(New Carlisle, IN) - New Prairie turned in a workmanlike performance Friday night and kept Mishawaka Marian at bay en route to their third victory of the year.
The Cougar defense forced a three-and-out for Marian on their opening drive, then scored on a 34-yard run by sophomore Reed Robinson. A quarterback sack by junior Harrison Groves thwarted a long drive by the Knights, but Marian came back with a 28-yard touchdown on their next possession to tie the game. New Prairie’s defense at times had trouble getting off the field, but came up with stops when they had to. A second-quarter fumble recovery by senior Matt Sorce stopped another Marian drive.
Meanwhile a stingy Knights defense made the Cougars earn their yardage. It took a roughing penalty on Marian to put New Prairie back in scoring position just before half. A 31-yard field goal by senior kicker Owen Chalik put the score at 10-7 for intermission.
Junior wideout Beau Kmiecik returned the second half kickoff 47 yards. Robinson punched it in from the one a few plays later. The teams traded punts until another Kmiecik, senior quarterback Marshall, broke free on a 69-yard touchdown run with 56 seconds left in the third quarter.
The Cougars added some insurance in the fourth quarter with a 28-yard touchdown catch by Matt Sorce. Marian managed to scratch together a long scoring drive in the game’s final minutes, scoring a touchdown on a short run as time expired. Final score: 31-13.
Penalty calls continued to be a bugaboo for the Cougars. They racked up eleven of them for 115 lost yards. But after the game, head coach Cakey McKim was not overly concerned. On offense, he attributed much of it to Marian’s athleticism. “There were really good athletes on the other side,” said McKim. “They have some guys who are really hard to lock up.” As for the defense, McKim was slow to criticize their aggressive play. It’s football.
New Prairie’s offence wasn’t flashy, but they managed to put up 31 points without many big plays. “We made some adjustments at halftime,” McKim said, “and they executed at a really high level.” Defensive turnovers at key times put the offence in good position.
Marshall Kmiecik rushed for over a hundred yards for the third time in four games. Junior Hayden Scott led the defense with nine tackles. Juniors Luke Maupin and Harrison Groves each recorded a sack.
New Prairie will travel to South Bend next Friday to take on St. Joseph in a match-up of 3-1 teams for control of the top spot in the NIC.
