2000 IHSAA FOOTBALL STATE FINALS

Class 5A

November 25, 2000

RCA Dome, Indianapolis

 

PENN WINS FIFTH STATE TITLE WITH SHUTOUT VICTORY

Penn celebrated its fourth state title in the last six years and fifth overall with a 21-0 triumph over Center Grove in the IHSAA Class 5A state championship game.

Penn quarterback Eric Moore set the tone by hitting 10 of 10 passes for 156 yards and three touchdowns in the first half. Moore finished 13-for-16 for 181 yards as the Kingsmen kept it on the ground for most of the second half.

The Kingsmen struck on their opening possession, a 64-yard pass from Moore to Sam Penrod. Moore then hit Ian Smith on a 16-yard strike with 9:35 left in the second quarter and ended the first half with a 13-yarder to Blair Donat with 0:18 seconds remaining to cap a 12-play, 79-yard drive.

The victory completed a 14-1 season for second-ranked Penn, whose only loss was to Ben Davis. Center Grove, making its first appearance in the football state finals, was coached by Eric Moore (not to be confused with the Penn quarterback of the same name). The Trojans finished 13-2, with its only other loss also at Ben Davis.

Penn’s other Class 5A titles came in 1995, 1996 and 1997. The Kingsmen were the Class 4A state champions in 1983 when the tournament was played in a four-class format. Penn finished as the state runner-up in 1989, 1991, and 1999, all in Class 5A.

The five state titles moves the Kingsmen into a tie for second among schools with the most football championships. Penn joins Ben Davis, Carmel, Indianapolis Cathedral and Roncalli with five each. Only Sheridan, with six, has more.

Each of Penn’s state championship game appearances came under the direction of coach Chris Geesman, who has compiled a 287-44 record in 27 seasons with the Kingsmen. With his fifth state championship, Geesman moves into third place on the list of most titles by a coach. Sheridan’s Larry "Bud" Wright and Ben Davis’ Dick Dullaghan have won six each.

Attendance for Saturday’s three-game session was 27,744 for a five-game total of 42,881.

 

Penn (14-1)

7

14

0

0

--

21

Center Grove (13-2)

0

0

0

0

--

0

 

Scoring Summary

1st Quarter

Penn – Samuel Penrod 64 pass from Eric Moore (Matthew Nagy kick), 10:16.

2nd Quarter

Penn – Ian Smith 16 pass from Eric Moore (Matthew Nagy kick), 9:35.

Penn – Blair Donat 13 pass from Eric Moore (Matthew Nagy kick), :18.

 

Team Statistics

Penn

 

Center Grove

20

First Downs

8

37/162

Rushes/Yards

35/187

181

Passing Yards

64

13/16/0

Passing Comp./Att./Int.

2/6/0

53/343

Plays/Total Net Yards

41/251

15

Return Yards

38

3/28.3

Punts/Avg.

4/37.3

7/51

Penalties/Yards

5/41

0/0

Fumbles/Lost

3/1

27:08

Time of Possession

20:52

Individual Statistics

Rushing

Penn – Ian Smith 12-48; Eric Moore 10-43; Ryan Kisrow 9-41; Robert Jones 4-23; Brian Post 1-6; Ryan Tackas 1-1.

Center Grove – Jonny Zwitt 20-147; Eric McClurg 9-54; Matt Kaler 1-minus 1; Kyle Geiger 4-minus 11; Team 1-minus 2.

Passing

Penn – Eric Moore 13-16-181-3-0.

Center Grove – Kyle Geiger 2-6-64-0-0.

Receiving

Penn – Mitchell Dreisbach 5-54; Blair Donat 3-33; Ian Smith 2-25; Sam Penrod 1-64; Brian Post 1-5; Ryan Kisrow 1-0.

Center Grove – Eric McClurg 2-64.

Tackles

Penn – Gabriel Kovatch 8; Kevin Violette 7; Samuel Penrod 3; Chris Shelly 3; Mark Bauernfeind 3; Chris Gurcheik 3; Daniel Geans 2; Josh DeLoddere 2; Jeff Thompson 2; Brian Bugg 1; Brandon Morgan 1; Blake Heberle 1; Alex Sandroni 1; David Cramer 1; Anthony Camparone 1; Matthew Szabo; Adam Sobecki 1; Ryan Tackas 1; Jeremy Kline 1; Ryan Hill 1.

