New Palestine High School

The New Palestine football team hits the road for its Week 2 game at Decatur Central. Game info 4A #5/6 New Palestine Dragons (0-1) at 5A #7/8 Decatur Central Hawks (1-0) Time: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 25 Site: Devere Fair Stadium, Indianapolis (directions: https://goo.gl/maps/igm8KQTrRzFjBRCbA) Tickets: $7, DIGITAL ONLY at https://public.eventlink.com/tickets?t=36196&p=50816 Broadcast audio: NewPalRadio.com (pregame coverage begins at 6:30 p.m.) SETTING THE SCENE The Dragons meet another ranked team in a larger class to open the season and another team that has recently been to Lucas Oil Stadium on Thanksgiving weekend. The Dragons lead the all-time series 2-1. NP won the 2018 state title game 28-14 and won a 49-0 decision last year at Kelso Stadium behind 126 yards and three touchdowns from Grayson Thomas. DC won 31-29 in 2021 in the Dragons’ lone visit to Decatur Township. For the second straight week, the Dragons face a ranked opponent. DC is No. 7 in Class 5A, moving up two spots in the IFCA poll after last week’s 18-13 come-from-behind victory over Columbus North. The Dragons dropped three spots to No. 5 in 4A. NP is ranked for the 92nd week out of the last 100 since 2013 and the 12th consecutive week. While the Dragons went 12-1 last year and won a sectional title, DC is coming off a 4-7 season that saw the Hawks come within three points of a sectional title. Five of the Hawks’ seven losses last season came in one-score games. It was the Hawks’ first sub-.500 season since 2012. DRAGONS NOTES Senior slot Kyler Kropp had a strong all-around day in Week 1 at Westfield. He tallied 103 rushing yards on seven carries - his third career 100-yard game - and also caught four passes for 58 yards, leading the Dragons in both categories. His 65-yard TD run and 41-yard reception that set up a touchdown were the Dragons’ two longest plays of the day. Senior RB Grayson Thomas returned from injury last week and had a solid game with 82 yards. He now has 3,880 career yards, passing Jeff Miles for second place on the all-time NPHS rushing list. He needs 20 yards to reach the 4,000-yard mark for his career. Thomas is the lone Dragon to post 1,000-yard rushing seasons in each of his first three seasons. Senior Mason Hiatt led the Dragons with 11 tackles at Westfield. He had six solos and five assists. The Dragons will deploy a young team to open the season this weekend. They return three defensive starters - two on the defensive line - and five offensive starters from the 2022 squad that went 12-1 and won the program’s second straight sectional title. The Dragons’ offensive line is anchored by senior Ian Moore. The Ohio State commit is the No. 2-ranked offensive lineman nationally by Rivals. He will be a two-way starter. Defensively, Michael Thacker returns for his third season as a starter after posting a sophomore season with 13 sacks and 34.5 tackles for loss. Both were named IFCA Top 50 All-State players in 2022. This is the Dragons 56th season of varsity football. They enter this week with 398 total wins and need two to reach the 400 mark. Of those, 116 wins have come under Kyle Ralph and 200 under Hall of Famer Marvin Shepler. SCOUTING THE HAWKS DC scored three times in the last eight minutes to rally past Columbus North 18-14. The Hawks spread their offense around, as their 186 rushing yards came from six different backs. Junior Npo Dodo led DC with 65 rushing yards and a TD. Wideout Chris Richmond had four catches for 78 yards and a touchdown, reeling in all but 11 of the Hawks’ passing yardage. Sophomore QB Bo Polston returns for his second season as a starter. His one-yard plunge in the final minute provided the winning points after he threw a TD pass with 2:26 left last week against Columbus North. LOOKING AHEAD The Dragons begin a three-game homestand next week against Yorktown to open conference play. Mt. Vernon and Pendleton Heights visit Kelso Stadium the following two weeks. FOLLOW US All New Palestine games are broadcast free-to-listen at NewPalRadio.com. All home games are also video streamed at IHSAAtv.org on a pay-per-view basis. NPHS Athletics is on Facebook (NewPalestineDragons), Twitter (@NPHSDragons) and online (NewPalestineAthletics.com).