FORTVILLE — The state’s top-scoring team put up enough points to win on Friday night, but it was the Class 4A No. 4 Mt. Vernon Marauders’ defense that came up clutch.
Averaging 50.75 points per game with no fewer than 36 points scored through 13 weeks, the Marauders posted their lowest offensive output to date this season during the Regional 11 title game, but top-ranked Roncalli couldn’t match it.
Three rushing touchdowns and a pair of field goals from Mt. Vernon’s Ethan Yeley made up for three first-half turnovers, while the host Marauders turned an early 7-0 deficit into a 27-21 victory and their second regional championship in three years.
Last year, in the Regional 11 title game, Roncalli (12-1) rolled to a 35-14 victory at Mt. Vernon (12-1) and an eventual state title.
There will be no repeat for the Royals in 2021.
“We have a sign in our weight room that says, 35-14. That’s how we lost to them last year. We were focused on coming back,” Mt. Vernon senior Keagan La Belle said. “We prepared hard and long for this journey.”
The Marauders had won 10 of its previous 11 games by IHSAA mercy-rule, running clock, but for their 12th straight victory and second state-tournament semistate berth since 2019, it required a team effort from start to finish.
No more so than on defense as the Marauders lost possession three times in the first half with two interceptions — hauled in by Roncalli’s Daniel O’Connor and Michael Hegwood — and a lost fumble on a picked pitch on Mt. Vernon’s opening possession.
The hand-off pick unfolded in the game’s first series by Tyson Garrett and resulted in a quick 7-0 lead for Roncalli 25 seconds later.
Roncalli went 46 yards behind a 41-yard run by Luke Hansen, who capped the two-play drive with a 5-yard touchdown sprint.
Down 7-0, Mt. Vernon turned the ball over on their third and sixth possessions, but the defense responded.
“We had to withstand their physicality. I kept telling our kids and our coaches, we have to answer the bell every single time,” Mt. Vernon head coach Vince Lidy said. “They have some big dudes, and it’s Roncalli. They’re going to be physical, and they want to establish the run, run you over and their front six on defense can stop the run. We did a great job on both sides.”
Mt. Vernon tied the game, 7-7, behind a 12-play, 67-yard drive on their second offensive series that ate up 3 minutes, 5 seconds off the clock, and the defense stymied Roncalli on the ensuring series to force a turnover on downs.
The Marauders defense halted the Royals on fourth down twice in the game and held them to 3 of 15 on third down.
“I don’t think anyone in this entire stadium expected us to do that. You could just see the energy that we had and we kept it up the whole game. That was key,” Mt. Vernon senior linebacker Owen Johnson said. “It got us fired up even more (when the pressure was on us). We knew we had to make plays, and we just went out there and did our jobs. Good things happen when you do that.”
Roncalli had to punt a season-high six times, and it allotted the Marauders a chance to go to work on offense.
Mt. Vernon rushed for 226 yards on 39 carries with La Belle gaining 62 yards and posting a 2-yard touchdown in the third quarter to cushion the Marauders’ lead 24-14.
Travon Hegler’s 1-yard touchdown run capped Mt. Vernon’s first scoring drive in the first quarter, while Eli Bridenthal ran in a 6-yard touchdown to make it 14-7 late in the first quarter.
George Burhenn’s 72-yard run prior to Bridenthal’s score setup the 17-second drive. Burhenn led the rushing attack with 132 yards on five carries.
Quarterback Gehrig Slunaker completed 9 of 13 passes for 149 yards with Bridenthal pacing the receiving corp with 87 yards on two receptions.
“Everyone. We needed everyone. Our defense, we were rolling guys out. Offense we went to Eli (Bridenthal) in wildcat at quarterback. We were putting Travon (Hegler) at running back with (Keagan) La Belle leading. We gave (George) Burhenn carries. We were spreading the ball around,” Lidy said. “We exhausted everything we could think of to give us a tactical advantage, and we’ll do the same thing next week.”
Yeley’s first field goal that measured 21 yards gave Mt. Vernon a 17-7 lead in the first half, but Roncalli cut the deficit 17-14 behind a 13-yard rushing touchdown by Hansen, who finished with 112 yards on 18 carries.
Roncalli was down 17-14 at halftime, trailing for the first time in 25 games since being behind Columbus North on Sept. 11, 2020. A game they eventually won.
The Marauders’ defense shut down two eight-play drives in the second half, forcing punts, and added their second turnover on downs to protect their 17-14 and 24-14 leads.
Yeley, who intentionally missed a 49-yard field goal attempt early in the fourth quarter to setup a touchback, converted a 37-yard kick to put Mt. Vernon ahead by two possessions.
His second field goal left 4:35 on the clock in the game, but it wasn’t enough time for the Royals to rally back.
“Definitely a big game on defense. We game planned for two straight weeks. We knew the quarterback was going to run it. We knew their running back was going to run it. We knew they were going to make plays down the field,” La Belle said. “We made plays we needed to make.”
Roncalli was without top receiver Kyle Lockard, who was injured, but the Royals put together a nine-play drive in the fourth quarter to close in on Mt. Vernon, 27-21, with 2:19 remaining.
The Marauders burned up 131 seconds with some savvy clock usage.
The Royals got the ball back with 7.9 seconds left, but fittingly the defense broke up the final pass attempt by quarterback Aiden Leffler before celebrating their title.
Leffler was limited to 96 yards passing on 15 completions. He rushed for 84 yards and a touchdown, but the Royals couldn’t reach their 38.9 points per game average and lost their first contest in 24 straight.
“We’ve had this dream since we were little, and we were really good back then, and we carried on. It’s like a tradition,” La Belle said. “We’re connected. We’re bonded together. It just makes the team that much better.”
Now, the Marauders will face either No. 5 East Central (10-2) or No. 8 Evansville Memorial (10-2) in the semistate title game next week. East Central and Evansville Memorial play for their regional title today at 2 p.m. in Evansville.
Mt. Vernon lost to Evansville Memorial in the semistate championship in 2019 on the road 28-3.
“This is what high school sports, especially high school football in November, is all about,” Lidy said. “It’s awesome. We’re looking forward to next week. It’s the senior class. I tell them all the time. We go as they go. If they show up at practice next week and wherever we play next week, I like our chances.”
Class 4A Regional 11
Mt. Vernon 27, Roncalli 21
RONCALLI (12-1);7;7;0;7;—;21
MT. VERNON (12-1);14;3;7;3;—;27
R—Luke Hansen 5 run (Luke Russell kick), 10:14
MV—Travon Hegler 1 run (Ethan Yeley kick), 6:39
MV—Eli Bridenthal 6 run (Yeley kick), 47.2
MV—Yeley 21 field goal, 10:04
R—Hansen 13 run (Russell kick), 1:42
MV—Keagan La Belle 2 run (Yeley kick), 1:57
MV—Yeley 37 field goal, 4:35
R—Aiden Leffler 3 run (Russell kick), 2:19
