By George Bremer
The Herald Bulletin
PENDLETON, Ind. —
Pendleton Heights already has won a pair of track meets.
Now the Arabians will see how they fare in a wrestling match.
Off to its first 2-0 start since 2005, the Pendleton Heights football team is well aware of the challenge it faces tonight.
New Palestine (1-1) is coming off a 24-14 victory against perennial power Delta. The Dragons beat the Arabians twice last year, including a season-ending setback in the first round of the sectional.
But both of those games were at New Palestine.
Pendleton Heights is hoping homefield, and much improved team chemistry, will add up to its first win against the Dragons since 2002.
“We feel confident,” junior quarterback Mitch Patishall said. “This game against New Pal is really big. If we can win that, it will give us a lot of momentum for the next couple of weeks.”
Tonight’s 7:30 kickoff against New Palestine marks the beginning of the toughest four-game stretch of one of the area’s toughest annual schedules.
After facing the Dragons, Pendleton Heights stares down a gauntlet of Shelbyville, Mount Vernon and Delta. The Arabians haven’t posted a winning record during this stretch since quarterback Justin Rummel led them to a four-game sweep in 2002.
Pendleton Heights lost all four games last year.
To turn the tide, head coach John Broughton said his team must be willing to out work New Palestine.
“It’s a matter of whether we’re willing to get down in the trenches with them,” Broughton said. “They’re a very physical team.”
The Dragons make no secret of their goal on offense. This is a smash-mouth unit that will run the ball right at the Arabians and see if their defense can withstand the pounding for four quarters.
Delta could not.
Sophomore running back Matt Siergiej gained 148 yards on 27 carries and scored one touchdown. Senior Austin Cahoy added 93 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries.
New Palestine’s longest run went for 22 yards, but both backs averaged nearly 5.5 yards per carry.
It’s a sustained, relentless attack. And the defense follows the same hard-nosed philosophy.
Delta senior Zach Overfield gained 97 yards on just nine carries and scored four touchdowns in season-opening 58-7 victory at Jay County. The Dragons held Overfield to just 55 yards on 14 carries and one score.
One week after averaging 10.8 yards every time he touched the ball, Overfield was held to just 3.9.
That’s just one sign of how hard New Palestine can make an offense fight for every yard.
But Pendleton Heights’ strength in the early season has been its offensive line. Kyle Babb, Kyle Smitherman, Michael Dawson, Jake Stilwell and Steffan Slick have paved the way for a highly efficient rushing attack.
Senior Dezmon Nunn leads the way with 5.9 yards per carry, and junior Jacob Lyons averages 5.7.
That balance has forced defenses to play Patishall more honestly in the passing game and opened up the Arabians’ polished run-and-shoot attack.
“We’re having a lot of fun,” Patishall said. “I feel like we’ve got good chemistry this year. Everybody is working hard for each other.”
That work so far has produced impressive wins against Yorktown and Greenfield-Central, two more building blocks as the Arabians fight to retore their once mighty program’s luster.
A win over defending sectional champion New Palestine tonight really would move that goal along.
“This is our toughest game of the year to this point,” Broughton said. “We know we’ve got our work cut out for us. But we think we’re up to the challenge.”
