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FORTVILLE — It’s been a while since the Mt. Vernon Marauders have been to this point.
It’s been four years, to be exact, since the Marauders even advanced to a sectional championship football game. They lost that 2016 contest to Delta, 12-6.
It’s been even longer since the Marauders have won a sectional championship. That last came in 2012, when they lost in the regional to eventual state champion Cathedral.
Mt. Vernon coach Mike Kirschner has been here many times before as a coach at Ben Davis. But to his current players, this is an all-new experience.
“When you’re at this point in the season, there’s 16 teams in your class still playing. It’s kind of neat,” Kirschner said. “It’s a neat feeling for these kids. This is new territory for them. We’re hoping they enjoy the experience and look at it as an opportunity.”
In his first year at Mt. Vernon, Kirschner took over a program that struggled to a 4-7 finish in 2017 and turned things around. The Marauders finished 7-4 last year, his first at the helm.
This year they have continued forward momentum, sitting at 9-2 heading into tonight’s sectional championship game. Kirschner hoped the Marauders would get to this point soon enough.
He didn’t know they’d get here as quickly as they have.
“We a little bit exceeded (expectations). I really thought it would be three to four years to get to this point. Getting here is a little bit of a bonus for us,” he said. “Obviously, it’s not enough. Once you’re here — I’ve been here enough at other jobs — you want to keep this going. You don’t want to be satisfied that you got here.”
“It’s kind of crazy. To be honest, I had no idea that we would be in the place that we are right now,” senior Charlie Moore said. “I knew we had a great coaching staff coming in after my sophomore year, and we’ve been getting better and better. It’s awesome to see the results.”
Those results include two straight road wins to open the state tournament. They also include a six-game winning streak, giving Mt. Vernon a ton of momentum heading into tonight.
That they started that winning streak against tonight’s opponent, Pendleton Heights, gives them an extra boost. After back-to-back losses to New Palestine and Delta, the Marauders topped Pendleton Heights, 18-14, to start their run up to the state tournament.
Tonight, the stakes are much higher.
“It for sure boosts our confidence level, but we’re not looking down on them,” junior Rylan Cole said of playing the Arabians again. “We’re still preparing the same exact way as if they beat us.”
Mt. Vernon has won this particular matchup in each of Kirschner’s two years, with last year’s game a 28-14 win that helped turn the Marauders’ season around.
This year’s contest came down to the wire, with Pendleton Heights (7-4) reaching Mt. Vernon’s 1-yard line in the final minute with a chance to win. The Marauders defense came up huge, forcing a fumble and recovering it, stopping the Arabians’ comeback attempt and starting their long winning streak.
A lot has changed in the six weeks since that game, though.
“There’s been a lot of changes in what we do and how we do things, and even some of our kids due to injuries, from six weeks ago until now,” Kirschner said. “It’s a little bit of a chess match. Coach (Jed) Richman is a good friend of mine. We go back to all the way, one of his first coaching jobs with me at Ben Davis.”
Neither team threw the ball particularly well in the first meeting this season, with Pendleton Heights quarterback Kirby Hess completing just 7 of 24 passes for 100 yards and Mt. Vernon quarterback Gehrig Slunaker completing 10 of 17 for 107 yards.
Both teams ran the ball effectively, and Mt. Vernon expects to see more of the run game from the Arabians tonight.
“All respect to their offense and their quarterback, they have a very good offense that can do many things,” Moore said. “We’re preparing a lot for the run and preparing to fire on all cylinders.”
In what figures to be another close match-up, the Marauders know they need to limit mistakes and play a clean game of football.
Penalties and turnovers have plagued them throughout the year, despite the 9-2 overall record. Those kinds of mistakes could put a quick halt to their winning streak, their season and their championship hopes.
“We really just have to limit all of our mistakes, some of the penalties,” Cole said. “Just make big plays, stop Pendleton from making big plays, and really just focus on the little things. If we do that, it can lead us to a sectional championship.”
The winner of tonight’s game will advance to next week’s regional and will play either Lebanon (5-5) or Roncalli (6-5). The Arabians would host either team if they win. The Marauders would host Roncalli or travel to Lebanon.
First things first — the Marauders and Arabians have to go through one another tonight in Fortville.
“We’ve learned how to fight through adversity. We’ve come together as a team a lot more over the stretch of six games,” Moore said.
“We’re extremely excited. We haven’t been here in quite a while. We’re all just amped and ready to play for a championship.”
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Sectional championships
Class 5A
Franklin (8-2) at New Palestine (10-0), 7 p.m.
Class 4A
Pendleton Heights (7-4) at Mt. Vernon (9-2), 7 p.m.
INSIDE: For a closer look at both sectional championship games, jump inside to Page BX.
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