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1974 and 2012
1974: In the second year of the IHSAA playoff tournament, Mishawaka reached the Class 3A final and lost to Indianapolis Washington 19–12. The Cavemen's coach was Bill Doba and the team finished 10–2. Doba coached Mishawaka from 1971 to 1977 and went on to become head coach at Washington State; his Mishawaka tenure is the strongest coaching line in the school's football record before the present era.
2012: Thirty-eight years later the Cavemen returned, in Class 4A, and lost to Indianapolis Cathedral 56–29, finishing 11–4 under Bart Curtis.
The count: The IHSAA Football Records Book's appearances table gives Mishawaka exactly those two finals — 1974 (3A) and 2012 (4A) — and no championship. A widely repeated line says the city's three high schools have won eleven football state championships between them since 1920; the decomposition stands in the rivalry entry below, and it requires Mishawaka's three newspaper-era titles to make the arithmetic work.
Sources:
- IHSAA Football State Championship Records Book (last update 20 October 2026) — the 1974 and 2012 championship-game lines and the appearances table.
- Sports Illustrated, history of the Penn–Mishawaka rivalry — Doba at Mishawaka 1971–1977.