(New Carlisle, IN) - To save their Homecoming, New Prairie's football team called an audible this week when their scheduled opponent had to cancel due to COVID.
With South Bend Riley unable to field a team thanks to the virus, the Cougars scrambled to line up a replacement for Friday night's scheduled Homecoming.
Arsenal Tech made the three-hour trip up from Indianapolis. Their game against Anderson had also been canceled under similar COVID-related circumstances.
New Prairie Head Coach Casey McKim said the last-minute change didn't cost the team much prep time. "We've actually had a decent amount of prep. Really we pretty much only lost Monday," he said. "You don't get perhaps as much depth, but for sure, we've had plenty of time." The critical thing, said McKim, is that they found an opponent for the big game. "Any time you can get to play on a Friday night, it's a great opportunity."
Come game time, the Cougars seemed every bit ready. They pounced on an Arsenal fumble on the first offensive play and didn't look back, eventually winning 46-8.
New Prairie once again relied on its running game, with four rushers sharing 252 total yards. Junior Noah Mungia and Sophomore Brock Sinka scored one touchdown apiece. In what has become a go-to short-yardage play, 257-pound Junior linebacker Jacob Mrozinski also punched in a goal-line score.
New Prairie's receiving core was even more impressive. Junior Dallas Ryans and Seniors Ben Fronk and Hayden Clark scored three touchdowns and averaged nearly 38 yards per reception. In addition, sophomore quarterback Marshall Kmiecik was efficient, if not prolific. He posted 189 yards on 5 out of six passing completions, good enough for a quarterback rating of 163.2.
Senior Jacob Myers led the way with eight tackles, a sack, and a fumble recovery on defense.
New Prairie now sets its sights on two powerhouse opponents, Penn and Elkhart, to finish out their regular season schedule.
