PENDLETON – Jed Richman is standing outside the open doors of the Pendleton Heights’ football locker room, alone, on a beautifully crisp fall Friday night when a smile crosses his face.

“You would think these would be the fun moments, right?” Richman said.

Don’t get him wrong: These are fun moments. As Richman stands outside the locker room, his Pendleton Heights’ team is leading by 28 points at halftime of a game it would go on to win 49-7 over Shelbyville to wrap up an 8-1 regular season.

But Richman is also a ball of nervous energy. He paces at halftime through the locker room, once, twice, then a third time. He checks on senior linebacker and tight end Rylan Keesling, who limped to the locker room at halftime and will not return in the second half out of precaution in a lopsided game. His assistant coaches meet with their position groups, going over minor adjustments.

Finally, as the extended halftime on senior night nears an end, Richman stands in front of the whiteboard where senior cornerback Talan Foster wrote the words “TAKE THE BALL” in capital letters before the game and delivers a short message.

“You guys want to win a championship, right?” Richman asks.

“Yes sir!” the players reply.

“Attack,” Richman says. “Let’s go.”

'He's always watching his players'

Luke Graham was walking off the youth football field at Pendleton as a fifth grader when he met Richman for the first time.

“He came over and shook my hand,” said Graham, a 6-3, 320-pound senior offensive lineman. “That one moment, really, helped define his relationship to me. He’s always paying attention, always watching his players.”

Carter Marling, another starting senior lineman, added: “If something happened, I know I could call coach Richman no matter if I was a senior or if I’d graduated for four years.”

This 18-player senior class is a special group to Richman, who hugs each one of them as they are introduced with their families before the game. He has coached here for 10 years now, getting to know kids like Graham and Marling when they were still in elementary school.

Richman has a picture of his own senior night at home in his office. He played for David Durkes at Eastern (Greentown) in the fall of 1997. His parents, Steve and Patty, are in the picture. They were his biggest supporters.

“My dad was not emotional,” Richman said. “And he gave me a big bear hug that night. It’s an awesome memory. It’s one of those things you never forget.”

He lost both of them last year. His father died in April after suffering from dementia. His mother died three months earlier from heart failure.

“A lot of these guys came to the funeral in Kokomo,” Richman said. “I get a little emotional talking about it. It’s all about relationships and there are great kids there. It’s been a fun 10 years. But this group … it’s just different.”

Senior night

“Game night” officially starts when the coaches meet with the quarterbacks at 4:45 p.m. Richman blocks off 10 minutes for quarterbacks, 10 minutes for offense, 10 minutes for defense and 10 minutes for special teams.

“Your parents want to see you play your heart out,” Richman tells the offense. “They are proud of you. This community is proud of you. Don’t wait. Bring the hammer down.”

When the senior night introductions are over, the team races back to the locker room for one more meeting before taking the field. There is no championship at stake on Friday night. Undefeated New Palestine, which defeated Pendleton Heights 42-6 in Week 5, has already claimed the Hoosier Heritage Conference title. But a win, especially a well-played win, would give the Arabians some momentum leading into the first-round game at Mt. Vernon next week in 4A Sectional 21.

Richman and his staff respect the job coach Scott Fitzgerald has done rebuilding the Golden Bears’ program in three years. Shelbyville is 4-4 going into what will be its final game as a member of the Hoosier Heritage Conference – its first season with four wins since 2017. But as the clock ticks toward kickoff, Richman makes sure the players know this Friday night is all about them and not the opponent.

“Seniors, I hope you appreciate how much you mean to us,” Richman says as he stands in front of the team. “When I tell you that you are my guys, you’re my guys. Tonight, we get to fight together. Always together. We talk it, we live it forever. You hear me? Forever. I want everyone talking about these Pendleton boys.”

It did not take long for Class 4A seventh-ranked Pendleton Heights to assert itself on the first play of the second drive, sophomore Joel Weaver scored on an 80-yard run. Weaver scored again on a 71-yard run a few minutes later to make it 14-0. Before the first quarter was over, Weaver added a third TD run of 21 yards.

About the only thing that went wrong for Pendleton Heights in the first half was Shelbyville senior Donavon Martin making a couple of long gains on screen passes. A 60-yarder helped set up Shelbyville’s only touchdown of the night. But going into halftime, Pendleton Heights led comfortably, 35-7.

“Start over in your mind,” Richman told the team. “Make sure we’re locked in.”

First sectional title in 14 years?

Pendleton Heights won its only two sectional titles in 2010 and ’11 under longtime coach John Broughton, who died in 2021 at age 74. This could be the team that breaks the 14-year sectional title drought.

The Arabians are 4-0 against opponents in its sectional, including a 24-22 victory over a Yorktown team they could see in the sectional championship.

“I don’t think the leadership stops with the seniors,” Graham said. “We have a junior quarterback and sophomore running back and those guys are showing their leadership on and off the field. The seniors are going to be great leaders, but it goes all the way through.”

Weaver, who finished with 190 rushing yards and four TDs in the win over Shelbyville, and junior quarterback Brandt Gray, who was 9-for-12 passing for 99 yards and two TDs are two of the most talented players on the team. Sophomore tight end Sam Behrendt, who caught his first touchdown pass in the second half, is also an outstanding prospect.

“(Gray) has opened up this offense so much,” said senior Colton Johnson. “You don’t know who to defend between him and (Weaver). That’s why we’re so successful, along with our line too.”

The leadership does not stop with the players. On the Pendleton Heights’ sideline, Richman and wife Molly’s sons, 11-year-old J.R. and 7-year-old Toby, are buzzing around most of the game. Well, Toby is anyway. J.R. is on crutches for a couple weeks after suffering a leg injury at football practice a few days ago. He keeps an eye on his little brother.

“I just make sure he’s safe,” J.R. said.

And if not J.R., someone else on that sideline surely would. This community has become home for Richman, who has compiled a 62-44 record in 10 seasons at Pendleton Heights after coaching three years at Western Boone and three at Lawrence Central.

“We’ve been through a lot in 10 years,” Richman said. “This staff is tight and this team is tight. It’s a strong, resilient senior class. They are genuinely happy for one another. I think they are bought into the team and also willing to do the every day stuff no matter what. It sounds like coach speak but it’s true. I’m just proud of them.”

Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649. Get IndyStar's high school coverage sent directly to your inbox with the https://profile.indystar.com/newsletters/indystar-high-school-sports/?ipid=NLsignuppreps

Source Article: https://www.indystar.com/story/sports/high-school/2025/10/18/ihsaa-football-behind-scenes-for-a-night-with-pendleton-heights-shelbyville/86764980007/