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MISHAWAKA — Pete Riordan knows what the expectations are for Penn High School football. Having been around the program for more than two decades now helps that.
Riordan hopes that experience will help him in his first season as head coach of the Kingsmen. He was promoted from defensive coordinator in mid-March to replace the retiring Cory Yeoman, who had served as Penn head coach for 21 seasons.
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“The transition has been good,” Riordan said. “Really fortunate the majority of our staff has stuck around. The continuity, from that point of view, has been great. The coaches get it, the players get it. The same coaches have been working with these guys since middle school, so from that point of view, it’s been really smooth.”
Penn head football coach Pete Riordan gives some instructions as players run to the next drill during a practice Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, on the baseball field at Penn High School.
It’s a big task for Riordan in his first season, as a lot of unfamiliar faces will be looked at to step up for a program that went 10-2 last season, winning a Northern Indiana Conference East-West Division title and Class 6A sectional championship.
Replacing 10 starters on defense
It almost seems like an impossible number, but Penn will be tasked with replacing 10 of its 11 defensive starters from 2023. Only current junior defensive back Vinny Freeman is back amongst those with starting roles for the “Wild Bunch.”
Players Riordan noted that were expected to fill some of those roles are senior linebacker Wilson Thomas, senior brothers David and Joey DePalma and Payton Horner as defensive backs and senior JT Seger at defensive tackle. Riordan mentioned several juniors are battling for playing time on the…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/penn-football-looking-replace-lot-080614442.html
Author : South Bend Tribune
Publish date : 2024-08-06 08:06:14
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