PENDLETON — The Mt. Vernon Marauder football team was a different team on Friday.
Marauders sophomore Rylan Cole put on an show on offense while a senior trio put on a show on defense.
They led the Class 4A Marauders to a 28-14 victory against the Class 4A No. 9 Pendleton Heights Arabians.
Max Burhenn, P.J. Sterrett and Connor Price could not be stopped. Between the three of them, they had seven sacks, Burhenn with three.
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Click here to purchase photos from this gallery“To pressure a quarterback like that, it’s a little bit of a ‘want-to,’” Mt. Vernon head coach Mike Kirschner said. “They’re going to block you, but you got to want to shed, you got to want to rip, you got to run the hoop.”
It was no ordinary quarterback, too. The Arabians 6-foot-4 senior Christian Conkling had 900 passing yards before tonight.
“Max, P.J. and Connor all did a great job,” Kirschner said. “They kept flushing him out. Like any other QB, you start hitting them and they start getting a little nervous.”
Along with the sacks came some big stops in the passing game. This helped force a scoreless first half for the Arabians.
But when it looked like the Arabians would regain their momentum after two touchdowns to start the second half, the Marauders put an end to it fast.
“Here was the best part,” Kirshner said. “We got down to 14-7. And in a few games in the past, we get down and we tank. In this case, we fought back and found a way to get back in the game.”
A big part of that was Rylan Cole.
Cole ran for 140 yards and two touchdowns. The first one came just before halftime. The Marauders offense set up his five-yard run with an 8-minute, 18-play drive — mainly led by Cole with a few runs from QB Tyson Harley.
“We’ve known all along he’s had it in him but we just hadn’t seen it enough that we felt comfortable,” Kirschner said. “Then when his brother Dylan went out with an ankle injury, we didn’t have a choice. ‘Rylan, you gotta carry the ball.’”
Cole’s second touchdown halted the Arabians momentum. He broke through for a 44-yard run to set up his 6-yard touchdown run that tied the game 14-14 in the third quarter.
The ball was in either team’s court, but the Marauders defense did their job efficiently, forcing two punts and two turnover on downs the rest of the game. One of the biggest stops was in the fourth quarter after Arabians receiver Anakin Allison caught a 64-yard pass. With first down at the 20 for the Arabians, the Marauders held strong.
“We just kept playing harder,” Kirschner said.
A Harley touchdown was followed by a 65-yard TD pass from Harley to Sterrett to seal the victory over their Hoosier Heritage Conference foe.
Mt. Vernon moves to 3-3 overall and 2-3 in the conference, while Pendleton Heights drops to 4-2, 2-2 in the HHC.
The Marauders play New Castle at home next week.
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Mt. Vernon vs. New Castle, 7:30 p.m.
New Palestine at Shelbyville, 7:30 p.m.
Greenfield-Central vs. Yorktown, 7:30 p.m.
Eastern Hancock at Monroe Central, 7 p.m.
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