HANCOCK COUNTY — Red or black?
By night’s end, the coveted Boundary Rail will sport one of those two colors following the conclusion of the annual regular-season showdown between Hancock County rivals Mt. Vernon and New Palestine.
Often a tradition to spray paint the rail in the victor’s primary school color, last year marked the first time since 2012 that red faded to black.
Tonight at Kelso Stadium, the host Class 5A No. 15 New Palestine Dragons will have revenge on their minds after the 4A No. 10 Mt. Vernon Marauders halted their seven-year run of Boundary Rail dominance in 2020.
Meanwhile, the 4A Greenfield-Central Cougars head to unbeaten 4A No. 11 Pendleton Heights for their annual grudge match, which the host Arabians have prevailed in the past six meetings.
The unranked 2A Eastern Hancock Royals are looking to shock the world at home tonight as they face their toughest challenge of the 2021 campaign against unbeaten 2A No. 4 Heritage Christian.
The county’s lone unbeaten team, Eastern Hancock enters Week 4 a perfect 3-0 and ready to celebrate homecoming in style.
Here’s a breakdown of each match-up entering tonight.
Mt. Vernon (2-1, 1-0 HHC) at New Palestine (1-2, 1-0 HHC)
Game time: 7 p.m. at Kelso Stadium.
Coaches: Vince Lidy, 2-1 in first year at Mt. Vernon. Kyle Ralph, 97-8 in ninth year at New Palestine.
Last game: Mt. Vernon defeated Greenfield-Central, 42-21. New Palestine defeated Yorktown, 42-14.
Series info: New Palestine holds a 27-14 series advantage over the past 35 years, but Mt. Vernon won the last meeting, 35-22, Sept. 11, 2020.
What we learned: Nothing lasts forever, and the New Palestine Dragons learned that fact a year ago.
Winners of seven consecutive Boundary Rail rivalry games against geographic neighbor Mt. Vernon, the Dragons lost hold of not only the inter-county prize but also the HHC’s traveling helmet trophy.
For added measure, the loss proved even larger as the Marauders ran roughshod over their HHC foes to win the conference title, which New Palestine owned for seven years (2013-19).
While not discounting the rest of the HHC field, tonight’s rivalry game could ultimately determine the 2021 conference champion, which only heightens the emphasis.
Mt. Vernon enters tonight riding a two-game winning streak after struggling against 6A Noblesville in Week 1.
Since the loss, the Marauders have forced two IHSAA mercy-rule running clocks in a pair of lopsided victories.
Last week, against Greenfield-Central, the Marauders totaled 191 rushing yards and three touchdowns, including two from Travon Hagler (108 yards) and one by Keagan La Belle (56 yards).
Quarterback Gehrig Slunaker passed for a trio of touchdowns for 130 yards while spreading the wealth. The signal caller connected with four different receivers and found three for TDs.
The Dragons, on the other hand, put up huge yardage totals to win their first game of the season over HHC opponent Yorktown.
New Palestine amassed a season-high 297 rushing yards with four TDs, while quarterback Damon Hockett passed for 154 yards and a score.
Sophomore running back Grayson Thomas broke free for all four rushing TDs and accounted for 207 yards on the ground. He previously posted 132 and 158 yards in the Dragons’ two losses.
This game marks the 60th overall match-up between Mt. Vernon and New Palestine and 54th regular-season meeting. The two schools have clashed since 1968 with New Palestine holding a 35-23-1 overall series lead and a 31-21-1 record in regular-season contests.
In Boundary Rail games, the Dragons are 14-2 since the tradition began in 2005. Last year’s HHC loss was the only one for New Palestine in the last nine seasons and gives the Dragons a 55-1 conference record under head coach Kyle Ralph.
Greenfield-Central (1-2, 0-1 HHC) at Pendleton Heights (3-0, 1-0 HHC)
Game time: 7:30 p.m. at Broughton Field.
Coaches: Travis Nolting, 6-16 in third year at Greenfield-Central, 66-44 in 11th year overall. Jed Richman, 34-24 in sixth year at Pendleton Heights, 69-54 in 12th year overall.
Last game: Greenfield-Central lost to Mt. Vernon, 42-21. Pendleton Heights defeated New Castle, 30-26.
Series info: Pendleton Heights owns a 27-11 series advantage in the past 35 years and won the last meeting, 42-6, on Oct. 23, 2020.
What we learned: The Greenfield-Central Cougars were playing catch-up all night against rival Mt. Vernon last week, but not by any fault of their own.
Limited to one quarter of play in Week 2 against Phalen Academy, which forfeited during the game’s lightning delay, the Cougars simply didn’t get as many game reps as they had hoped before their Mt. Vernon rivalry game.
With a shortened preparation week, due to the Mt. Vernon game getting moved to Saturday night, the Cougars will look to regroup quickly and play spoiler against host Pendleton Heights.
G-C junior Brayden Herrell rushed for 100 yards against Mt. Vernon’s stingy defense, and quarterback Brodie Mayberry ran hard for 86 yards. The option offense will look to eat some clock versus the host Arabians, who have faced minimal resistance this season.
Pendleton Heights is 3-0 with wins over 4A Mississinewa, 21-14, 5A Anderson, 21-14 and 4A New Castle, 30-26.
The Arabians’ primary offensive weapon is senior Ethan Ross, who has 402 yards rushing and two TDs. Quarterback Luke Candiano, a senior, has four rushing TDs, 171 yards on the ground and 363 passing yards with three TDs.
The Cougars defense will look to slow Candiano and Ross down to keep the game close and tighten the HHC race.
Heritage Christian (3-0) at Eastern Hancock (3-0)
Game time: 7 p.m. at Knarr Field.
Coaches: Kyle Ray, 38-19 in sixth year at Heritage Christian. Phil Morris, 3-0 in first year at Eastern Hancock, 26-37 in seventh year overall.
Last game: Heritage Christian defeated Guerin Catholic, 18-15. Eastern Hancock defeated Wes-Del, 47-7.
Series info: Heritage Christian owns a 5-0 series advantage in the past 35 years and won the last meeting, 56-21, on Sept. 11, 2020.
What we learned: The Eastern Hancock Royals are never out of a game.
The past two weeks, they’ve trailed both North Decatur and Wes-Del and in each contest, they’ve stormed back — quite literally.
Cole Rainbolt seems to thrive despite the elements and he did just that against Wes-Del with 96 yards rushing and two TDs. He hauled in two receptions for 38 yards and added 57 punt return yards — and a touchdown — to finish with 203 all-purpose yards.
Zach Arnold had two TDs, one rushing and another receiving, to provide 143 all-purpose yards.
The Royals will need every inch they can get against state-ranked Heritage Christian.
The visiting Eagles can score both through the air and on the ground led by junior quarterback Kyle Antoine.
Antoine has completed 48 of 70 pass attempts for 649 yards and eight TDs through HC’s perfect 3-0 start. He’s also rushed for 189 yards and five TDs.
Senior Colton Brown has 186 rushing yards and a TD, while senior Zac Schloemer has 21 receptions for 248 yards and four TDs.
Expect a ton of offense in Charlottesville tonight.
