New Palestine High School

The two-time defending state champion New Palestine Dragons have finalized a 2026 football schedule that features two out-of-state opponents, two state finalists and one of the nation’s top programs. Highlighting the schedule is a Week 8 game against IMG Academy, to be played Oct. 9. The Bradenton, Florida school is annually a Top 10 program nationally, having won two national championships, and has sent more than 200 players on to college football in the last five years. This will be IMG Academy’s second visit to Indiana, after facing Ben Davis in the 2023 season. The game will be played at Kelso Stadium in New Palestine. IMG Academy plays a schedule that includes several of the nation’s top programs, including teams from Florida, Nevada, New Jersey, Illinois and the United Kingdom. “They are one of the premier programs in the United States, drawing kids from all over the country and even internationally,” Dragons coach Kyle Ralph said. “We needed a game and as a head coach my philosophy is we don't back away from challenges we take them head on. Moreso, my players work too hard in the off-season for us to just take a bye week and lose an opportunity for them to compete. As a result, our program and players have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to welcome one of the best programs in the country from Bradenton, Florida to New Palestine. We are thrilled for the opportunity to compete and see how willing our kids are to match up against the absolute best of the best.” In addition, the Dragons will open the season with a Week 1 matchup with Illinois Class 5A state champion St. Francis. The Wheaton school went 11-3 last season and won its second Illinois state title. It will be played at 7 p.m. Aug. 21. These will mark the Dragons’ first-ever games against out-of-state opponents in the program’s 59-year history. “They are the defending 5A state champions in Illinois and will be an incredible test for our team,” Ralph said of St. Francis. “We pride ourselves on being a championship-caliber program. Despite losing a tremendous senior class, that standard never changes here. St. Francis brings an incredible program and tradition into New Palestine for what should be an incredible matchup. We are excited to welcome them and their strong football program full of talented players.” The Dragons will also face two Indiana powerhouses in their non-conference schedule. On Aug. 28, the Dragons will welcome East Central for a rematch of the 2025 5A regional, which New Palestine won 20-6. The two programs have met twice in the state tournament this decade, and both schools have won two state titles in the last four seasons - East Central in 2022 and 2023, New Palestine in 2024 and 2025. On Oct. 2, the Dragons will travel to Roncalli for the first-ever regular season matchup between the two schools. They have met eight times in the postseason, most recently in the 2022 regional. Roncalli is the defending Class 4A state runner-up. “It's an honor to be playing such a tough out-of-conference schedule,” Ralph said. “I think it is a product of the respect our program has developed over the last decade-plus. We really struggled to find games this season, especially with the HHC being rebuilt for 2027 and beyond. We were really lucky that two great programs we have a history with in Roncalli and East Central love to compete like we do and wanted to play. We are really excited about playing against two of Indiana’s traditional powerhouse programs.” NPHS will also look to win its fifth straight Hoosier Heritage Conference championship with a five-game conference slate. The Dragons will meet 2025 sectional champion Yorktown in Week 3, followed by the Boundary Rail game at Mt. Vernon and a trip to Pendleton Heights. Greenfield-Central visits Kelso Stadium in Week 6, and Delta makes its final visit to Kelso Stadium as an HHC team on Oct. 16 to round out the regular season. “This is without question the hardest out of conference schedule we have ever had,” Ralph said. “The schools we are playing have all either won a state championship or appeared in one since 2022. IMG Academy doesn't play for one, but they are consistently ranked among the top five football programs in the nation. While other schools avoided us, we went out and found the best competition we could. Win or lose, we love to compete and want to give our kids a chance to see how they stack up. In an era where some programs seek comfort, easy wins or lesser competition to make their program seem better on the outside we want to be tested. It has never been about wins and losses here. It has always been about our Win The Day philosophy, buying into the process and competing at every single thing we do regardless of circumstance. “I am thankful for St. Francis, East Central, Roncalli and IMG Academy, because they are like-minded and just want their kids to be pushed to their best on a weekly basis. I hope we can provide a challenge to them so everyone gets great Friday nights of football. It also helps us for what will surely be another tough season in the HHC before the reconstruction of the conference for 2027, as our conference teams continue to be very strong and yearly display good playoff success. 2026 is going to be an incredible season and one that should be memorable for our amazing, football-crazed community.” All of the Dragons' regular season home games in 2026 - including the St. Francis, East Central and IMG Academy games - will be video streamed at IHSAAtv.org on a pay-per-view basis. New Palestine has developed into one of Indiana's premier football programs. The Dragons’ five state championships since 2014 are the most by any school in Indiana in that time period. In 58 seasons of varsity football, the Dragons have won 25 conference titles, as well as 16 sectional, 10 regional and seven semistate titles. Since 2013, under the direction of head coach Kyle Ralph, the Dragons are 155-14. In addition to five state championships, his teams have won 11 Hoosier Heritage Conference titles. 2026 NEW PALESTINE DRAGONS FOOTBALL SCHEDULE Aug. 14 at Columbus North (scrimmage) 7 p.m. Aug. 21 ST. FRANCIS (Wheaton, Ill.) 7 p.m. Aug. 28 EAST CENTRAL 7 p.m. Sept. 4 at Yorktown 7 p.m. Sept. 11 at Mt. Vernon 7 p.m. Sept. 18 at Pendleton Heights 7 p.m. Sept. 25 GREENFIELD-CENTRAL 7 p.m. Oct. 2 at Roncalli 7 p.m. Oct. 9 IMG ACADEMY (Bradenton, Fla.) 7 p.m. Oct. 16 DELTA 7:30 p.m. All home games video streamed at IHSAAtv.org All games broadcast at NewPalRadio.com