Landon Snyder makes his throws count as Mishawaka football knocks off rival Penn

MISHAWAKA — Landon Snyder likes to throw the ball.

Unfortunately for him, he plays quarterback in one of the most run-heavy type of offenses, the triple-option.

That’s why when the rare pass play is called, Snyder is ready to capitalize like how he did for Mishawaka against its biggest rival, Penn.

Snyder threw the ball five total times, but completed two touchdown passes and a two-point conversion as the No. 4 (4A) Cavemen knocked off the No. 10 (6A) Kingsmen, 27-7, Friday in front of a packed crowd at Steele Stadium.

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It was Mishawaka’s first win in the “Backyard Brawl” rivalry since 2018. The series took a three-year hiatus when the Cavemen moved from the Northern Indiana to the Northern Lakes Conference starting in 2020, but returned last fall with a 28-7 Kingsmen win on their home field. Penn still leads the all-time series, 49-16-1.

Snyder’s final pass — a 4th-and-6, 24-yard touchdown pass to senior Josh Sandy with 1:24 remaining — put an emphatic final touch on a game Mishawaka controlled from start to finish.

“It was nice; I was hyped,” said Snyder when he saw the pass play come in at the end. “… This gives us a lot of confidence. We’re definitely putting things together and making good moves forward.”

As for the running part? Snyder excelled at that Friday night as well. He carried the ball 16 times for 198 yards, with the highlight being a 64-yard scamper in the second quarter that put his team ahead, 20-0, at the time.

“I saw two people coming down, and the last long run I had prior, they both did the same thing,” Snyder said. “So, I was not going to get sandwiched in between them again.”

Mishawaka (2-0) used 10 plays on the opening drive to score. After nine-straight runs gained a total of 38 yards, Snyder used a beautiful play-action pass to throw to a wide-open Sandy for a 39-yard touchdown.

The second scoring play featured another well-executed fake by the Cavemen, with Snyder pretending to hand the ball to two different players before pitching to senior Brady Newsome, who ran 15 yards virtually untouched to make it a 12-0 game in the second quarter.

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Snyder’s lengthy run — plus a two-point throw from the sophomore to Sandy — gave Mishawaka a 20-point cushion midway through the second frame.

“Landon played fantastically,” Mishawaka coach Keith Kinder said. “What a beautiful pass on the 4th down here at the end of the game. He’s a tough, composed kid. What sophomore with four minutes left in the game and a ton of field in front of him just decides to hit the ground because he wants to keep the clock running?

“He’s a good player, and he’s only going to get better, which is the nice thing.”

Penn can’t convert on chances

It seemed like Penn (1-1) was going to crawl back into the game when senior Malachi Evans plunged into the end zone on a one-yard run late in the first half to make it a 20-7 contest.

The Kingsmen, though, struggled to finish drives across the final two quarters. A turnover on downs, followed by a lost fumble, ended its last two drives of the third quarter near midfield.

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After recovering a fumble of their own on the ensuing Mishawaka possession, the Kingsmen drove to the Cavemen 36-yard line before another turnover on downs ended things for the visitors. That would be Penn’s only true possession of the fourth quarter, minus two plays at the end that ran out the clock.

“They did a good job taking away the big plays,” Penn coach Pete Riordan said. “I also think the nature of their offense, limiting our possessions — I’m not sure we responded well to that. Obviously, defensively, we made too many mistakes ourselves. When the offense is shooting themselves in the foot with pre-snap penalties and things like that, obviously it’s going to make things harder.”

Penn scored 49 points and totaled more than 570 yards of offense in its week one victory over Valparaiso. Friday saw the Kingsmen score 42 less points and have almost 350 less yards of offense.

“Our defense was incredible,” Kinder said. “They played fast, they played physical, they ran to the football. We preached all week at how talented they were on offense and that it was going to take 11 guys running to the football. I think, for the most part, that happened, so I’m really proud. It was a total team effort.”

What’s next for Mishawaka and Penn football

Both teams start their respective conference play next week. Mishawaka begins NLC action when it travels to another 2-0 team, Concord, which beat Jimtown 49-28 Friday.

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Meanwhile, Penn visits Jackson Field to take on South Bend Riley in an NIC opener. The Wildcats trailed Fort Wayne Wayne, 14-7, at halftime Friday before bad weather rolled into the area, causing a permanent delay. Given the distance between the schools, the game was ruled a no contest. Therefore, Riley’s record remains 1-0.

Mishawaka 27, Penn 7

Penn | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 —7

Mishawaka | 6 | 13 | 0  | 7—27

SCORING PLAYS

FIRST QUARTER

M: Landon Snyder 39-yard pass to Josh Sandy at 5:57 (extra point missed)

SECOND QUARTER

M: Brady Newsome 15-yard run at 11:05 (extra point missed)

M: Snyder 64-yard run at 7:07 (Snyder pass to Sandy for two-point conversion)

P: Malachi Evans 1-yard run at 4:22 (Dylan DeDario kick)

THIRD QUARTER

No scoring plays

FOURTH QUARTER

M: Snyder 24-yard pass to Sandy at 1:24 (Blake Vandenburg kick)

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Landon Snyder makes his throws count as Mishawaka football knocks off rival Penn