FORTVILLE — Mt. Vernon needed somebody to make a play.
On what ended up being the final series of Friday’s Hoosier Heritage Conference showdown between the host Marauders and nearby rival Pendleton Heights, the Arabian offense was making all the big plays.
Led by senior quarterback Kirby Hess, the Arabians converted three big fourth down plays on their final offensive drive, but the biggest play of all came from the Marauders’ defense.
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With 31 seconds remaining and Pendleton Heights sitting at the MV 1-yard-line — after a Hess 8-yard run — Marauder senior defensive lineman Jagger Meadows jarred the ball loose from Hess, and fellow lineman Matt Foor recovered.
Mt. Vernon held on and won Friday’s back-and-forth battle, 18-14.
“Bottom line, we made a play at the end when we had to,” Mt. Vernon coach Mike Kirschner said. “They were in a position to win it, and we popped it loose. That’s why you never quit playing and you always keep fighting.
“You tell your kids to keep fighting, keep fighting.”
Hess had completed a 17-yard pass to Tristan Ross on fourth-and-16. After Mt. Vernon was called for pass interference on a fourth-and-18 play, Hess took off on a 17-yard run on fourth-and-3.
“When you lay the ball on the carpet on the last play of the game to win it, you know…,” Pendleton Heights coach Jed Richman said. “We’ve got to learn from this. My quarterback is a warrior. I’ll ride with him every day. I love that kid to death.”
Mt. Vernon had to make some plays on offense, too.
It trailed 14-9 heading into the fourth quarter.
Junior running back Rylan Cole and the quarterback-receiver connection of Gehrig Slunaker and Dawan Langston helped set up the final two Mt. Vernon scores.
With under 10 minutes remaining in the game and trailing 14-9, Cole returned a short Pendleton Heights punt 16 yards to the Arabians’ 29.
Slunaker followed with some of his own fourth-down magic, connecting with Langston on a 19-yard pass play to get to the PH 8. After three incompletions, the Marauders settled for an AJ Swingle 25-yard field goal to cut the Arabians’ lead to 14-12.
Mt. Vernon got the ball back with 6:13 to go. Slunaker hooked up with Langston twice for a total of 29 yards, and Cole added a 20-yard rush to get to the PH 6.
On second and goal, sophomore Keagan LaBelle scored to give MV an 18-14 lead. The two-point conversion failed.
“We bounced back. We fought, and we needed it,” Kirschner said. “We’d had two rough ones in a row with (losses to) New Palestine and Delta. Hopefully, this will get us jump started.”
Mt. Vernon got off to a decent start on Friday.
On its first drive, Mt. Vernon got the first of two Swingle field goals. The junior connected from 33 yards out to give the Marauders a 3-0 lead with 4:49 left in the quarter.
The lead grew to 9-0 when Shaun Shipley scored on a 1-yard quarterback sneak on a fourth down play with only 1:58 left in the first half. Swingle’s PAT was blocked.
When they got the ball with 1:58 left until the half and on the PH 20, the Arabians had just two first downs in the previous nearly four quarters of play.
They were without a first down in their final half against New Palestine last week and had only two prior to the last series of the half.
Hess went 4-of-8 on the drive for 66 yards, then scored on a four-yard quarterback draw to cut Mt. Vernon’s lead to 9-7.
Pendleton Heights had poor field position the entire half. The Arabians started three times from their own 20, thanks to Swingle’s kickoffs. Another drive began at the PH 2. Mt. Vernon was deep into Arabian territory when a halfback pass by Cole was intercepted by Arabian linebacker Luke Bays.
Both teams are now 2-2 in the HHC. Mt. Vernon is 4-2 overall. Pendleton Heights is 3-3.
“(Pendleton Heights) is a really good football team,” Kirschner said of getting a win over one of the league’s top teams. “They’re a good program with good kids. They do it the right way.”
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Friday, Oct. 4
7 p.m., Monroe Central at Eastern Hancock
7:30 p.m., Greenfield-Central at Yorktown
7:30 p.m., Mt. Vernon at New Castle
7:30 p.m., Shelbyville at New Palestine (Homecoming)
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