SHELBYVILLE — Since late August, the Class 4A fifth-ranked Mt. Vernon Marauders have been lights out.
On Friday night, in Shelbyville, they literally were, steamrolling Hoosier Heritage Conference opponent Shelbyville, 49-0, in a game called during halftime due to malfunctioning stadium lighting.
At halftime, the Golden Bears’ field lights went black and remained inoperable, which prompted the cancellation of the second half that was set to resume with a running clock — the Marauders’ seventh straight since Week 1.
Mt. Vernon scored on every single offensive possession, posting 472 yards in total offense behind four rushing touchdowns and three through the air for quarterback Gehrig Slunaker. The senior finished a perfect 8 for 8 in pass attempts with 144 yards.
“It is pretty weird. When they came in and told us about the lights, I thought they were joking,” Slunaker said. “But, it is what it is.”
So is the Marauders’ offense, which surpassed 400 yards for a fourth straight week. Their previous season-high mark was 442 yards against HHC foe Delta in a 56-31 victory on Sept. 17.
Once again, the Marauders used chuck-yardage plays to score three touchdowns in the first quarter and four more in the second.
Keagan La Belle rushed for 104 yards on three carries, highlighted by a 72-yard touchdown, while senior Ashden Gentry kicked off the onslaught with a 56-yard rushing TD in the game’s second play from scrimmage.
The win moved Mt. Vernon (7-1, 6-0 HHC) one step closer to a second consecutive outright conference title.
“All the goals are in front of us. We just got to take care of ourselves and keep getting better each and every day to get to the big goal at the end of the road,” Slunaker said. “It’s a big deal (winning the conference). At the beginning of the season, we set milestones that we want, and that’s one of them for sure. That’s a big deal for the program.”
As a group, six different players contributed to Mt. Vernon’s 328 yards rushing on 14 carries.
Senior Travon Hagler had four rushes for 91 yards and a 55-yard score. Ashton Julian, a junior, had 35 yards on three carries and scored the game’s last touchdown from 13 yards out.
Slunaker’s touchdown passes traveled 10, 7 and 1 yards with a pair going to senior Rylan Robinson. Gentry hauled in the other to lead the team with 77 yards on three receptions. Robinson had a trio of catches for 26 yards. Eli Bridenthal accounted for two catches and 41 yards.
“It’s a lot of fun. That’s the one thing I’ve enjoyed about this year is just having fun with my friends, playing football, having fans in the stands. It’s been awesome,” Slunaker said.
“Even tonight, we didn’t play our best football. We haven’t played perfect, so we’re still trying to get better. But, I am impressed because we’re just trying to prove the doubters wrong.”
Each week, the Marauders have reached the IHSAA’s mercy-rule threshold of 35 points, and they only faced one third-down situation on offense against Shelbyville (1-4, 0-3 HHC), which Julian converted with a 23-yard run.
Mt. Vernon put together four scoring drives of four plays or less, including three of two plays or fewer.
“We want to be as explosive as we can be,” Mt. Vernon head coach Vince Lidy said. “We want to get the ball in space to our skill guys. Again, like tonight, Rylan Robinson steps up. He got two touchdowns and was blocking down field. Tre Jones had a big week last week. We had big plays.”
The Marauders defense forced five straight three-and-outs after allowing the Golden Bears to march down the field on their opening possession. The series ended in a missed field goal, but the group rebounded quickly for its third straight shutout.
“I think our offense came out and did a good job executing, but our defense, we can’t take a drive to wake up,” Lidy said. “And, our special teams, we have to get better.”
The Marauders host Yorktown next week for their regular-season finale. A win would cement an unbeaten HHC run. It’s also another week to prepare for the upcoming postseason when games will get harder along the way.
“Now, at some point, we’re going to play somebody who limits those, and then you have to be able to establish a drive and maybe chew up some clock, but that’s sort of our M.O. We know our offense is strong and explosive. Our defense is designed to get stops, and we try to build that lead as fast as we can,” Lidy said. “That fits who we are right now as a program.”
Mt. Vernon is chasing a potential third straight sectional title this postseason and another regional title after winning its first in 2019.
“I tell the seniors. Every week is a week adding to your legacy. You’ve been here for four years, at least most of them. You have helped build a winning program and winning seasons,” Lidy said. “Each week, we start 0-0, and again, the goal right now is to win the conference.”
Mt.Vernon 49, Shelbyville 0
MT.VERNON (7-1, 6-0 HHC);22;27;—;49
SHELBYVILLE (1-4, 0-3 HHC);0;0;—;0
MV—Ashden Gentry 56 run (2pt good), 11:38
MV—Rylan Robinson 7 pass from Gehrig Slunaker (Ethan Yeley kick), 1:45
MV—Travon Hagler 55 run (Yeley kick), 10:40
MV—Robinson 1 pass from Slunaker (Slunaker kick), 6:45
MV—Keagan La Belle 72 run (Yeley kick), 4:48
MV—Ashton Julian 13 run (kick failed), 19.7
