New Palestine High School

The New Palestine football team is set to compete in Friday's Class 5A IHSAA State Finals against Merrillville, as the Dragons seek their fifth state championship in 12 seasons. The Dragons are the designated home team, but as is their State Finals tradition, they will wear white uniforms. All seats are general admission. New Palestine will be on the east side of Lucas Oil Stadium. #5/5 MERRILLVILLE PIRATES (11-2, 6-1 Duneland) vs. #1/1 NEW PALESTINE DRAGONS (13-0, 7-0 Hoosier Heritage) Time: 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 28 Location: Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis Tickets: $20, https://www.ticketmaster.com/event/05006367BFF8BC3B (tickets will also be available at the Lucas Oil Stadium box office from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday) Audio: NewPalRadio.com Video: IHSAAtv.org ($, produced by outside party) SETTING THE SCENE The Dragons are seeking their fifth state championship - and third in Class 5A - as they travel to Lucas Oil Stadium to face the Merrillville Pirates. The Dragons are the defending Class 4A champions, and are seeking to become the second team in IHSAA history to win back-to-back state titles in different classes, joining Cathedral (2012 4A, 2013 5A). NP is seeking its fifth state title, which would put the Dragons into a 10th-place tie for the most all-time state championships. Merrillville is making its first finals appearance since winning the 3A title in 1976. The Dragons and Pirates have never met. NP is 2-0 all-time against Duneland Conference teams, beating Valparaiso 27-20 in the 2019 State Finals and Michigan City 35-10 in the 2018 semistate. DRAGONS NOTES The Dragons are facing their fifth consecutive Top 10 team in the tournament, having beaten No. 10/10 Plainfield, No. 2/2 Cathedral, No. 7/8 East Central and No. 3/3 Bloomington South. No state champion has ever won a title facing only ranked schools since the all-in tournament began in 1985. The Dragons’ defense posted its fifth shutout of the season last week - the third-most in school history. The 1990 and 1983 teams both posted six shutouts. Last week, the Dragons held Bloomington South to 67 rushing yards and 211 total yards, while forcing three turnovers. Cameron Rollyson and Connor Jacobia each had interceptions, while Mason Oglesby recovered a fumble. Quarterback Jacob Davis moved past Justin Plummer into second place on the Dragons’ all-time passing list last week with a 147-yard, two-touchdown performance. Davis hooked up with Landon Maddox for a 12-yard TD on the first possession of the game, and later threw a 92-yard pass to Oglesby for a score. Oglesby’s 92-yard TD reception was the third-longest in school history. Davis has been part of two - he threw a 99-yard TD pass to Austin McMahon in the 2024 season opener against Kokomo. Balance has been the name of the game for the Dragons on the ground. Both Davis and Caden Jacobia had 85 yards on 13 carries each last week. They combined for three touchdowns. Jacobia has 1,119 rushing yards this season - the 13th straight year in which the Dragons have had a 1,000-yard rusher. Davis has rushed for 917. The Dragons enter this game with a state-best 27-game winning streak. The longest winning streak in school history is 30 games, set between 2018-20. 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. A victory would tie Kyle Ralph with Dick Dullaghan and Bud Wright as the only coaches in IHSAA history to coach five unbeaten state championship teams. SCOUTING THE PIRATES Merrillville is 11-2 on the season and has won 10 straight games. The Pirates won their third consecutive regional title - and sixth in seven years - this season, and snapped a 10-game semistate losing streak last week. The Pirates have an explosive offensive, averaging 432 yards and 37.1 points per game. QB Michael Hill Jr. is completing 65% of his passes and has thrown for 3,090 yards this season. RB Jacquarious Johnson has topped the 1,000-yard mark. The Pirates’ pass-heavy offense has three receivers with at least 750 yards - Mikel Smoot, Cameron Jordan and Rynell Lewis. FOLLOW US All New Palestine games are broadcast free-to-listen at NewPalRadio.com. NPHS Athletics are on Facebook and Instagram (@NewPalestineDragons), Twitter (@NPHSDragons) and online (NewPalestineAthletics.com).