparity in talent between the north and the Indianapolis area is gigantic. Fort Wayne Snider didn’t help that perception last year, getting rolled 39-14 by Lawrence Central in the 5A final.
The Kingsmen also haven’t played any teams from the MIC, considered one of the best conferences in the nation, this season.
Regardless of its doubters, Penn has simply mowed down every team on its schedule. Next on the slate: South Bend Riley, a 4-3 team that has won three straight.
CHATARD BEATS NORTH CENTRAL
Class 4A Indianapolis Chatard put a notch on its belt with a 21-18 victory over 6A North Central.
The Trojans led 21-6 before North Central scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter. North Central failed on all of its extra point tries.
Chatard running back Alex Kimack left the game with a shoulder injury. He ran 23 times for 99 yards and two touchdowns before getting hurt, and his status for Friday’s game against Guerin Catholic is uncertain.
VanSCHOYCK DOMINATES AGAIN
A week after Chase VanSchoyck set a state record with 581 yards rushing in a game, he went off again.
The 6-foot-1, 230-pound senior ran for 10 touchdowns and scored 62 points in a 93-20 win over Riverton Parke. VanSchoyck ran 22 times for 417 yards.
VanSchoyck’s season stats? Straight video game numbers. He has 144 carries for 1,892 yards and 28 touchdowns.
He didn’t even have the top rushing yardage performance in the state last week. Chandler Carroll of Yorktown ran for 520 yards in a 78-49 win over Pendleton Heights. He tacked on a measly eight touchdowns.
According to MaxPreps, VanSchoyck leads the state in yards rushing. Colton Lengacher of North Daviess is second with 1,719 yards.
VanSchoyck also leads the state with his 28 rushing touchdowns. Carroll is right behind him with 25.
The state record for yards rushing in a season is 3,366 yards, set by Cory Jacquay of New Haven in 2001.
CATHEDRAL FACES TECH
Indianapolis Cathedral moved up to No. 3 in the Class 5A poll, despite having a 3-4 record.
The Irish rolled past Fort Wayne Dwenger 47-30 last Friday. Dwenger fell from No. 8 to No. 10 in 4A.
The Irish have played as tough a schedule as anyone in the state. They opened with a 26-20 loss to Ben Davis, which is one of 6A’s best teams. They lost to Warren Central, then came back with impressive wins over South Bend St. Joseph’s and Chatard. The previous two weeks had produced tough losses of 15-6 to Cincinnati St. Xavier and 35-30 to Louisville Trinity.
It gets no easier on Friday, when the Irish play Indianapolis Tech. ISL’s Cliff Brunt will be there.
Though Tech is best known for the fight against Fort Wayne South Side, the Titans have a very good football team that on the field has won four straight games. Tech forfeited the game against South Side, even though it was leading 24-6, because of the fight. The Titans regrouped and defeated Dayton (Ohio) Dunbar 21-6 last week. A win over Cathedral would be huge for the Tech program and give it momentum as the postseason approaches.
In other poll movement, Lake Central moves in at No. 10 in 6A after a 14-13 win over Chesterton. In 4A, Jasper fell from No. 2 to No. 6 after losing to Mount Carmel (Ill.) 27-14. Tri-West moves into the 3A poll at No. 10. Tipton and Bremen are newcomers in 2A at No. 9 and 10 respectively.
Sheridan fell from No. 8 to No. 10 in 1A after losing 27-24 at Tipton.
PIKE vs. CARMEL ON TV
Indianapolis Pike will play Carmel Friday at 8 p.m. on ESPNU. Craig Dragash will be there for Indy Sports Legends.
Carmel, ranked No. 4, is coming off a 21-15 win over rival Warren Central. Pike, ranked No. 7, defeated Lawrence North 57-14 last week.
The game features two prime-time receivers. Carmel’s Austin Roberts is committed to UCLA, and Pike’s Dominique Booth is committed to Tennessee.
Pike’s three losses are by a combined six points, including one-point losses to No. 2 Ben Davis and No. 3 Center Grove.
