Arabians outlast Tigers in overtime thriller

For 48 minutes, and then some, the Lebanon and Pendleton Heights football teams traded blow after blow on the Tigers' home field in the season opener.

And when they needed it the most, the Arabians senior quarterback delivered with the game on the line. Brandt Gray ran in a two-point conversion at the end of the first overtime, giving visiting Pendleton Heights a thrilling 43-42 win over Lebanon.

"We bent, and we had a hard time stopping them all night," Pendleton Heights head coach Jed Richman said. "(Lebanon) did a great job. Last week we could hardly practice because of the flooding and the weather, and I know they had some struggles too, but it was a lot of perseverance and guts out of this group, and it's just the beginning. I am just really, really proud of them."

Lebanon got the ball first in overtime, and scored on its second play on a 5-yard run by quarterback Jacob Linton.

After the play there was a scrum on the goal line, and Lebanon was assessed a 15-yard penalty when it appeared they were lining up for a two-point conversion.

Konner Selmier made the extra long PAT, but it provided an opening for the Arabians.

On the first play of their possession, Gray connected with Sam Behrendt for a touchdown,

Richman didn't hesitate in deciding to go for the win, and dialed up one of their favorite short-yardage plays to get the winning conversion.

"It's a play we probably ran eight times tonight and we wanted to it everytime," Gray said. "The O line did a heck of a job blocking it and I was able to get in. Coach (Branden) Jessie did a great job of calling plays and it was a great team win by everyone."

It was a frustrating loss for Lebanon, who dropped to 0-1 for the second-straight year.

The Tigers did a lot of good things in the game, just couldn't put it all together when they needed to.

"Their quarterback is really good, and he was their play maker all night long," Lebanon head coach Josh Yoder said. "They put it in his hands again there at the goal line and he made the play. We just really didn't get our footing on defense very well."

Pendleton Heights struck first, scoring on a 3-yard run by Gray. Lebanon came right back on the ensuing possession, with Linton connecting with Tannon Monden on a swing pass and the senior wide out took it 22 yards for the score.

Each team then added a touchdown in the second quarter, with Gray connecting with Behrendt from two yards out, and the Tigers tying it before the half on a 6-yard run from Jenson Waite.

The fireworks continued in the second half.

After each team scored a touchdown in the third quarter, Pendleton Heights went up 28-21 with 9:21 to go on an 11-yard pass from Gray to Behrendt. The lead lasted just 20 seconds however, as Monden (eight catches, 181 yards) returned the ensuing kickoff 90 yards for a score.

"He's a weapon and he can do a lot of things," Yoder said. "That's great for us that we have a guy like him. I love that Jake is out there as a sophomore making some big time throws, and Tan's out there making play after play."

The Tigers defense then got a stop on fourth down in Arabians territory, and scored a few plays later on an 11-yard run from Waite. This time it was the Arabians turn to respond and they needed just one play for Joel Weaver to score from 68 yards out to tie it.

Neither team scored on their final possession of the game to set up overtime.

Lebanon quarterback Jake Linton was 12 of 19 for 224 yards. Waite added 122 yards rushing.

Lebanon travels to Western Boone next Friday.

"We have to tackle in space better," Yoder said. "It's not something where we have to go back and really brainstorm, it's just the basic fundamentals. We have to get our defense playing well. If we start swarming and running around, we'll be alright. I believe in our guys and our coaches, we just have to play football at a high level."

Gray was 9 of 13 for 81 yards in the air, and added 147 on the ground. Weaver rushed for 180 yards.

Behrendt added five catches for 56 yards.

'We really showed who we are as a team," Gray said. "We definitely have a lot of work to do, but 1-0 is a lot better than 0-1. We just had some great plays out there. The O line did their jobs, Joel got a huge breakaway touchdown when we needed it, and it was a lot of good things from everybody."

It was an extra special win for the Arabians because of everything that has transpired over the past couple of weeks with a severe storms and flooding around the area.

Rather than being out on a practice field getting ready for the season, the team was out in the community helping those in need recover from the flooding.

The community rallied together, and had a good visiting crowd to support the team on Friday night.

"I say it all the time, 'someone else always has it worse,'" Richman said. "So you can do something about it, or be the victim. And these guys are not the victims. They're tough kids, and I couldn't be more proud of them. I hope the folks in Pendleton are proud too."

Pendleton Heights will look to go 2-0 next week when they host Guerin Catholic.

Gray said a win like Friday can do a lot for the team.

"The sky's the limit for us and I can't wait to see where we improve and where we go," he said.

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