GREENFIELD — The first time they played, the score wasn’t telling of the game.
The next meeting, the score wasn’t telling of the season.
Greenfield-Central lost to Pendleton Heights for the second time this year, at Clayton Myers Field, Friday.
Pendleton Heights dominated from start to finish and beat the Cougars 42-6 in a Class 4A Sectional 21 quarterfinal matchup.
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The Arabians (7-3) will play unbeaten No. 1 Mt. Vernon (10-0) in a sectional semifinal game next week. It’s a rematch of last year’s sectional title game, won by the Marauders.
In a Week 4 Hoosier Heritage Conference regular season game, Pendleton Heights beat Greenfield-Central 31-18, a game where the Arabians had a mere three-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.
On Friday, it was Arabians all the way.
The Cougars set a single-game school rushing record of 532 yards last week in a win over New Castle. On Friday, they didn’t get a first down until the second half, and when they did, they were already trailing 42-0.
Greenfield-Central finishes the season 3-5, winning two of its last three regular-season games. They’ve won four of their last 10 under second-year head coach Travis Nolting, who took over a program that had lost 13 games in a row. Many of his current players hadn’t been a part of victory until last season.
On Friday, they found out they still have a long way to go to defeat the likes of a strong Pendleton Heights program, but Nolting likes the progress, just not the performance and outcome in the tournament opener.
"Our kids did some things this year that a lot of people didn’t think they’d probably ever be able to do," Nolting said. "(Pendleton Heights) is a great team and well-coached. Tonight wasn’t our night, obviously, but I’m proud of the efforts our guys have put in, especially our seniors. They trusted the process and we’re going to continue working and building."
Other than a three-and-out series on the opening possession of the game, Friday’s tournament opener was a Pendleton Heights football clinic.
Greenfield-Central answered that opening series with an unsuccessful try on fourth-and-inches on its own 20. The Arabians took the good field position and ran with it, then ran with it some more.
Two plays after getting the ball back, the Arabians scored on a 19-yard run from quarterback Evan MacMillan. After a G-C three-and-out, the Arabians scored again. This time it was a nine-play, 63-yard drive with MacMillan again finding the end zone on a 2-yard run.
All nine plays were on the ground. Six of the rushes were from MacMillan, who had a 30-yard run on the series.
MacMillan, who shares quarterback duties with Luke Candiano, had, unofficially, a game-high 119 rushing yards on 16 carries. All of it came in the first half, which was mostly played in a downpour.
The game was scheduled to start at 7 p.m. Due to lightning in the area, kickoff didn’t happen until 7:35. The lightning stopped, but the rain didn’t, though it slowed late in the first half and was much lighter in the final two quarters.
The first pass attempt of the game came after the midway point of the second quarter. On fourth down and 13 from the Greenfield-Central 35, Candiano connected with Tyler McKinley on a 35-yard score.
The Arabians added a 10-yard touchdown run from Luke Bays before the half. It was set up after a Greenfield-Central fumble and gave PH a 28-0 lead.
G-C got the ball to start the second half, but fumbled on the second play. PH recovered, and two plays later running back Caden McClain scored on a 3-yard run. After another three-and-out, McClain scored on a 47-yard run, giving the Arabians a 42-0 lead with 7:25 left in the third period.
Greenfield-Central’s lone score came in the fourth quarter against Pendleton Heights’ backups. On an Arabian fumble, Andrew Zellers scooped it up and went 75 yards for a touchdown.
“We’ve got a pretty good ballclub, and we run the option, too,” Pendleton Heights coach Jed Richman said of his club’s strong running attack in Friday’s game. “You have to give them credit, they’re a good option team, but we like our option, too.
“Our defense played outstanding tonight. With the exception of a JV turnover at the end, that was a pretty good game by the Arabians.”
It was the second year in a row Greenfield-Central was eliminated by Pendleton Heights. Last year, the loss came in a sectional semifinal game.
"We’ve not turned the corner yet," Nolting said. "We’re building. We’ve got a ways to go and we’re not ever going to be satisfied. Like I told the kids, we’re going to keep climbing the mountain until we’re at the top.
"Tonight wasn’t our night. We’ve done some great things this year and proved to people that we’re not the same old G-C. … My biggest regret is I only got to coach (the seniors) for two years. They’re going to be able look back one day and say, ‘ I was there and I laid the ground work to help build it.’"
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Pendleton Heights 42, Greenfield-Central 6
Pendleton Heights (7-3);14;14;14;0;-;42
Greenfield-Central (3-5);0;0;0;6;-;6
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
PH — Evan MacMillan 19 yd run (pass failed), 7:39
PH — MacMillan 2 yd run (MacMillan run), 2:06
Second Quarter
PH — Tyler McKinley 35 yd pass from Luke Candiano (Nick Taylor kick), 4:49
PH — Luke Bays 10 yd run (Taylor kick), 1:40
Third Quarter
PH — Caden McClain 3 yd run (Taylor kick), 11:29
PH — McClain 47 yd run (Taylor kick), 7:25
Fourth Quarter
GC — Andrew Zellers 75 yd fumble return (run failed), 4:20
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