The Northwood Prep Huskies headed down to Dallas this past weekend to compete in the Prep Texas Round Up tournament. This tournament marks the end of the Huskies season, and what a season it has been. The Huskies finished off their season with a Macpherson Championship, A PHC Championship, and A Texas Round Up Championship. The Huskies swept the weekend, going 3-0, beating the Woodbridge Wolfpack, Upper Canada College, and Northstar Christian Knights in the final game by a score of 6-2.

The 2025-26 Prep team celebrates a tournament championship. Photo provided.

“The way we ended the season is everything I could have wanted in my Northwood career,” said Senior Forward, Captain, and 3-year prep player, Parker Thompson. “Winning that PHC championship after losing in the finals my first two years, it’s like something you would see in a movie, just an amazing end to my career, and I couldn’t be more proud of how this team ended our season and to be a Husky.” Thompson was then asked, after three years of being here, what will you miss most about Northwood? He said, “The friendships I have built over the years will be missed most. It’s not every day you get to lift, skate, and then go to class with your best friends!”

“What an amazing year, I honestly could not ask for more.” Said senior forward Henry Kress. “We started the year slow for sure, losing games that we shouldn’t have and underperforming, but coach Mallaro just repeatedly told us that we just needed to put it all together, we had the skill and the teamwork, we just needed to get over the Hump, and we did.” Kress was then asked what his fondest memory of the Huskies was over his two years here. He said, “There’s a lot of great memories, but it must be beating Shattuck at their home rink to win the PHC. It was a storybook ending to our season, and I can’t imagine a better way to end off.”

“This group of guys was just amazing all year; this is the most fun and tight group I have ever been a part of.” Said Senior Defenseman Devin Smith. “Everybody loved one another and trusted one another. We were just missing the execution part of our game at the start of the year. If you looked at our games, we would win in every category except for the scoring. We finally put that together after the halfway point, and it was amazing. Every game we got better, and we were the best team in the country by the end of the year. This was truly a special group to be a part of, and I’m so proud of every guy on this team.” When Smith was asked about what he will miss most about Northwood, he said, “The small things, like the warmups with the team or just getting downstairs and playing teqball or sewer.”

The Huskies really had a storybook ending to their season, and what a way for the seniors to end a chapter in their careers. As the boys move on with their careers next season, they will forever be etched in Northwood history as the first PHC Champions!

The Prep team after winning the 2025 Northwood Invitational tournament. Photo provided.

The Prep Hockey team is at home this weekend for their last league games before the Prep Hockey Conference playoffs in Minnesota. The Huskies take on Mount St. Charles this weekend, on Saturday at 7 pm, and Sunday at 11:30 am. The Prep team is looking to bounce back after dropping both games to South Kent last weekend. Momentum will play a big factor in the Huskies performance at the PHC finals next week! The Huskies are at a season split with Mount St. Charles, having beaten them once and losing to them once. They hope to sweep their division rivals at home in front of their home crowd.

Senior Forward and Captain, Parker Thompson, had this to say about the weekend, “We are eager to get back into the win column before heading into the PHC finals. We have had a great second half of the year and want to continue to build our momentum.” Thompson then added, “I’ve played against these guys for the past three years, I don’t enjoy playing them, I would really love to sweep these guys at home for the last time.”

“I can’t believe we’re already this close to the end. Time really has flown by this year.” Senior Defensemen, Patrick McCormick said. “I don’t want to take a single moment for granted this weekend. It could be potentially our last home games; I would really like to remember my last home game with a positive rather than a negative.” McCormick then added, “This weekend is also just a stepping stone for next weekend; we need to get rolling again. Momentum is going to play a huge factor in the Playoffs; we need to have that upper hand going into Minnesota.

Junior Defenseman Miles Van Mullen played at Mount St. Charles last year; he spent only one year at the school before taking his talents to the Northwood Prep Hockey team. “I would really love to sweep them. It is always nice to beat your former team and teammates. They’ve been texting me as of late, talking some trash; it will be nice to shove their words back in their face this weekend. I’m super excited to play them this weekend. It should be a lot of fun.”

Illustration: EPSN.

The college football playoffs have finally come to a close after a long, hard-fought playoff. We saw blowout games, low-scoring games, and games that came down to the last 30 seconds. The playoffs featured teams like the Alabama Crimson Tide, Georgia Bulldogs, Miami Hurricanes, and many other historically great football programs. The winners were…Indiana? When was the last time Notre Dame wasn’t the best football team in the state of Indiana? Indiana went from being a completely irrelevant football program to the best in the country in 2 years. They were great last year, but this year they took it to a whole new level, going 16-0. How is this possible?

The most obvious reason for the Hoosiers’ sudden rise to the top was the firing of their longtime head coach, Tom Allen, and the hiring of Curt Cignetti. Cignetti brought a winning culture to Indiana, something they haven’t felt in a long time. At his previous schools, he had already won 3 coach of the year awards and added 2 more during his 2 years at Indiana. Winning is a habit, and Cignetti is a pro at winning. When a reporter asked him what he does well as a coach, Cignetti’s response was brief but summed up his strengths. He said, “It’s pretty simple, I win… Google me.” His record at his prior schools shows this well at IUP. His record was 53-7 at Elon, 14-9 at JMU, and 27-2 at Indiana. Cignetti brings experience and a winning habit. If you compare Indiana’s roster to that of other teams, it doesn’t have the recruits Alabama or Georgia do. Indiana did not have a single 5-star football player on their roster, but it got it done through great coaching.

