Football: Parker’s three TD’s power Kingsmen

Jaedon Parker scored three touchdowns in his debut as a running back and the Penn Kingsmen opened Northern Indiana Conference play with a 35-7 victory against host South Bend Riley on Friday, Sept. 6, 2024.

Penn is 2-1 overall and 1-0 in the NIC.

Parker switched from receiver to running back this past week. In his first Varsity game as a running back, Parker gained 138 yards on 14 carries. He scored on touchdown runs of 26, 11 and 16 yards.

Cohen Wysong gained 49 yards on 10 carries and scored in the first half on an 18-yard run.

Tayshon Bardo opened the scoring for the Kingsmen when he hauled in a 9-yard scoring strike from Kellen Watson. Bardo led Penn’s receiving corps with three catches for 52 yards.

Payton Horner picked off a pass for the Kingsmen and David DePalma recovered a fumble for the Wild Bunch defense. 

Hard-hitting senior Wilson Thomas contributed 12 tackles to Penn’s defensive effort.

Quinn Watson made two quarter sacks and racked up another three tackles-for-loss.

Penn hosts South Bend Washington on Friday, Sept. 13. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.