RICHMOND — The warm up is over.
After finishing an unbeaten 9-0 during the regular season — a first in program history — the top-ranked Class 4A Mt. Vernon Marauders opened the postseason on Friday night equally as perfect.
The Marauders (10-0) scored on their first seven possessions and built a decisive lead after the first 12 minutes to win 49-7 over host Richmond in the first round of Sectional 21.
The only setback, if any, for the Marauders occurred before the opening kick as lightening in the area delayed the game’s original start time of 7 p.m. by an hour and a half.
Once they took the field, however, the Marauders went to work.
“It feels great to get this win,” Mt. Vernon junior wide receiver Ashden Gentry said. “(The delay) was definitely some adversity, but it was fine. We knew we’d play eventually, and we played our hardest to get the W.”
Mt. Vernon’s offense produced effortlessly from the start both on the ground and in the air.
The Marauders rushed for 202 yards on 17 carries in the first half with five touchdowns, while the passing attack netted 111 yards on six completions and a pair of touchdowns before the break.
Ryan Cole, an Indiana State recruit, opened the first-half onslaught with a 56-yard rushing touchdown on Mt. Vernon’s second play from scrimmage.
Cole finished with 81 yards on three carries and two touchdowns. His second measured 9 yards to put the Marauders ahead 35-0 with 23 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
Keagan La Belle had two runs for a combined 45 yards, finding the end zone on both. The first covered 20 yards and the second went for 25 to push the margin 42-0 early in the second quarter.
Sophomore Ashton Julian provided the Marauders final rushing touchdown late in the second quarter. Julian ran the ball seven consecutive plays to own the Marauders’ final scoring drive that spanned 52 yards.
His 9-yard touchdown run capped the series and marked his first this season, ending the Marauders’ string of conversions to essentially put the game away before halftime. He had 71 yards on 11 carries.
“We didn’t want to go home. We didn’t want to come back (because of lightening),” Mt. Vernon head coach Mike Kirschner said. “This is great. I think someone said, we ran 13 plays and scored six times.
“I thought the offense was great, and the defense did what our defense does. We played well. We stayed healthy. We got out and we move on. That’s the bottom line.”
In the two teams’ first meeting this season on Aug. 28, the Marauders passed for 149 yards and two touchdowns to win 56-13.
The running game produced 154 yards on 22 carries for 7.0 yards per attempt and three touchdowns.
The defense teed off with nine sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery, while the punt return team had a trio of touchdowns with Cole leading the group, scoring twice.
In the rematch, the Marauders’ defense duplicated its effort with nine sacks and forced seven punts and a turnover on downs. Richmond went 0-for-6 on third-down conversion attempts in the first half.
Mt. Vernon quarterback Gehrig Slunaker completed 5 of 6 passes for 66 yards, including a 31-yard dart to Ronnie Foster that gave the Marauders a 21-0 lead with 6 minutes left in the opening quarter.
Backup quarterback Eli Bridenthal threw Mt. Vernon’s second touchdown on a trick play off a lateral pass from Slunaker.
Bridenthal collected the throw from Slunaker and found Gentry, who sprinted 45 yards for a touchdown and a 28-0 Mt. Vernon advantage. The touchdown pass was Bridenthal’s first of the season.
With the starters on the sideline, Richmond (1-8) erased Mt. Vernon’s shutout bid in the third quarter, but the goal was nonetheless achieved.
The Marauders advance to the next round and will face Hoosier Heritage Conference rival Pendlton Heights on the road next week.
“It’s time to look forward to the next game. We had a close one with Pendleton the last time, but we’re ready for it,” Gentry said. “We’re going to be practicing really hard this week.”
Mt. Vernon beat Pendleton Heights 27-21 on Sept. 25 en route to an outright HHC title this season at 7-0 in the conference. The road game is Mt. Vernon’s eighth in 13 weeks since its preseason scrimmage in August.
“You don’t look back. We look back as far as who we played, and now who we have to play. We have to play them again, the team we played Week 6, but we know it’s going to be tough, and we’re going into a hostile environment,” Kirschner said. “We’re going to have our work cut out for us.”
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”Scoreline” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
Mt. Vernon 49, Richmond 7
MV (10-0);35;14;0;0;-;49
RHS (1-8);0;0;7;0;-;7
Scoring Summary
1st Quarter
MV – Rylan Cole 56 yd run (AJ Swingle kick), 11:17
MV – Keagan La Belle 20 yd run (Swingle kick), 8:41
MV – Ronnie Foster 31 yd pass from Gehrig Slunaker (Swingle kick), 6:00
MV – Ashden Gentry 45 yd pass from Eli Bridenthal (Swingle kick), 4:20
MV – Cole 9 yd run (Swingle kick), 23.0
2nd Quarter
MV – La Belle 25 yd (Swingle kick), 9:16
MV – Ashton Julian 9 yd run (Swingle kick), 3:23
3rd Quarter
RHS – Marquis Johnson 14 yd pass from Drew VanVleet (John Carter kick), 3:52
[sc:pullout-text-end]
