New Palestine High School

The Dragons return to Kelso Stadium for one final time this season, as they face Bloomington South in the Class 5A semistate. #3/3 BLOOMINGTON SOUTH PANTHERS (11-1, 5-0 Conference Indiana) at #1/1 NEW PALESTINE DRAGONS (12-0, 7-0 Hoosier Heritage) Time: 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 21 Location: Kelso Stadium, New Palestine Tickets: $12, https://public.eventlink.com/tickets?t=158663&p=242241 Audio: NewPalRadio.com Video: IHSAAtv.org ($, produced by outside party) SETTING THE SCENE Two teams making their third consecutive semistate appearances meet up at Kelso Stadium with a State Finals berth on the line. The Dragons are the defending Class 4A champions, and are looking to make their seventh State Finals appearance. Bloomington South is seeking its first semistate title since 1998, when the Panthers won the second of their two state titles under coach Mo Moriarity. This is the second meeting between the Dragons and Panthers. New Palestine won a 45-0 decision in the 2019 semistate en route to the Dragons third state title. The Dragons are 6-3 all-time in semistate games, 5-2 under coach Kyle Ralph. NP is back in Class 5A after spending three seasons in Class 4A, due to the Tournament Success Factor. The Dragons were previously in 5A from 2015-21, during which time they won four sectional titles, three regional and semistate titles, and the state championships in 2018 and 2019. NP is 83-38 all-time in the IHSAA tournament, and 44-8 under coach Ralph. DRAGONS NOTES The Dragons are facing their fourth consecutive Top 10 team in the tournament, having beaten No. 10/10 Plainfield, No. 2/2 Cathedral and No. 7/8 East Central. Last week, Caden Jacobia ran for 160 yards and two touchdowns, leading the Dragons to a 20-6 victory over East Central. Jacobia’s tally was a season-high for the Dragons this season. He led an offense that amassed 285 yards of total offense - 270 on the ground - against a stout defense. Quarterback Jacob Davis ran for 98 yards and accounted for 113 yards of total offense. Jacobia now has 1,034 yards on the season, marking the 13th consecutive year the Dragons have had a 1,000-yard rusher. Last week marked the 10th regional title in school history, and the Dragons’ second regional three-peat. NP also won consecutive regional titles from 2013-15. The sectional title has come on the heels of the Dragons’ second straight unbeaten regular season and the 14th in school history. It’s their 10th unbeaten regular season in 13 years under coach Kyle Ralph. Senior LB Garrett Ranes led the Red Rage with 15 tackles last week. He had 11 solos and two TFLs. Sophomore NG Sam Hirschy had two sacks, both of which helped stall EC drives in Dragons’ territory. He has 8.5 sacks this season. The Dragons’ defense buckled down in the second half, holding East Central to 81 yards, five first downs and zero points after the break. The Dragons have 14 return touchdowns this year - eight on special teams and six on defense. The special teams scores include three kickoff returns, a punt return, three blocked punt returns and a blocked field goal return. Senior QB Jacob Davis has 1,649 passing yards this season and 4,563 his career. He also has 6,115 yards of total offense in his career. He is currently third on the NPHS all-time passing list, needing 12 yards to catch second-place Justin Plummer. SCOUTING THE PANTHERS Bloomington South posted a dominant 55-7 victory over Floyd Central in the regional, after posting back-to-back second-half rallies to win its sectional. Junior QB Duncan Combs averages 210 ypg passing. The Panthers have two 1,000-yard backs - seniors Braylon Townsend and Shaun Cooper. LOOKING AHEAD The winner of today’s game faces either No. 5/5 Merrillville or No. 6/6 Concord in the Class 5A State Finals. Kickoff will be 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 28 at Lucas Oil Stadium. FOLLOW US All New Palestine games are broadcast free-to-listen at NewPalRadio.com. NPHS Athletics is on Facebook and Instagram (@NewPalestineDragons), Twitter (@NPHSDragons) and online (NewPalestineAthletics.com). Photo credit: Molly Dunn