Turnovers doom Pirates in loss to Penn

Merrillville quarterback Dolapo Macarthy is caught by Penn's Andrew Stanley in the fourth quarter.
(Jeffrey D. Nicholls/Post-Tribune)

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MERRILLVILLE — The icy winds of basketball season started blowing midway through the fourth quarter of Penn’s convincing 19-0 regional win over Merrillville on Friday night.

In fact, it was precisely with 6:22 left that one could almost hear the ball bouncing on the hardwood as Penn’s Brandon Drudge shouldered into the end zone to put the Kingsmen up 18-0.

Drudge’s late score was the product of Merrillville’s fourth turnover — three of which were converted into points. The last, however, proved particularly painful as it was Mike Carroll’s third interception of the game, this one at Merrillville’s 9-yard-line.

Three plays later, Drudge punched it in. The late score proved irrelevant, though, as the Pirates (9-4) never really gave themselves a chance in the game.

Merrillville senior quarterback Dolapo Macarthy was picked off three times by Carroll, including the game’s first play from scrimmage. Starting from his own 20, Macarthy rolled right and fired into the flat, but Carroll intercepted the pass near the 30 and returned it to the Pirates’ 16.

The Merrillville defense, as it did almost all game, stopped Penn (10-3) short of the end zone and the visitors settled for a 26-yard Alan Sinclair field goal.

On Merrillville’s next series, Carroll again picked Macarthy, this time at the Pirates 40, returning this one to Merrillville’s 18. Another Sinclair field goal, this one from 40 yards, put Penn up 6-0 in quick fashion.

“It was the right read, but a bad ball,” Macarthy said of the first interception. “I personally didn’t have a good night.

“I wish I could turn back the hands of time,” he said.

The 6-foot-6 senior struggled under Penn’s relentless pass rush, but Merrillville’s ground game was never able to get going to relieve the pressure either.

Merrillville rushed for a total of 89 yards, led by Macarthy’s 44 yards on 15 carries that included four sacks for minus-28 yards.

“That’s a good football team over there,” Merrillville coach Zac Wells said of Penn. “But usually the team that turns it over the most is going to lose, and maybe we got away with it a little bit against Chesterton last week, it’ll come back to get you against a team like Penn.”

Penn started four drives inside Merrillville’s 40, three inside its 20.

“That was huge,” Wells said. “Not being able to get a first down or two to be able to flip the field really hurt. It seems like whenever we would make something happen and get a first down, we’d get a turnover and give the field right back.”

Penn took full advantage of Merrillville’s generosity, and it needed it as well. The Pirates defense held the Kingsmen to 211 yards of total offense and allowed only two plays of over 20 yards, the longest 21.

“Our own worst enemies tonight was us, and my own worst enemy tonight was me,” Macarthy said.

Carroll praised Macarthy’s athleticism, and was gleefully surprised at his own good fortune.

“We knew (Macarthy) was a great athlete, so if our line was doing their job, I had to do mine,” the senior said. “I was kind of surprised he threw it to me, but our coaches did a great job getting us into position.”

Penn moves to face Carmel on the road next Friday in the northern semistate.