BLACKGOLD2007

Not a good turn out at Penn

There will be fans everywhere. Mishawaka will pack their stands, and then sit on your side as well. They will have people standing in the roped off areas that are "walkways" from the home side to the visitor side. It is a very unique venue to play football and to watch a game. Mishawaka has not seen semi-state since 2018 and has been absent from the state title game since 2012. This community is hungry for a chance to get back to Indy. Snider will have a battle on their hands. It is a winnable game. I am telling you all, If you see Snider as a better team then Penn, Snide should win this game. I understand that it is a long trip to Mishawaka from the Fort, but if these young men keep their heads on, and stay focused they should have a potential rematch against Valpo.

Penn does not traditionally have large d-lineman. Even back into the Gees years the D-line was meant to be quick and eat blocks on the run. There is so much unknown. Seems that everyone is thinking it will either be a CP blowout win or a nail biter. Seems you are taking this a little personally? You could be 100% correct. We will find out tomorrow night.

Their passing game is better than I can remember in recent history....but in no ways is it something they want to lean on. If Snider goes up by two or three scores, with 1 half or less to go, Mishawaka will have to throw the ball. It wont be pretty and it can catch you off guard, but if you keep forcing them to drop back, sacks will happen and they will give you the ball via fumble or int.

Valpo's D shut down CP and held CP to 19 points, Valpo, granted in the first game struggled to stop Penn's O. The score was close by virtue of two very bad plays by the Defensive secondary....that has become very opportunistic group as the year has progressed. The Penn CB's have developed a ball hawk trait as the season has progressed. They also can find the house, with at least 3 pick 6's this season.

The only way this score happens, is if Penn's O cannot stay on the field and by way of attrition CP pulls away late. CP is good....not Cathedral good.

Just going off of what is on Harrell

Well Friday is quickly approaching. I hear it is going to be brisk that night. Cannot wait.

Looks like Westfield is a Penn fan this weekend, and HSE just needs to win.

If Penn wins we play away no matter what. If CP wins and Westfield wins Westfield plays at CP, if HSE wins CP plays there.

Are these guys interior Dlineman or LBs?

Mishawaka is going to fight like a dog backed into a corner. This will not be a fun or easy game for Snider. But, it is a winnable game.

Ok. Mishawka is prone to hurting themselves. If they get down by more than a couple scores they have tendencies to turn the ball over. A lot of you have consistently had Snider above Penn in your top 25 posts...Penn controlled Mishawaka, outside the first drive. I think Mishawaka (if they go on offense first) strikes first and makes you think, well this is going to be a long night....trust your system and players and Snider should come out on top. I think Snider wins 24-14

The only reason why this convo is currently happening is because the NIC decided to go to a 7 game conference schedule. Which means Penn will have to decide between dropping 1 of the following three teams....Valpo, Mishawaka or Carmel...I bet it is Mishawaka. How about Penn drops Riley and Washington and we call it even...The problem with that scenario is the current staff holds a lot of value in winning conference championships. Which leads us (Penn faithful) to believe that we are stuck, playing a bad schedule and not getting to see what we really have as a team.

Penn's passing game will have to be on point, if Penn cannot move the ball via the run through the middle of the D...it might be more like 21-20 or 24-21.

I hear you on the uphill battle you would be looking at year in and year out...This year minus the weird blunder in game 1...NP is better than Portage, LP, MC & LC....I think they would probably beat Chesterton this season. Valpo, CP & MVille would all be losses... However, you wouldn't be playing all three of those teams plus Penn each season. If you went with Boiler's set up, you would only see Mville and CP every couple of season, while you still get LP and MC. That also comes with Valpo and Penn yearly. But, NP in the middle of the DAC is a good finish. It sets you up for a very strong run in the 4A ranks. You will have seasons where Valpo might blow you out the water, but just as the last 5 years have shown you can beat Penn on any given night and you have held your own against them.

