Penn HS won the single-school brackets of the Midwest HS Championships, and while this was a very competitive bracket, Penn won in convincing fashion.

In Sunday’s final, Penn took on Notre Dame de La Salette, who had upset GRR #1 St. Edward 10-7 on Saturday. La Salette frustrated St. Edward with an impressive defensive display, and looked to do the same against Penn. At halftime of the final, Penn led 14-5, and it seemed as if they would continue to have trouble breaching the the La Salette defensive line.

But some adjustments at halftime and a few wrinkles in the Penn offense opened the game up, and Penn scored 31 unanswered points to win 45-5.

Flanker Jack White was a massive presence for Penn, especially on Saturday. Head Coach Bart Bottorff could not be pinned down to select a top performer on Sunday, saying that it was a complete team performance, and the best outing for his team all season.

“We played our best rugby of the season, and defensively we guys were fantastic,” said Bottorff. Penn shut out both West Ottawa and St. Ignatius, and outscored all there opponents 131-5. 

Penn also won the JV championship, beating the Royal Irish JV team 29-17 in the final. And Penn’s development side defeated opponents from Fishers, St. Edward, and Brownsburg to win that bracket. All in all Penn teams went 9-0 and outscored opponents 401-55.

Elsewhere in the Midwest Varsity single-school bracket, St. Edward beat St. Ignatius 25-0 to take 3rd, and Brownsburg took 5th, beating Pulaski 38-0 on Sunday. 

Penn's JV team beat the Royal Irish JVs for the JV title. Tamara Tidey photo.