Battle of the Undefeated: St. Joseph Huskies prepare for dog fight against Penn, NIC title on the line

ST. JOSEPH COUNTY, Ind. -- This Friday marks another week of high school football in Michiana.  

It's the final week of the regular season for Hoosier teams.

This week's Game of the Week is a battle of the undefeated between the Penn Kingsmen and the St. Joseph Huskies.

The Huskies know they're getting ready for the ultimate dog fight.

"You've got to have the type of mindset that you're ready for business and you've got to really take advantage of every single second in different way of preparation when you go against a team like Penn," says Ben Downey, St. Joseph High School Varsity Head Coach.

Friday's matchup will be a battle between two teams trying to stay afloat in their winning streaks and for the Northern Indiana Conference title.

Downey says their streak of success has a lot to do with a senior class that's hungry and has been perfecting their game for years.

"They've always been an athletic group, and they've been working on their habits for their entire high school career, and it seems like they've made the most improvement with those habits their senior year," Downey explains.

Even though their record doesn't show it, the team has had its fair share of internal challenges, namely injuries.

In the last year, Downey says the offense has lost a few wide receivers, a key running back, and a handful of quarterbacks to injuries.

Strategies they've had to implement this year, like their two-quarterback system, he says, are a creative way for them to fill key roles and replace production.

"Any time you're dealing with losses like that, it's kind of like people with their fantasy football teams or their pro teams they watch on TV," explains Downey. "I mean, it's hard to fill roles of certain people on certain units. So, I'm really proud at how the offensive staff has been able to find ways to be productive, and I've got to give the guys a lot of credit as well." 

The scheme is proving to be efficient, the offense scoring more than 21 points in all eight games.

The other side of the ball is just as productive too.

The entire defensive unit, with key players like linebackers Kobby Addo and Mason Kazmierzak and defensive end Charles Grewe, have manufactured 26 sacks, 13 of them in just one game versus Elkhart.

Downey says pressure is their driving force.

"Pressure's important to us just because it kind of sets the tone with how we want the defense to play; we want them to play as hard and fast as humanly possible," says Downey.

It's no doubt the Huskies are looking to continue their historic season with a deep playoff run, but a win on Friday would look like more than just securing a conference title.

"A conference championship would be awesome, it would be historic, it would be something we could celebrate forever, so we certainly would love that, but the most important thing is to get out of this game healthy and better prepared for the playoffs," says Downey.