State-ranked Marauders too much for Arabians

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FORTVILLE — The tables turned quickly in Friday’s Hoosier Heritage Conference football matchup between rivals Pendleton Heights and Mt. Vernon.
The teams traded three-and-out series on the first four possessions of the game. After another quick Arabians offensive sequence, the Marauders began to show why they are Class 4A’s No. 6-ranked team.
Mt. Vernon followed with the first of six touchdowns, all of them quick drives, in a 43-0 win Friday against Pendleton Heights at Hancock Health Field.
All six scoring series were four plays or less, with the longest possession, timewise, 1:17.
“You have to give Pendleton Heights credit,” Mt. Vernon coach Vince Lidy said. “Their defense came out and did a good job executing and getting stops. Our guys had to respond. The last few weeks we’ve gotten away with getting big plays early and scored, and it’s not always going to be like that.
“It was good for our guys to have some adversity early and have to play some real football. It was a good cat and mouse game going on.”
The Arabians were unable to answer. They struggled to get anything going on offense, which included a few dropped passes, as well as penalties, that helped stall potential drives.
Late in the first half, Pendleton Heights fell one yard short of converting a first down at the Mt. Vernon 16. It got into MV territory two more times but failed to get inside the Marauders’ 30.
Arabians sophomore running backs James Malone and Dresden Roberts each rushed for 70 yards. Malone had a team-high 16 carries. Roberts got his yards on nine tries, with a long run of 15 yards.
Quarterback Luke Candiano was 4 of 22 for 47 yards. He was sacked three times.
“Guys were open (and we had drops), there was tight coverage, but Luke gave us a chance tonight,” Pendleton Heights head coach Jed Richman said. “We just didn’t make enough plays. Then, when we got it going, we shot ourselves in the foot (with penalties) that killed drives. We have to be better than that.”
Reese Reddington had two catches for 30 yards.
“It was a tough loss, but I truly believe in what we’re doing. We moved the ball on a good defense, but we have to put it in the end zone,” Richman said. “That’s kind of a common theme the last couple weeks. Unfortunately, there were a lot of self-inflicted wounds.
“We got a lot better, but it was against the best team on our schedule,” Richman said. “We stop them and stop them, and we don’t get any points. It’s just a matter of time (for their high-powered offense). Give credit to Mt. Vernon, and we just have to get better, we are, but we have to get better during the game and get some points on the board.”
Defensively, Jake Ehrgott led in tackles with four. Max Davis and Eli Arthur each had a tackle for loss.
Punter Justin Beeler had four punts for a 35.8 yards average.
Mt. Vernon running backs Keagan LaBelle and Travon Hegler each had two touchdowns and rushed for more than 100 yards. LaBelle had eight carries for 109. Hegler had four rushes for 111 yards. MV quarterback Gehrig Slunaker went 6 of 8 for 139 yards and one touchdown.
Marauders receiver Ashden Gentry had four catches for 112 yards and one rush for 20 yards. He scored two touchdowns, also.
The Arabians are 3-3 overall (1-3, HHC). They play host to Delta (4-2, 1-2) for Homecoming on Friday. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
Mt. Vernon has won five straight games. The Marauders are 5-1 (4-0, HHC). They travel to New Castle (2-4, 1-2) on Friday.

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