Center Grove – Jeremy VanAlstyne 12; Gary McClure 12; Eric McClurg 5; Donnie Barton 5; Brad Beeson 4; J.T. Spencer 4; Robert Mullen 3; Andy Moore 3; Evan Hutson 2; Andrew Rice 2; Dallas Johnson 2; Ryan Maples 1; Kyle Kazmierzak 1; Matt Kaler 1; Daren Johnson 1; Ryan Skelton 1.

Sacks

Penn – Daniel Geans 1; Blake Heberle 1.

Center Grove – Jeremy VanAlstyne 2; Gary McClure 1.

Interceptions

Penn – None.

Center Grove – None.

 

Fumble Recoveries

Penn – Mark Bauernfeind 1.

Center Grove – None.

 

CLASS 5A GAME NOTES

PENN WINS FIFTH FOOTBALL STATE TITLEPenn claimed its fifth state championship and fourth in the last six years with its victory to move into a tie for second-most among all schools. The Kingsmen won the Class 4A championship in 1983 and the Class 5A titles in 1995, 1996 and 1997 to go along with this year’s trophy. Ben Davis, Carmel, Indianapolis Cathedral and Roncalli each have won five championships. Only Sheridan, with six, has more. This was the eighth appearance in the state finals for the Kingsmen, who also finished as the Class 5A runners-up in 1989, 1991 and 1999.

COACH GEESMAN’S FIFTH CHAMPIONSHIPEach of Penn’s state titles have come under the leadership of Coach Chris Geesman who moves into third place on the list of most titles by a coach. Sheridan’s Larry "Bud" Wright and Ben Davis’ Dick Dullaghan have won six each.

FIVE-GAME ATTENDANCE -- Attendance for Friday’s two-game session was 15,137. Saturday’s three-game session was 27,744 for a five-game total of 42,881.

ZWITT FINISHES 29th IN CAREER RUSHINGCenter Grove senior running back Jonny Zwitt ran 20 times for 147 yards in his final high school game. Zwitt finished his career with 4,738 yards to rank 29th on the state’s career rushing chart. For the 2000 season, he finished 16th in state rushing at 169.0 yards per game, finishing with 2,535 yards on 341 carries.

 

JUSTIN SMITH NAMED CLASS 5A MENTAL ATTITUDE AWARD RECIPIENT

Justin Smith, a senior at Penn High School, was selected by the IHSAA Executive Committee as the 2000 recipient of the Phil N. Eskew Award for Mental Attitude in Class 5A football.

Smith was a wide receiver and backup quarterback for the Class 5A state champions, and served as team captain. He also holds the distinction of catching and throwing a touchdown pass during the 2000 season. The three-sport athlete also participates in basketball and track.

Academically, Smith ranks No. 1 in a senior class of 673 students. He is a member of the National Honor Society. He plans to attend Butler University and pursue a degree in business.

Smith is the fourth Penn player in the last six years to receive the Eskew Award, following Matt Geesman (1995), Scott Becker (1996) and Brad Monhaut (1997).

Farm Bureau Insurance, corporate partner of the IHSAA, presented a $1,000 check to Penn High School in Smith’s name.

 

CLASS 5A QUOTES

Penn Coach Chris Geesman

"My take on the game is just this simple--- there has never been a team that has deserved a championship more than these guys."

"I was really worried more about our defense than our offense and they did a great job (the defense)."

"In the second half I thought we lost some concentration and we had some penalties."

(On Matt Kaler’s injury coming in) "We watched him in the pre-game and he had a little trouble. We put Sam (Penrod) in to see if he could run by him and he was already out of the line-up."

"I thought it was real important for the offense to take pressure off the defense by being on the field a lot and the defense to take pressure of the offense by not getting us behind."

Penn’s Christopher Shelley

"Our defense was designed on reading certain players, certain positions and not following the ball on their misdirection."

Center Grove Coach Eric Moore

"We had some injuries this week in practice and we had to stick a sophomore in there in the secondary and we had a misunderstanding and we gave up the big play."

"You can’t play in the second half with only three positions and one of them being a fumble. We never got untracked offensively because their defense was rested because they got six to eight minute breaks."

"I give them (Penn) the credit tonight. They did a great job. When we got out there and got a holding penalty – that disappointed me in the first half. But give them credit, they better than us on offense, they were better on defense and they were better on special teams."

"Coming into this game, I knew Penn wasn’t going to beat themselves. I just wish we didn’t contribute to them beating us. I didn’t think they could execute the big play against us. I was afraid of them beating us tackle to tackle."

Center Grove’s Jonny Zwitt

"We knew it was going to be tough because Penn’s a very big, tough, physical team. They just kicked our butt, plain and simple.