PENDLETON — The wall just got higher, and the Pendleton Heights Arabians were unable to climb over it.
They dug themselves into a deep 24-0 hole early and couldn’t come back in losing 27-24 to New Palestine in overtime on Friday night.
A questionable call forced the Arabians into a field goal attempt on their opening drive of overtime. Senior Evan Groninger appeared to make the go-ahead touchdown catch in the end zone, but it was ruled that the ball hit the ground. That forced Bryce Loughman into a field goal try, but he missed badly for the third time of the night.
New Palestine’s Aaron Pfeifer made good on his field goal try and the Dragons pulled out a miraculous win.
“I caught that ball and I sat on it. That ball was in my hands, I jumbled it a little bit, but in the end I had it tucked away in my arm,” a frustrated Groninger said. “I rolled right over, and I had the ball in my arms - that ball never touched the ground. In a situation like that it takes everything away from you. It really does.”
The teams traded possessions in the fourth quarter, but the Arabians had multiple opportunities to take the lead and end the game. Sophomore Brad McNeil intercepted a halfback pass with 7:17 remaining in regulation and after a 15-yard Groninger run, PH had a first-and-goal situation. But the drive stalled, and quarterback Grant Hendershot threw an interception at the 7 yard line with 3:33 left. He finished 16-for-29 for 142 yards and two interceptions.
PH had another opportunity late in the quarter as it moved the ball to the 16-yard line before settling for a field goal attempt. Loughman missed the kick, forcing the game into overtime.
“The thing is, Bryce is a good kicker,” said Pendleton Heights head coach John Broughton of the third-year starter. “He just had three really bad kicks tonight, but it’s something he’s going to have to bounce back from. We had to get some points there in overtime so we tried to field goal.”
The Arabians (0-3) struggled to get anything going in the first half and were completely dominated by the opposition. They were forced into 3-and-outs on their first four possessions and didn’t break into positive yardage until a minute remained in the second quarter.
But being forced into a two-minute drill proved to be just the motivation PH needed. Junior RaVaugn White carried it 22 yards - his first touch of the night - to put the Arabians in New Palestine territory for the first time.
After an incomplete pass, Hendershot completed three in a row for 11, 12, and 10 yards, respectively. He then took it in from 10 yards out on the sixth play of the drive to get PH on the board.
“We knew their secondary wasn’t good, but we weren’t getting time to throw the ball, they were beating us up front,” Broughton said. “We started throwing the three step pass instead of the five step pass and that got us moving a little bit.”
It was as if the teams went to the wrong locker room at halftime as the momentum and roles were completely reversed. The Arabians moved the ball for 205 yards in the third quarter and scored 16 points while New Palestine started the second half with three consecutive three-and-outs and no points.
The PH defense started to hold its own, too. A unit that looked completely worn down and vulnerable at the end of the first half held the Dragons the five yards on 15 plays in the third quarter. New Palestine’s Michael Phelps - who rushed for 112 yards in the first half - was held to seven yards on nine carries in the final 24 minutes.
“Our defense came out and the starting playing really well and we just couldn’t hold them in the first half,” Broughton said. “Our kids are working hard; we are so, so close to being a team that can do some good things.”
White finished with 66 yards on 10 carries while Groninger rushed six times for 63 yards. Senior wide receiver Tyler Kennedy had seven receptions for 80 yards and Jacob Jewell had two catches for 31 yards.
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Arabians fall in OT to New Palestine
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