New Palestine High School

The New Palestine football team found itself tied going into the final quarter of the season. But as the Dragons have done throughout their playoff run, the top-ranked Dragons dominated the fourth quarter en route to a 38-17 victory over No. 5 Merrillville to win their second straight state championship. It was the Dragons' fifth state title since 2014 - tying Bishop Chatard for the most state championships in that span. The Dragons also became the second team to repeat as champions after being bumped up to a higher class due to the Success Factor. The Dragons rode an offensive line to 312 rushing yards and 396 yards of total offense. They held Merrillville to 73 rushing yards and 269 total yards. Quarterback Jacob Davis ran for 129 yards, while Caden Jacobia had 125 yards and two touchdowns. Josh Ranes also ran for 48 yards and two scores. Davis was 6-of-11 for 84 yards and a score. With the game tied at 17-17 going into the fourth quarter, the Dragons found themselves behind the chains multiple times on a drive that began at their own 22. A pass interference call moved the ball into Pirates territory. A 14-yard pass to Landon Maddox on 2nd-and-14 moved the ball to the 38. A third-and-long scramble by Jacob Davis moved the ball to the 25. And on third-and-9, Josh Ranes came in, took a handoff to the left, broke multiple tackles and scampered to the end zone for a 24-yard touchdown, giving the Dragons a 24-17 lead. That mammoth 13-play, 78-yard drive broke the tie as the Dragons began to impose their will on the line of scrimmage. The Red Rage allowed three short completions, but forced the Pirates into a 4th-and-1 from their own 20. Evan Walker blitzed up the middle and forced Merrillville quarterback D.J. Bowles to throw under duress. Walker then cleaned up the play for a 13-yard loss, setting the Dragons up on the 7. Two plays later, Caden Jacobia scored his second touchdown from 4 yards out. Suddenly, the Dragons led 31-17 with 5:54 left and they could sniff a state title. The trophy became more in sight when Andrew Davis picked off a pass at the Dragons' 47. Jacob Davis' 22-yard third-down scramble keyed a drive that Josh Ranes started with an 11-yard run, and finished with a 2-yard touchdown. Suddenly, the Dragons led 38-17. The Red Rage forced one more three-and-out to finish the game. In the quarter, the Dragons outscored the Pirates 21-0, outgained Merrillville 108-21 and only allowed one first down. The first half started and finished with Merrillville big plays. An interception by Keith Edwards on the game's first possession set the Pirates up near midfield. Quarterback Michael Hill was 6-for-6 on the drive and finished it with a 1-yard touchdown to give the Pirates a 7-0 lead. But the resilient Dragons answered right back. A 42-yard kickoff return by Kade Stephens and a 17-yard run by Jacob Davis moved the ball to the Pirates' 40. There, Davis found Landon Maddox wide open down the right sideline for a 40-yard touchdown, tying the game just 21 seconds after Merrillville took the lead. After forcing a punt, the Dragons took over at their own 20, but Jacob Davis suffered an injury with the team at its own 29. Ryder Gardner came in, immediately carried for 11 yards to set up 4th-and-2. A short snap to Caden Jacobia on a fake punt was converted, and the Dragons remained on the move. A 27-yard run by Jacobia in which he cut back across the field to daylight moved the ball into the red zone. A fumbled snap stalled the drive and led to Walker's 37-yard field goal on the second quarter's first play, giving NP a 10-7 lead. The Red Rage forced punts on the Pirates' next two drives - allowing one first down - but had to punt on their next possession. Taking over at their own 26, the Dragons went on a methodical 10-play drive. The big play was a 20-yard pass from Jacob Davis to Bryan Caldwell down the left sideline into the red zone. An 11-yard run by Jacobia on third-and-5 moved the ball to the 3, where Jacobia finished the drive with a touchdown to extend the lead to 17-7. Merrillville quickly answered. Hill left with an injury, but backup D.J. Bowles immediatley threw a 55-yard touchdown pass to Mikel Smoot with 29 seconds left in the half to cut the NP lead to 17-14. An interception by Josh Ranes began the third quarter, but another fumble in the red zone stalled a drive, which ended in a missed field goal. Merrillville answered with a drive to the Dragons' 17, which ended in a successful field goal to tie the game. The Pirates' second INT near midfield gave them a chance to take the lead, but the Red Rage forced a three-and-out, allowing them to embark on the go-ahead drive. Davis and Jacobia's 100-yard games were the first tandem to each break the century mark in the same game since Jacobia and Ranes did so in the 2024 state championship victory. In addition, Dragons coach Kyle Ralph became the third coach to lead five unbeaten teams to state titles, joining Dick Dullaghan and Bud Wright. IHSAA Class 5A State Finals: Dragons 38, Merrillville 17 Friday, Nov. 29, 2025 at Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis Merrillville (11-3) 7 - 7 - 3 - 0 -- 17 New Palestine (14-0) 7 - 10 - 0 - 21 -- 38 Scoring summary M-Hill 1 run (Gonzalez kick), 8:25 NP-Maddox 40 pass from J.Davis (Walker kick), 8:04 NP-Walker 37 FG, 11:54 NP-Ca.Jacobia 3 run (Walker kick), 1:15 M-Smoot 55 pass from Bowles (Gonzalez kick), :29 M-Gonzalez 34 FG, 3:11 NP-J.Ranes 24 run (Walker kick), 8:44 NP-Ca.Jacobia 4 run (Walker kick), 5:54 NP-J.Ranes 2 run (Walker kick), 2:32 Team stats First downs: M 11, NP 23 Rushes-yards: M 22-73, NP 55-312 Passing C-A-I: M 21-30-2, NP 6-11-2 Passing yards: M 196, NP 84 Total plays-yards: M 54-269, NP 66-396 Fumbles-lost: M 1-0, NP 2-0 Penalties-yards: M 11-80, NP 5-35 Punts-avg: M 5-41.4, NP 1-38.0 Time of possession: M 18:53, NP 29:07 Individual stats Merrillville Rushing: Johnson 8-39, Hill 4-15, Jordan 4-14, Bowles 6-5 Passing: Bowles 13-20-2-134, Hill 8-10-0-62 Receiving: Lewis 6-45, Jordan 5-37, Johnson 4-8, Smoot 3-84, Bogard 3-22 New Palestine Rushing: J.Davis 17-129, Ca.Jacobia 26-125, J.Ranes 5-48, Gardner 5-12, team 2-(-2) Passing: J.Davis 6-11-2-84 Receiving: Maddox 3-63, Oglesby 2-1, Caldwell 1-20