Missed It By That Much

All good things must come to an end. This was the case for the Penn Kingsmen this past Friday night when they hosted the Carmel Greyhounds in a semi-state battle of unbeatens.

The game kicked off with a bang as Carmel put the ball in the endzone in just over a minute of gameplay when running back Shakir Paschall broke off a 56-yard rush for a touchdown. Penn would come right back, though, methodically driving the ball down the field and scoring on an 8-yard rush by quarterback Camden Bohn, who would end the day with 17 rushes for 129 yards and two touchdowns.

After Bohn’s touchdown scamper, the offenses stalled. The game turned into a defensive battle, and after a 32-yard field goal attempt by Penn kicker Jared Hancock missed wide right, the two teams headed into the half still tied up at seven.

The tie would eventually be broken by Carmel in the fourth quarter when quarterback Issac James ran the ball 69-yards for a touchdown. Just as they did the first time Carmel scored, Penn marched down the field once again, and once again they put the ball in the endzone. However, Hancock’s extra point attempt bounced off of the left upright and was no good.

Trailing by one with under five minutes left in the game, the Kingsmen opted for a normal kickoff rather than an onside attempt. The defense stood tall, and Penn regained possession of the ball with about 45 seconds to go in the game.

An 11-yard first down scramble by Bohn on the first play of the drive hyped up the crowd, but four plays Bohn had been sacked and thrown three incomplete passes, and time ran out on the game as well as on Penn’s season.

With the 14-13 loss, Penn’s 2014 season comes to a close. Their season included a notable 37-17 victory at Fort Wayne Snider, a 21-12 NIC Championship victory over rival Mishawaka, a 43-7 section victory over Portage, a 41-6 Sectional Championship victory over Chesterton, and a 42-6 Regional Championship victory over Merrillville.

Carmel will take on the 11-2 Ben Davis Giants on Saturday, November 29th in the Class 6A State Championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium.