‘Fighting through.’ Tri-Cities grad went from ditch digger to college football standout 

Last week, I talked to Chiawana High School graduate Christian Penny, who was preparing for his final college football game on Saturday for Central Washington University.

The 6-foot-5, 315-pound defensive lineman called this week an emotional rollercoaster ride.

“I’ve put in a lot of work with this program,” said Penny. “I’ve been with this program since 2015.”

That’s right. Since 2015. Eight years.

Well, wait a minute. There were the two years in the middle of all of that — 2018 and 2019 — where Penny, now 26, was digging trenches.

You see, this story is about second chances. It’s about persistence, of not giving up.

Christian Penny’s father, Chris Penny, has come away amazed at his son, who will graduate from CWU with a degree in sports management/coaching.

“That’s what impresses me. He found a way to get it done,” said Chris Penny. “Everybody fails at different levels and times. But the intestinal fortitude it shows he has had to come back, it’s humbling.”

Christian Penny the player

A graduate of Chiawana in 2015, Christian was one of many standouts for the school’s football team.

In 2013 as a junior, he was part of the Class 4A state championship team that rallied in the final minute to beat Camas 27-26.

As a senior, Christian helped the Riverhawks return to the state title game in 2014. But this time they fell short, losing 24-14 to Bothell.

Penny signed with CWU and in the fall of 2015, he redshirted.

In 2016, he played in all 10 of the team’s games, collecting 7 tackles.

But in 2017, Penny shined. Central was a national powerhouse that season in the NCAA Division 2 level. He himself was an all-conference defensive tackle in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference that season.

“It was just an unbelievable year,” said his father.

Life was good.

And then, things fell apart.

Coming back home

Chris Penny remembers the night Christian called him.

It was almost exactly two months after the season had ended.

“He said ‘Dad, I’ve gotta come home. I got kicked out of school,’” said Chris.

Christian had stopped keeping up with his classes. With bad grades, he had no choice but to leave CWU.

“I didn’t know what to do,” said Chris.

So dad drove up to Ellensburg, helped Christian pack his things up, and wrote a check to the landlord to pay off the lease.

But the whole episode brought out tension between father and son.

“We kind of went our separate ways,” said Chris. “At that point, I’m done.”

Chris Penny said he had done the same thing when he was in college. He had played at Pasco High School in the late 1980s, and at 6-foot-8, he was a force on both sides of the line.

Which is why Chris was upset with his son. He didn’t want him to repeat the same mistake.

“My dad pushed me (to go back to school),” said Christian. “He had made a similar decision back when he was in college. He had to resort to tryouts, went overseas to play football. He definitely helped me see the bigger picture.”

You never stop being a father.

Chris might have been mad at his son, but the love has always been there.

“One day he was home, he called me to tell me, ‘Hey I got a job. Will you help me out?’

It was for a local fiber optics company, and Christian would be digging holes for the wires to be put in.

So every morning, Chris Penny would pick up his son and drive him to his job site. Some mornings there would be light conversation. Other mornings, there would be silence.

Dad took the philosophy that his son would be working a 9-to-5 job — like most everyone does — just a little earlier than they had planned.

And that’s where Christian Penny would be the next few years, while his CWU teammates would play the 2018 and 2019 seasons without him.

Christian himself lamented his situation.

“I thought to myself, ‘Why did I mess up something so perfect? And now I’m doing it for minimum wage,” he said.

One day while at work, Christian got into a conversation with an older co-worker, who had discovered that Penny had earned all these honors playing football at Central, and what’s more, he had eligibility left.

“My co-worker asked me why the f… are you still here and not playing football? Why don’t you go back?” said Christian.

Christian realized his co-worker was right. Maybe he should try again.

So a few days later, and for the second time in two years, Christian Penny asked his father for help.

“He said, ‘Would you help me just to see what I could do to get back in school?” said Chris Penny.

The family walked him through the process.

The young man called the CWU coaches. He was paired with an adviser. He had to re-take some classes that he had earlier failed.

This time, Christian put in the class work.

As for football shape, he had kind of let himself go while working his job.

“He went from I think I could, to I’ve gotta run, to I’m 13 pounds heavier, to throwing up weights at our house,” said Chris Penny.

COVID season

No one ever thinks that 2020 with COVID was ever a good thing.

But for Penny, trying to get grade eligible and back into football shape, it seemed to be a blessing.

It gave him time to be ready, and everyone in college sports was given an extra year of eligibility since the season was canceled.

The Wildcats got one spring game in in that 2020-21 school year, against Montana. And Christian played well.

By the time the fall of 2021 season arrived, he was cleared to play.

Before anyone asks, NCAA Division 2 football gives athletes eight years to play five, with four of those on the field.

In 2021, Christian played in seven games, battling some injuries.

This season, he’s played in eight games.

A defensive lineman has a thankless job of clogging up the line of scrimmage, long enough for his linebackers to come up and make a tackle. Every now and then, a defensive lineman can bust through and sack the quarterback, or tackle someone else for a loss.

Chris Penny says it’s a pleasure to behold in watching his son play again.

“He’s constantly double teamed,” said Dad. “But he moves the line of scrimmage. He doesn’t screw his linebackers up.”

Before Saturday’s contest, Christian Penny’s career stats read like this: 37 games, 38 tackles, 23 assists, 18 tackles for loss, and 5 quarterback sacks.

CWU head coach Chris Fisk bursts with pride talking about Christian.

“I am so excited to see Chris’s career come full circle, and I am proud of him for fighting through adversity to complete what he started,” Fisk said in a press release. “Chris is as talented of a football player that has ever walked through the doors at Central.”

The best part of this? Christian Penny is on track to graduate in sports management, with an emphasis in coaching, later this fall.

What’s next?

Football is not over yet for Christian, who plans on playing somewhere after college.

“I think I still have some fight in me,” he said. “Obviously there is the NFL. But there is the CFL and the XFL.”

Even the indoor leagues aren’t out of the question.

“I’m giving myself 6 months to a year to get my feet wet, then it’s time to move on,” he said.

That will likely be into coaching football.

“I could be a graduate assistant somewhere, then hopefully climb the ladder,” he said. “I could see my big goal to being a Division 1 defensive line coach. There is no age limit in coaching. There is a limited window in playing.”

Whatever happens, he knows he’ll always be around football.

“Why do I love football? It’s just something you do, and it’s the little stuff you do. We have fall camp, spring camp, winter conditioning,” he said. “There is nothing like this sport. It’s something I’ve loved since I was a kid. I got to meet some NFL players growing up. They were superhuman to me.

“It’s the journey,” he continued. “It’s about who you’re around and what you’re doing, the guys you’re with, the meetings. All of that stuff, I love.”

Beating the odds

The odds of someone dropping out of college and then coming back to graduate are low.

According to Forbes.com, about 13% return to school after dropping out, but only half of that actually graduate.

Christian Penny is in that 6.5 percent.

“I have to give credit to my parents, and the people around me for helping me,” he said. “They never gave up on me. They never turned their backs on me. And the coaches here, they gave me a second chance. Coach Fisk, Coach (Nate) Johnson, and Coach (John) Picha.”

Chris Penny is also thankful.

“He’s going to have the world in front of him,” said the father. “I don’t care if he ever plays again. We all sacrificed. He sacrificed. My wife, my ex-wife. It’s been a struggle.”

But a good struggle.

“This kid, he’s brought me more pain and pleasure. But he’s done a lot for me,” Chris added. “I always let him know I believed in him, that my wife was behind him. I never let him quit.”