PENDLETON — Six players from the Pendleton Heights varsity football team are part of the All-Hoosier Heritage Conference squad.

The team was announced Saturday and selected by a vote of the eight league coaches.

League champion Mt. Vernon had the most selections with eight. Pendleton Heights, conference runnerup New Palestine and sectional finalist New Castle each had six players on the team.

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There were 37 players selected: 18 offensive players, 17 defense players and two selected for special teams.

Four of the six Pendleton Heights players were on the defensive side, though three of the selections also excelled on offense.

Senior defensive linemen DeMarco Cooley and Caden McClain were named to the defense along with senior linebacker Luke Bays and senior defensive back Evan MacMillan.

Cooley had 46 tackles and five tackles for loss, including three sacks.

McClain was tied for second on the team in tackles with 60 and tied for the team lead with 10 tackles for loss, which included 4.5 sacks. As a running back, McClain had eight touchdowns — ranking No. 8 in the conference — 507 rushing yards and two 100-plus yards rushing games.

Bays led the Arabians on both sides of the ball. He had 107 tackles, 47 more than any other Arabian, and was the co-leader in tackles for loss with 10 and leader in sacks with 6.5. Bays was fourth in the conference in total tackles and fifth in sacks.

On offense, Bays led the team in rushing with 631 yards. He had seven touchdowns and two games with 100-or-more rushing yards. He finished eighth in the conference in rushing yards.

MacMillan led the Arabians with four interceptions, ranking second in the conference, and had 45 tackles. On offense, as a quarterback, he rushed for 399 yards and seven touchdowns. He also completed four passes, including one touchdown.

Helping lead the way on the offense, blocking for a group that rushed for 2,221 yards, and protecting quarterbacks MacMillan and Luke Candiano was senior offensive lineman Braden Duncan, a 6-1, 245-pound senior.

Also selected on the offensive side was senior wide receiver Tyler McKinley, who led the team with 10 total touchdowns. He had 35 catches for 574 yards for a 16.4-yard average per catch. He was second in the conference in receiving touchdowns and fourth in total yards.

Pendleton Heights finished the season 7-4 overall (4-3 and fourth place, HHC).