New Palestine High School

The Class 4A No. 2 New Palestine football team knew it had a tough task facing 6A No. 7 Westfield Friday night. The Shamrocks took advantage of some miscues from the young Dragons to build a 24-point halftime lead en route to a 34-14 victory over the Dragons. Westfield scored two touchdowns 18 seconds apart in the opening four minutes and was in control throughout the contest, adding 10 second-quarter points and building its lead as high as 31-0 after the first drive of the second half. It led to a large celebration from the Shamrocks, who ended the Dragons’ 14-game regular-season winning streak. It was just the Dragons’ fifth regular-season loss since 2013 and 12th overall. Kyler Kropp ran for 103 yards for the Dragons, while Grayson Thomas added 82. Kropp also had 58 receiving yards, turning in the two biggest plays of the game - a 65-yard touchdown run and a 41-yard reception that set up another score. The Shamrocks set the tone on the first drive, stuffing Thomas on a third-and-2 play and then deflecting the ensuing punt. It took four plays for quarterback Jackson Gilbert to carry in from nine yards out. Westfield then did to the Dragons what NP has done to so many opponents - flip the scoreboard with a cascade of big plays. An interception led to a 38-yard touchdown pass to Beau Braun on the next play, putting the Shamrocks up 14-0 in an 18-second span. The Dragons’ defense stiffened, allowing only a field goal the rest of the half - and that came after stymying Westfield after the Shamrocks had first-and-goal from the 2, but Westfield took advantage of another miscue, recovering a fumbled handoff in the end zone to go up 24-0. The Shamrocks only outgained NP 156-136 in the opening half, but took advantage of turnovers, big special teams plays and short fields to open up a three-score lead. Sophomore quarterback Gavin Neal ran for 64 yards in the opening half. In the second half, the Dragons used some big plays to put a pair of scores on the board. An interception by Caden Jacobia on the Dragons’ 10 thwarted a Westfield scoring opportunity. Neal dropped in a 47-yard pass to Kropp to move the Dragons to midfield. Thomas finished the drive with a 3-yard run. On the Dragons’ next possession, Kropp took a handoff and scampered 65 yards up the left sideline for another score. The Dragons are next in action Friday, Aug. 25 at Decatur Central. Week 1: Westfield 34, Dragons 14 Friday, Aug. 18, 2023 at Riverview Health Stadium, Westfield New Palestine (0-1). 0 - 0 - 0 - 14 -- 14 Westfield (1-0). 14 - 10 - 7 - 3 -- 34 Scoring summary W-Gilbert 9 run (Boehm kick), 8:45 W-Braun 38 pass from Gilbert (Boehm kick), 8:27 W-Boehm 28 FG, 4:19 W-Webster fumble recovery in end zone (Boehm kick), 2:21 W-Gilbert 5 run (Boehm kick), 9:44 NP-Thomas 3 run (Wells kick), 9:45 W-Boehm 23 FG, 4:49 NP-Kropp 65 run (Wells kick), 4:35 Team stats First downs: NP 15, W 17 Rushes-yards: NP 48-272, W 38-152 Passing C-A-I: NP 6-15-1, W 10-17-1 Passing yards: NP 69, W 165 Total plays-yards: NP 63-341, W 59-317 Fumbles-lost: NP 1-1, W 2-0 Penalties-yards: NP 2-10, W 6-40 Time of possession: NP 22:10, W 25:50 Individual stats New Palestine Rushing: Thomas 22-82, Kropp 7-103, Neal 15-74, Armstrong 3-9, Hammons 1-4 Passing: Neal 6-14-1-69, team 0-1 Receiving: Kropp 4-58, Mitchell 1-7, Hiatt 1-4 Westfield Rushing:Garnett 16-71, Webster 4-31, Gilbert 4-23, Umbaugh 6-23, Aramboles 2-9, Grabowski 4-6, J.Braun 1-4, team 1-(-15) Passing: Gilbert 8-14-1-138, Grabowski 2-3-0-27 Receiving; Nosler 3-19, Arabmoles 2-64, Parker 2-27, B.Braun 1-38, Irwin 1-12, J.Braun 1-5