GREENFIELD — Pendleton Heights made sure any confidence Greenfield-Central gained from their first meeting or any momentum the Cougars grabbed by winning two of their final three regular-season games would be quickly crushed.
The Arabians left no doubt the up-and-coming neighbors from Hancock County would have to wait until next year to continue their resurgence under second-year coach Travis Nolting.
Pendleton Heights led from start to finish in a 42-6 trouncing in the rain at Clayton Myers Field in the Class 4A Sectional 21 opener on Friday, Oct. 23.
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The Arabians held a Cougar team coming off a single-game school record of 532 rushing yards, in a win versus New Castle, without a first down until midway through the third quarter. By that time, Pendleton Heights was already winning 42-0.
The teams met during the regular season on Sept. 11 in Greenfield. The Arabians won 35-18, though they held just a 21-18 lead going into the final quarter.
“Our kids were ready to play,” Pendleton Heights head coach Jed Richman said.
Two plays after getting the ball back with great field position, the Arabians scored on a 19-yard run from quarterback Evan MacMillan. After a G-C three-and-out series, the Arabians scored again. This time it was a nine-play, 63-yard drive with MacMillan again finding the end zone on a 2-yard run.
All nine plays were on the ground. Six of the rushes were from MacMillan, who had a 30-yard run on the series.
MacMillan, who shares quarterback duties with Luke Candiano, had a game-high 112 rushing yards on 17 carries. All of it came in the first half, which was mostly played in a downpour.
The game was scheduled to start at 7 p.m. Due to lightning in the area, kickoff didn’t happen until 7:35. The lightning stopped, but the rain and wind didn’t, though it slowed late in the first half and was much lighter in the final two quarters.
The first pass attempt and only completion of the game — one of only three attempted by either team on the night — came after the midway point of the second quarter. On fourth down and 13 from the Greenfield-Central 35, Candiano connected with Tyler McKinley on a 35-yard score.
“(Evan) just had the hot hand, so we went with him. We practice them both,” Richman said of his two-quarterback system. “Evan is a starter on defense, so we try to give him a blow here and there. Luke did a really nice job tonight, too. God smiled on us and stopped the rain for a second when he had a pass on fourth-and-whatever it was. The kids really executed tonight.”
The Arabians added a 10-yard touchdown run from Luke Bays before halftime. It was set up after a Greenfield-Central fumble and gave PH a 28-0 lead.
The Cougars fumbled on their first second-half series and the Arabians scored quickly again. Caden McClain had touchdown runs of 3 and 47 yards on their first two series of the second half.
Greenfield-Central finishes the season 3-5, winning two of its last three regular-season games. They’ve won four of their last 10 under Nolting, who took over a program that had lost 13 games in a row. Many of his current players hadn’t been a part of victory until last season.
On Friday, they found out they still have a long way to go to defeat the likes of a strong Pendleton Heights program, but Nolting likes the progress, just not the performance and outcome in the tournament opener.
“Our kids did some things this year that a lot of people didn’t think they’d probably ever be able to do,” Nolting said. “(Pendleton Heights) is a great team and well-coached.”
Pendleton Heights (7-3) moves on to one of Friday’s sectional semifinal games.
The Arabians will take on another Hoosier Heritage Conference and nearby neighboring rival in unbeaten No. 1 Mt. Vernon 7 p.m. Friday at John Broughton Field.
The Arabians gave the 10-0 Marauders their biggest scare of the year. In fact, Pendleton Heights led much of the way in a 27-21 loss on Sept. 25, also at Broughton Field.
The game is a rematch of last year’s sectional championship game, won by the Marauders. Connersville takes on New Castle in the other sectional semifinal game.
“We’ll see how ready we are (Friday),” Richman said right after his club’s impressive first-round win. “I assume we’re going against Fortville. We’ll see how ready we are next week against No. 1. These guys were ready (against Greenfield-Central) and to beat a rival like this in their place in these conditions, I’m awful proud of my group.”