MISHAWAKA — Three-hundred-and-seventy-one days ago, the Mishawaka football team walked off its home field in stunned silence after losing a regional final at the buzzer against Fort Wayne Snider.
The mood was a little different for the Cavemen Friday.
All three facets shined bright for Mishawaka in a 21-7 victory over New Prairie in an IHSAA Class 4A regional championship game at Steele Stadium. It’s the third regional title in program history for the Cavemen and first since 2018.
“This was a program win,” Mishawaka coach Keith Kinder said. “I can’t stress enough how special our program is, and it’s special because our kids love Mishawaka football, and they want to be Mishawaka football players. It is not about chasing scholarships, it’s not about, ‘This person says I should be getting this’ – this is about Mishawaka football to the group of guys in our locker room, and I couldn’t be more proud.”
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Special teams set the tone from the start for Mishawaka, with senior Brady Newsome returning the opening kickoff to the New Prairie 40-yard line. Two plays later, sophomore quarterback Landon Snyder scampered 36 yards for a touchdown run. Only 64 seconds had ticked off the clock before Mishawaka had a 7-0 lead.
The offense scored on its next two possessions as well. A 10-play drive was capped off by a 32-yard scoring run from sophomore Kadyn O’Neal. A nine-play march early in the second quarter was punctuated by a two-yard plunge from Snyder.
“Our defensive staff had our guys really well prepared, the issue is just seeing that speed and size that you’re seeing,” said New Prairie coach Casey McKim on defending Mishawaka’s flexbone, run-heavy offense. “I think getting used to that speed and physicality is hard, but we did eventually.”
Mishawaka defense makes things chaotic for New Prairie
The Cougars (9-4) flashed on offense at times, but had a hard time scoring for most of the night. A 42-yard pass from junior Reed Robinson to senior Hayden Whitenack midway through the second quarter was followed by four plays that netted one yard, causing a turnover on downs.
A microcosm of the game came on New Prairie’s drive early in the fourth quarter down 14. The Cougars picked up two first down, reaching their own 30-yard line before back-to-back Mishawaka sacks pushed the visitors all the way back to their own 11-yard line. Facing a 3rd-and-29, Robinson was forced to throw into traffic, with the pass being intercepted by Mishawaka senior Jackson Snyder.
New Prairie’s lone touchdown came on a 44-yard run by Robinson late in the third quarter.
“(Robinson) is an incredible player,” Kinder said. “We thought the key was getting a lot of helmets to him and being really physical, and we were. I don’t know how many sacks we had, but it felt like he was running for his life, and that was the difference I think.”
Decorated New Prairie senior class
It’s the last game for this Cougars’ senior class, which was the first to win four-straight sectionals in program history. They added a regional championship in 2021 and both regional and semistate titles in 2022 to reach the Class 4A state finals that year. The four-year record for the group was 43-12.
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“Their level of commitment is just unmatched,” said McKim of the seniors. “These young men have worked their tails off. They’ve poured everything — heart, body, mind and time — into becoming a good football team. It just hurts when it ends.”
What’s next for Mishawaka football
The No. 5-ranked Cavemen (11-2) will get to host next week’s Class 4A North semistate game against No. 2 East Noble (12-1). The Knights dominated Huntington North, 52-17, in a regional championship game Friday night.
Mishawaka 21, New Prairie 7
New Prairie 0 0 7 0 --7
Mishawaka 14 7 0 0 --21
SCORING PLAYS
FIRST QUARTER
M: Landon Snyder 36-yard run at 10:56 (Blake Vandenburg kick)
M: Kadyn O’Neal 32-yard run at 2:25 (Vandenburg kick)
SECOND QUARTER
M: Landon Snyder 2-yard run at 7:50 (Vandenburg kick)
THIRD QUARTER
N: Reed Robinson 44-yard run at 2:11 (Logan Chalik kick)
FOURTH QUARTER
No scoring plays