FORTVILLE — The Marauders aren’t where they want to be.
Coming off back-to-back tough losses to Hoosier Heritage Conference opponents, Mt. Vernon sits at 2-3 on the year, 1-2 in HHC play.
They have a tall task ahead of them again tonight. The Marauders take to the road to face Pendleton Heights, an Arabians team that just cracked the Top 10 in Class 4A this week, a team that trailed powerhouse New Palestine by just one score at halftime a week ago.
But for the Marauders, what Pendleton has — Eli Pancol, a Division 1 wideout, along with a strong passing game, a good running game and a solid defense — or what they can do aren’t necessarily the focus.
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This week is another step in the process for Mt. Vernon, win or lose.
“It’s really not about what they’re doing; it’s about what we do in order to get better. It’s a process,” Mt. Vernon coach Mike Kirschner said. “We’re not happy where we’re at. We’re not happy with what we’ve done so far at this point in the season. But it is a process. We’ve gotta get healthy here in the next three or four weeks, see if we can get better, and take a shot in the tournament.”
The Marauders are in the midst of a grueling stretch in the schedule, which started with a 64-0 loss to Class 5A No. 1 New Palestine and continued with a 41-14 loss to a Delta team that is just outside the Top 10 in Class 4A.
Now they face the Arabians, ranked No. 10 in the coaches poll and No. 9 by The Associated Press, in another important HHC clash.
Last week, Mt. Vernon ran 30 more plays than Delta but couldn’t put the ball in the end zone, turning the ball over three times and stalling near the red zone repeatedly.
They aren’t focused, their coach said, and while he said they are doing a lot of good things, they aren’t doing enough yet.
He knows that this week is another tough test for his team.
“We’ve got our hands full. On paper it’s a matchup where we have some definite matchup problems with some of their kids,” Kirschner said. “It goes back to being part of the process. Our secondary is predominantly a sophomore and a couple of juniors. They’ve got to grow up. They’ve got to start making plays. They make plays in practice, and they get in the game and they’ll make a play here, a play here, and two plays they won’t make plays. The lack of consistency and the overall understanding of the game has got to improve.”
The secondary of the Marauders got a big test last week against Delta. The team prepared hard for the run all week, knowing it was a strength of the Eagles.
Then, the hosts came out and threw the ball all game long. The Marauders stopped the running attack well, but the Eagles completed 67 percent of their passes for 308 yards and three touchdowns.
The degree of difficulty this week ramps up. With Pancol, a Duke commit, being the big-name receiver at Pendleton Heights, another name has emerged as a major threat. Anakin Allison sliced through the New Palestine defense with eight catches for 104 yards and two touchdowns a week ago.
Pendleton Heights has a senior quarterback having a big year, as well, in Christian Conkling, who has 872 yards, 12 TDs and just two interceptions thus far.
The Marauders are hoping the experience against Delta pays off against the Arabians’ attack that runs the ball almost as well as it passes.
“Going into last week we were preparing for run, and they came out and passed the whole game,” Mt. Vernon running back and linebacker Dylan Cole said. “Seeing that last week helped prepare our corners, kind of showed them what it’s going to be like. That’s the first team we’ve really faced that passed like that.”
The Marauders’ success against the run last week gives them a boost of confidence moving forward.
Now, they need to find a way to spread that success across the entire defense.
“This week we just have to be really physical,” Cole said. “Pendleton is a physical football team. Last week against the run, I felt like we were really physical against the run up front. We just have to take that same thing in and try to get our secondary and our interior on the same level.”
Even though their record isn’t where they want it to be, the Marauders are hoping to build off of what they’ve faced so far this season as they approach the postseason.
The level of competition has been high for a team trying to build itself back into a winner with a first-year head coach.
They faced a Marion team in Week 2 that still hasn’t lost. New Palestine is one of the state’s top teams, also undefeated. Delta is 4-1 and undefeated in the HHC. Pendleton sits 4-1, with the lone HHC loss coming against the Dragons.
“Our mindset is to learn from those mistakes we made against those tough teams in those losses and to come back and play against this talented team we’re about to play and come out with a win,” wide receiver Braxton Trittipo said. “It’s more about having the will to keep going and not let those losses get to us, just keep powering through.”
Mt. Vernon is seeing, on a weekly basis, what it will take to win football games against top competition. While the losses certainly aren’t ideal, Kirschner and his staff are trying to make their players better individuals on and off the football field.
It’s about building a winning culture in the community and in the football program.
It’s all part of the process.
“We’re climbing over those mountains and we’re getting through them,” Trittipo said. “We’re keeping the mindset of we’ve got to be hungrier and hungrier as each week goes, no matter the outcome, and to just get back into the film room and the practice field and work hard the next week.”