Mt. Vernon’s Eli Bridenthal throws to George Burhenn during their game against Shelbyville Friday.
Tom Russo | The Daily Reporter
By Brian Heinemann
For The Daily Reporter
FORTVILLE — Mt. Vernon made quick work of Shelbyville on Friday night.
It took all of three plays for the Marauders to take an 8-0 lead. By the end of the first quarter, the defending Class 4A champions had more than 200 yards of offense and a 27-0 lead.
They hit the running-clock threshold early in the second quarter en route to their seventh straight win against the Golden Bears, cruising to a dominant 57-13 win in their last home game of the regular season..
“It was good for us to come out and, for the most part, we executed at a high level,” Mt. Vernon coach Vince Lidy said. “Shelbyville did what we thought they were going to do based on film, so our gameplan matched up and our kids did a good job of executing.
“I want to keep putting games together, solid games, week after week.”
The Mt. Vernon offense struck early and often, with three scoring drives lasting three plays or less in the first quarter and two one-play drives in the first 14 minutes of the game.
They jumped out to a 34-0 lead before allowing Shelbyville on the scoreboard, and they hit the running-clock threshold less than two minutes into the second quarter. The Marauders defense, meanwhile, forced four three-and-outs in the first half, while the offense piled on 368 yards in the first 24 minutes.
Sophomore running back DJ Johnson kicked things off on the third play of the game, taking a handoff from freshman quarterback Luke Ertel – Johnson’s first carry of the season – and rumbling 48 yards for the opening touchdown. That was the start of a big night for Johnson, who scored twice and finished with six carries for 108 yards.
Junior Tre Jones scored three times in the first half, catching touchdowns of 11 and 48 yards from Ertel. He added a 53-yard TD run and finished with three catches for 71 yards to go along with the long carry.
Senior running back Drew Martin also scored twice in the first half – carries of 2 and 10 yards – and finished with seven carries for 75 yards.
Ertel was an efficient 5-for-8 passing with 108 yards and two touchdowns.
“I’ve got to look at all the things we did that were positive – not turn the ball over, explosive plays, getting stops, 3-and-outs,” Lidy said. “We gave ourselves a chance to put points on the board.”
The Marauders (5-3, 5-1 Hoosier Heritage Conference) finished with more than 500 yards of offense and almost 400 yards rushing, scoring touchdowns on their first seven drives before closing out the first half with a 44-yard field goal from sophomore Rylan Vinard.
The defense held Shelbyville (1-7, 1-5 HHC) to 255 yards of offense, forcing four three-and-outs and two turnovers – interceptions from senior defensive back Ren Davis and senior linebacker Tatchi Anouan.
It was the fourth straight win after a 1-2 start for Mt. Vernon. The Marauders finished 3-1 at home in the regular season.
Mt. Vernon will wrap up the regular season Friday night at Yorktown (who lost 28-20 to Pendleton Heights on Friday) in a battle for second place in the HHC. A win would guarantee the Marauders second to themselves. A loss would share second with Yorktown.
A win, coupled with a New Palestine loss, would mean a share of the HHC title.
“It’s about getting better and about trying to be at our best,” Lidy said. “When the sectional draw comes out Sunday, the path’s going to be laid out, what we’ve got to do to defend the sectional championship. Right now, I like where we’re at. But we’re going to have a huge challenge next week at Yorktown.
“They want second place as well. They’ll be jacked up. It’ll be a great game.”
