Warsaw quarterback Tristan Larsh takes off versus Penn Friday night. The No. 4 Kingsmen beat the Tigers 40-0 in a Class 6-A sectional championship game at Penn.

MISHAWAKA – The Penn football program has made a tradition of winning championships.

That tradition continued for the Kingsmen Friday night.

No. 4 ranked Penn lived up to its lofty ranking by blanking Warsaw 40-0 in a Class 6-A sectional title tilt at TCU Freed Field.

The host Kingsmen were stellar in all three phases of the game to blank the Tigers. Penn, with its 10th straight win, improves to 10-1 and advances to play at Crown Point (7-4) in a regional game next Friday night.

Warsaw, which was seeking the first sectional title in program history, finishes at 6-5.

Penn, which has now won five straight sectional championships and a staggering 24 overall, dominated from the outset.

Junior Ryan Whiteman had touchdown runs of  58 and 69 yards as the Kingsmen improved to 11-0 all-time versus Warsaw, including 7-0 in postseason play.

Will McGarvey battles for yards.

Warsaw coach Phil Jensen, himself a 1983 Penn graduate, gave credit where it was due.

“We got beat by a great program tonight,” said Jensen of Penn, owners of five state championships. “Credit Cory (Penn coach Cory Yeoman) and his staff and players for keeping their tradition going. It’s all about the team with Penn. They play the game in its entirety like how it should be played.

“I’m proud of my guys and I love them. They’ve come a long way. There is no where that I would rather be and with no other group of kids than the ones that we have at Warsaw.”

The Kingsmen, who lost in the semistate last season, wasted no time in taking control.

Penn, after a strong kickoff return by Notre Dame recruit Paul Moala to open the game, went up 6-0 on a five-yard touchdown toss from sophomore quarterback Ryan Lynch to junior George Ohlson on their first possession. Whiteman then made it 12-0 as he broke off a 58-yard touchdown run late in the opening period.

The Tigers then had a huge turnover after driving deep into Penn territory, fumbling on the final play of the opening period. Whiteman, then just three plays later, raced to a 69-yard touchdown to make it 19-0.  The Kingsmen then made it 23-0 as Moala recovered the ball in the end zone after a high snap sailed over the head of Warsaw punter Harrison Mevis.

The Kingsmen finished off a 28-point second period outburst with a four-yard touchdown run by senior Brock Zolman and a 37-yard interception return by junior Haden Paquette for another score to make it 40-0 at halftime.

“When you play Penn, you have to hold on to everything,” remarked Jensen, whose team had scored 20 or more points in its last five games prior to Friday night. “We got down early, but you can recover from that. But then we shot ourselves in the foot with the turnover when we could have went in and scored and made it 12-6.

“If you don’t cash in and don’t finish against them, they take off 1,000 miles per hour and that’s what happened tonight. Once it starts slipping away, it’s tough. They just play great team defense. It’s just a different beast.”

Coach Phil Jensen makes a point.

Penn’s defense, led by defensive back Moala and stud lineman James Morris, posted its fifth shutout of the season and second in two weeks. The group entered play Friday night allowing just 5.9 points-per-game.

“Our guys have just done a great job all year getting better,” said Penn coach Cory Yeoman, who is 164-31 in his 15th season. “We may not win a beauty contest, but we get another week to practice and play. I know these guys will focus and prepare like they have done all season for next week.

“Tonight, all three phases played a big part in this win. Our defense scored, Whiteman had some big runs for us and I thought Ryan (quarterback Ryan Lynch) did a great job for us.”

The game did involve a scary situation in the third quarter as Penn offensive lineman Alex Fish was injured with 3:53 to play. The junior, after being attended to on the field for a lengthy time, was taken off the field on a stretcher to a waiting ambulance. Fish gave a thumbs-up to the Penn crowd as he was carted off the field.

“That was tough, but we think that Alex is going to be okay,” said Yeoman. “He had some soreness in his neck. Precaution, precaution, precaution. We are not going to take any chances.”

Penn outgained the Tigers 279-175 in total yards despite running 21 fewer plays. The Kingsmen had 26 rushes for 234 yards, while Warsaw rushed for 139 yards on 39 carries.

Warsaw senior Tristan Larsh showed his toughness by rushing for 102 yards on 18 carries. He also was 5-12 passing for 34 yards. Senior Will McGarvey had 17 rushes for 56 yards and Zach Riley had four receptions for 27 yards.

Whiteman had four carries for 158 yards to pace Penn. Lynch was 4-5 passing for 45 yards.

Warsaw, which has been outscored 405-74 in 11 games versus Penn, had three turnovers to none for the Kingsmen.

The trio of Lane McClone, Blake Marsh and Braden Weaver were the top tacklers for the Tigers.

Warsaw assistant coach Bruce Barlow leads a prayer for an injured Penn player.