Another big reason is the transfer portal. Coach Cignetti brought 13 players from his JMU team to Indiana when he left JMU. Some notable players are Elijah Suratt and D’Angelo Ponds. Despite only standing at 5’9, Ponds made his argument as the top DB in all of college football this past season. Aside from the players Cignetti brought with him, over the two years he has coached Indiana, the team has brought in 36 transfers—most notably Fernando Mendoza. Mendoza played at the University of California, Berkeley, before transferring to Indiana for his senior season. This decision paid off for Mendoza, who quickly made a name for himself as the best quarterback in college football. Mendoza won the Heisman Trophy, which means he was the most valuable player in college football, and he also won the best quarterback award. Mendoza threw for 3,535 yards, adding 41 touchdowns and only 6 interceptions, solidifying himself in the number 1 spot in the upcoming NFL draft. Mendoza brought a 16-0 season, a Heisman trophy, a national championship, and a potential first overall pick in the NFL draft to Indiana. This was only possible through the transfer portal.

After seeing how Indiana revamped its program with great coaching and recruiting, you can’t argue that the transfer portal is a good thing for college football. It allows teams that have not been great to rebuild their programs. People are tired of the Alabamas and the Georgias who win the National Championship every year. Indiana’s team has a great story and should motivate many other college football programs.

The New England Patriots. Photo: The Boston Globe.

Super Bowl LX is approaching rapidly, taking place on Sunday, February 8^th, at 6:30 p.m. Super Bowl LX features the Seattle Seahawks versus the New England Patriots. These playoffs have been somewhat predictable this year, with no real upsets. However, if you told someone last year that the Seahawks and the Patriots were going to be in the 2026 Super Bowl, they would look at you like you were crazy.

Let’s start with the Patriots. Last year, the Patriots ended with a record of 4-13. This put them at the bottom of the division and landed them the 4^th overall pick in the NFL draft. With this pick, they drafted offensive tackle Will Campbell out of Louisiana State University. This draft was a homerun for them, as they landed TreVeyon Henderson in the second round and Craig Woodson in the fourth. TreVeyon Henerson and Will Campbell had immediate impacts on the Patriots’ struggling offense. Craig Woodson added a layer of safety to the Patriots’ defense as an elite rookie. Henderson performed so well that he has earned a nomination for the Offensive Rookie of the Year award. The Patriots not only had a successful draft but also a successful free agency. The Patriots signed Stefon Diggs to a three-year contract. People were very skeptical of Diggs; he was a former superstar who had struggled with injuries and off-field issues over his past few seasons. Diggs proved all the Skeptics wrong, instantly becoming the Patriots’ number one wide receiver and totaling over 1000 yards receiving. The Patriots also completely revamped their defense by signing Rober Spillane, Harold Landry, Carlton Davis, and Milton Williams. None of these players were superstars by any means, but they were elite defenders looking for a change of scenery, and all found success this season. Now, let’s talk about the big difference for the Patriots in 2026: Drake Maye. The Patriots selected Maye 3^rd overall in the 2024 NFL Draft. Maye started for the Patriots in the back half of his rookie year and looked good, but not elite. However, in his sophomore campaign, Maye took his game to a whole new level. He had better weapons on his offense, more elite offensive linemen, more receivers, and an elite running back in TreVeyon Henderson. All around, the offense was better, but Drake Maye threw for 4,394 yards with 31 touchdowns and only 8 interceptions, leading the Patriots to a 14-3 record and the third-place seed in the NFL. Maye has also become a favorite to win the NFL’s Most Valuable Player Award.

The Seahawks did not have as dramatic a turnaround as the Patriots, but in the previous year, they were only 10-7. The Seahawks being 10-7 was honestly a shock to fans around the league because they were not supposed to be a winning football team. They didn’t have a franchise QB, and their defense was just okay. They were mediocre and didn’t seem to have the most fantastic future. However, they had a young elite WR from Ohio State, Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Njigba was good in his rookie year, catching 10 touchdowns and around 1,200 receiving yards. In his sophomore year, he made a massive jump in production, catching 10 touchdowns and leading the league with 1,793 receiving yards. Njibga solidified himself as the best WR in football and is in the running for the offensive player of the year award, and is a favorite to win. In the Seahawks’ 2025 draft class, they selected a future All-Pro in Nick Emmanwori. Emmanwori quickly became one of the best safeties in the NFL and was nominated for defensive rookie of the year; he transformed the Seahawks’ defense into one of the league’s best. They also signed Sam Darnold in the offseason. Sam Darnold was a quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings who had bounced around the league before becoming the starter in Minnesota. Darnold was initially drafted by the Jets as an early first-round pick, but he never panned out and was considered a bust. However, over the past two years, he has become an elite player. He also transformed the Seahawks offense into one of the best in the NFL. Darnold threw 4048 passing yards, adding 25 touchdowns.

This game could absolutely go either way. Both teams are elite on offense and defense. I would give the Patriots the better offense and the Seahawks the better defense. The Patriots have battled playoff conditions and faced the NFL’s best defenses, beating the Texans and the Broncos. The Seahawks have had a much easier path, beating a significantly injured 49ers and a very elite Rams team. However, the Rams’ defense is much weaker than the Patriots’, and I think that will decide the Super Bowl. The Patriots are used to facing elite defenses, and the Seahawks are not ready for how the Patriots will rush against them. I think this game will be the battle of defenses, but I have the Patriots winning 20-14.