GAS CITY — With seconds to go in Pendleton Heights’ season opener, a trailing Arabians team managed to eke out a 31-30 road win against Class 4A No. 8 Mississinewa.

Down 30-28 with minutes left on the clock, the Arabians moved the ball down the field against the Indians, and with 55 seconds remaining, Nick Taylor kicked a game-winning 18-yard field goal.

“The key to our victory Friday was staying true to one another and fighting through the adversity,” coach Jed Richman said.

The weather played a big part and limited its offense. But it was rewarding to see many key players humbly do what was needed.

“It was a great team victory over a very good Mississinewa team,” Richman said.

The Arabians ended the third quarter down 24-21 but showed grit when special teams player Hunter Thompson blocked a punt attempt; Jared Miller recovered the ball in the end zone for a Pendleton Heights touchdown. With the extra point the Arabians had a 28-24 lead with 11:50 to go.

The Indians countered with a clock-eating drive and 1-yard touchdown run by Cade Campbell to make the score 30-28 Indians with 5:49 remaining.

But, the PHHS special teams were able to force a bad extra point attempt, keeping it a two-point game with minutes to go.

The Arabians then marched down the field for the game-winning kick by Taylor to get the come-from-behind win.

The Indians got the ball back and made a push for victory, attempting a long field goal as time expired. But once again, the Arabians special teams didn’t allow the Indians to get the kick off and preserve the win.

“Always good to start the season with a win, but what’s more rewarding is to see the team these young men are becoming part of,” Richman said. “It’s special when no one cares who gets the credit; they just play hard for one another.”

It was an exciting game from the get-go. Mississinewa got on the board first with a 1-yard touchdown run by Andrew Cruz with 3:49 left in the first quarter. The point after by Andrew Sallade was good.

The Arabians came right back in the first; with 2:09 remaining, quarterback Christian Conkling ran right for a 10-yard touchdown. The point after by Nick Taylor was good to make it 7-7.

The Indians took the lead 14-7 at the 9:27 mark of the second quarter with a 19-yard touchdown run by Reitman Skeens. The Arabians tied the game at 14 with an 18-yard touchdown run by Conkling, coupled with another Taylor point after the kick.

The Indians took the lead again with 1:45 left in the half, when Campbell caught a pass and ran for 80 yards for a 21-14 halftime lead.

Mississinewa then went up by 10, (24-14) on a 25-yard field goal by Sallade with 1:40 on the clock in the third.

The Arabians then assembled a solid drive and scored a touchdown on a Kamden Early 28-yard run around the right side to keep Pendleton Heights close, 24-21, at the end of the third quarter.

Early was the leading rusher for the Arabians with 150 yards on 18 attempts and one score. Conkling got 78 yards on the ground with 12 attempts and two running touchdowns.

While both played well, Richman thought his line deserved the credit, too.

“They did a nice job identifying and executing against what Mississinewa was trying to do to us,” he said.

Joseph Rios finished the night with 51 hard-earned yards on six carries.

Other notables from the game: Anakin Allison had a good punting night in terrible conditions with an 51.5-yard average on his two punts. Tristen Spinks returned two kickoffs for a total of 39 yards. Taylor was good on all four of his point after attempts before he calmly hit the 18-yard game-winning field goal.

The Arabians are home for a 7:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 24, kickoff against Anderson.