MADISON COUNTY — Week 2 of the high school football season was unlike most other weeks.
Excessive heat throughout central Indiana delayed the start times of some games to either 7:30 or 8 p.m., and then storms rolling through the middle of the state early Friday night caused games to be delayed and postponed until Saturday or canceled altogether.
Pendleton Heights and Lapel were both part of the teams forced to finish their games on Saturday.
The Bulldogs moved to 2-0 with a win against school corporation rival Frankton, while the Arabians picked up their first win of the season with a dominant performance against Anderson.
Lapel
In a battle of the Frankton-Lapel School Corp., the Bulldogs prevailed easily, 40-13.
While the Bulldogs defense allowed just two scores all game, it was the Eagles getting on the scoreboard first.
With 4:44 to go in the opening quarter, Frankton quarterback Ethan Stansberry found Trey Bennett on a 6-yard touchdown pass.
It took just over a minute for Lapel to answer and take full control of the game.
To tie things at 7-7, Lapel quarterback Devin Craig connected with Jaxson Cripe, and after a few scoreless possessions by both teams, the Bulldogs scored a pair of late second-quarter touchdowns to go in front.
With 5:12 to go, a 65-yard pass from Craig to Brice Burress set up Jack Miller for a 1-yard touchdown run.
On the next possession, Lapel’s Reed Hamilton intercepted Stansberry, setting up the Bulldogs to score once again on a 16-yard pass to Rylie Hudson.
The touchdown was the final one before a lightning delay halted things at halftime. The game was eventually postponed and continued on Saturday afternoon.
The delay did little to stop the Lapel momentum.
Picking up ahead 19-7, the Bulldogs outscored Frankton 21-6 in Saturday’s second half.
Craig threw for two more touchdowns and Miller ran in his second.
Through the air, Craig finished the game with 350 yards and four touchdowns.
He connected on scores with three different receivers. Hudson hauled in seven passes for 180 yards and two touchdowns, Burress caught four passes for 100 yards and a score and Cripe caught three balls for 70 yards and a touchdown.
On the ground, Miller ran for 50 yards and two touchdowns.
Defensively, Isaiah Young had a team-high 15 tackles, Karson Kinsinger had a team-high four tackles for loss and had the Bulldogs only sack, and both Hamilton and Mason Page intercepted passes.
With the win and sitting at 2-0, the Bulldogs are now tied for 10th in the Indiana Football Coaches Association Class 2A poll.
They’ll look to stay unbeaten tomorrow on the road at Shenandoah.
The Raiders are 2-0 with a 25-0 win against Fremont and, most recently, a 53-22 win vs. South Decatur.
They are a team led by a multi-headed attack on the ground. Three players have accumulated more than 10 rush attempts so far this season, and six different players have scored on the ground.
Leading the charge is senior Dylan Parsley with 16 carries for 92 yards and two touchdowns. Carter Armstrong has rushed 14 times for 85 yards and a score, and Max Seaburn has rushed 10 times for 70 yards and a score.
Quarterback Jarrett Helman has run for 65 yards and a touchdown, sophomore Cash Cowley has 56 yards but has scored touchdowns on two of his six attempts, and Blayne Stevens has one rushing touchdown on the year.
Through the air, Helman has completed 19 of his 30 pass attempts for 253 yards and four touchdowns.
Stevens has one of the receiving touchdowns, while Garrett May has one and Hayden Hubbard has two.
On the defensive side, Cowley has the team lead with four sacks, and Hubbard has a pair of interceptions to lead the secondary.
Kickoff between the Bulldogs and Raiders is set for 7 p.m.
Pendleton Heights
After an opening week loss to Lebanon, the Arabians responded with a routing of Madison County foe Anderson.
And for the second straight week, the Pendleton Heights offense lit up the scoreboard.
By the time lightning delayed the game with 9:44 to go in the second quarter, the Arabians were already ahead 30-0.
After the continuation on Saturday, they coasted to a 44-0 win.
To open the scoring, senior running back Keaton Jones punched in a short touchdown run, and after a quick Anderson three-and-out, senior quarterback Colton Frank connected with Jackson Grile from 20 yards out to put the Arabians ahead 14-0 just four minutes into the game.
The next Pendleton Heights points came on a safety when Jacob Eldrige blew up and Anderson bubble screen on the 1-yard line to make things 16-0.
The first-quarter scoring was capped off by a 1-yard Talan Foster touchdown run.
Frank passed for his second touchdown early in the second on a 25-yard pass to Byron Vores.
The score pushed the lead to 30-0 and was the last points before the lightning came through the area.
After resuming on Saturday, Jones ran in another score, and Michael Hooker returned an interception.
Jones finished with 140 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries, and Fank completed 10 of his 14 passes for 127 yards and two scores.
Defensively, Preston Wolfe and Michael Emeish each had sacks and along with Hooker, Cooper Sims intercepted a pass.
Now sitting at 1-1, Pendleton Heights opens up Hoosier Heritage Conference play tomorrow on the road at 7 p.m. at New Castle.
The Trojans are 1-1 and are coming off a 20-0 win against Jay County. They lost week one 41-14 to Franklin County.
They are led by sophomore quarterback Carson Bell who has thrown for 359 yards and three touchdowns.
Caleb Clapp leads the rushing attack with 104 yards and two scores on 20 carries.
Leading the receiving core is junior Neil McMartin who has caught six passes for 207 yards and two touchdowns. Cade Logston has 55 yards and one receiving touchdown on the season.
