(New Carlisle, IN) - New Prairie quarterback Marshall Kmiecik couldn’t have scripted a better Friday night. The senior led his team over undefeated South Bend Riley, broke a school passing record, and was named Homecoming King.
But the opening seconds were dicey. It took Riley less than a minute to jump out to a lead. A 72-yard bomb on their first play from scrimmage was followed by a 2-yard plunge into the end zone.
New Prairie fired back with a 56-yard touchdown throw from Kmiecik to senior wideout Reece Lapczynski on a 3rd-and-27 play.
Two holding penalties killed the next Riley drive, and the Wildcats’ offense sputtered from there. Near the end of the first quarter, Kmiecik found junior tight end Isaac Fronk for a 23-yard score. The two teams traded possessions, until a 67-yard Lapczynski touchdown reception put the Cougars up 20-6. A promising Riley drive at the end of the first half was thwarted by an interception by junior defensive back Hayden Scott.
Riley nearly rekindled their mojo in the second half, with a long pass play followed by a short touchdown run. But New Prairie’s backfield, which has been work in progress this season, rose to the challenge. “They’ve come a long way,” said head coach Casey McKim afer the game. “I really felt good about the way our DBs played, especially on the outside. There was a lot of deep balls thrown up, and we were in dominant position multiple times.”
On the first play of the fourth quarter, Kmiecik found Fronk again for a 55-yard touchdown. Senior two-way player Brock Sinka picked off a pass, and a Kmiecik rushing touchdown from the one with 3:34 remaining put the game on ice. The Cougars handed Riley their first loss, 35-12.
New Prairie’s passing game seems to have found its stride, and Friday night it ripped Riley’s vaunted defense for one big play after another. “I have a lot of respect for that defense,” McKim said. “They took away our strength; that’s what good defenses do. They took away the run game, which is really hard to do against us. We took advantage of it with some explosive plays in the passing game.”
Kmiecik’s 306 passing yards on 9 of 17 attempts set a school record. Lapczynski hauled in 155 of those yards, also a school record. Fronk accounted for 140 yards on three catches. Kmiecik also led the team in rushing, with 60 yards on the ground. (And don’t forget the Homecoming crown.)
According to McKim, Kmiecik has taken his game to another level. “Just unbelievable,” McKim said of his signal-caller. “He has multiple ways to beat you-- his calm under pressure, his skill set is unmatched at this level. He can beat you with his legs, he was some of our best running tonight. His ability to extend the plays, to get the ball out quickly, to get through his reads and to find that open guy, and then extend plays and get guys open that weren’t initially open is unrivaled.”
New Prairie’s defense registered two interceptions. Senior Aidan Zeiglar led the Cougars with eight tackles. Senior Trenton Klute had a sack.
The Cougars now brace themselves to face giants Penn and Elkhart in back-to-back games. Their final home game of the season is next Friday.