Didn't Penn play Mishawaka twice for like JV or Freshmen this year.....When I was in school we never had to double up with a school, but now with the program numbers of the SB schools dropping hard, there is just no sustainability. If one of the programs could maintain some sense of consistency it might slowly build excitement in the school and the community to get kids more interested in playing. Hopefully Riley can start that cycle. Washington was that program for a few years. But, there is so much turnover in the coaching ranks it is hard to become consistent when a qb has his third head coach in four years.

So, if Elkhart decides to go to the NLC and NP decides to also join the NLC (which are both possible), The next best option could be going down to Jeff (which is a drive) or even Lowell or Hobart could be options....I know they are smaller, but they play some DAC schools on the regular. The NIC struggles to find filler games right now for their JV and Freshman teams because some of the schools don't have the numbers to fill the rosters. It is a crap shoot in the NIC.

Warsaw threw a wrench that no one saw coming. If you can dodge a wrench you can dodge a ball....6A Indiana all eliminated on that one. lol

Even if they went to the DAC the same scenario applies, the other NIC schools would still be willing to play Penn. Maybe not all, but St. Joe, Marian & Adams would be. Riley and Washington I think are ready for a Penn NIC divorce. NLC teams would still look to add Penn in their schedules as well. Either way, Penn I think is set when it comes to schedules.

I think if Penn were allowed to remain an NIC member in all sports but Football it would be less stress for the AD. But, I think there are some programs that would love to on board Penn as a long term opponent...Valpo is our most consistent rival right now. Even though Indy schools might not deem us a threat they would still play us. Fort Wayne schools want to play us. I think we could fill an independent schedule quickly. But, is it what is best right now for the program? Idk. I think playing schools with programs that are more your size on a weekly basis will help improve the trajectory of the program.

@Boilernation I agree 100% with your thoughts. I think the East/West split is most do-able. I would like to see a more competitive split...Penn plays Valpo every year, so my thoughts would be: Side A: -Penn -Elkhart/NP -Merrillville -LaPorte -Chesterton Side B -CP -Michigan City -Lake Central -Valpo -Portage I think this is the most balanced approach when it comes to guaranteed yearly opponents. Either way works. You still do the two crossover games that is 6 total leaving 3 non-conference games to be played. This allows Penn to keep Mishawaka, play a Fort Wayne school and pick up a school from around Indy....This improves Penn's schedule 100 fold in my opinion.

I expect Steele Stadium to be packed and rocking

Look, to be fair and as even as possible. Penn's trajectory has been downward over the last 5-6 seasons. Last year was an improvement by record, but the Carroll result was typical of Penn's outcomes in the seasons prior. Penn this year is by far way better than last year. However, they have a tendency to come out flat, they did it in their biggest game in Cathedral (not saying they the game's result would have changed, but if they came out with some fire maybe it isn't as bad)....As a die hard Penn fan, hate the fact that we are not competitive with the teams down in Indy...to be honest, we haven't been for the most part since my freshman year in 03....We have had seasons where we beat Carmel...but look what happened at state the next week... Even if Penn beats CP, Westfield or HSE will likely handle Penn in the same manor that Cathedral did. CP, I take the I will believe it when I see stance. The beat good Valpo and M'ville teams, but overall the rest of their conference and schedule was down....that is not to the fault of CP. Penn has the same issue, the NIC is not good. (sorry co-NIC members) There is no benefit in the conference games....However, I think Penn would be better off in the DAC than the NIC...what does that say about the DAC? What I want from this game....Bobref probably hates me, but I want a ref crew that will call the game both ways, I want Penn to come out and execute on both sides of the ball. I want to see CP at their best, and I want the team that wins to go on and compete well in Semi-state. I am tired of "always" getting whipped by schools from Indy...6A north (the true north, sounds like game of thrones) needs a state title....IDC who wins it CP, Penn Carroll, we need 1.

Ah the good old days when Penn was a 219 school....