New Palestine High School

The 2026 football season is upon us and the defending state champion Dragons have a matchup with a defending Illinois state champion, Wheaton St. Francis. WHEATON (ILL.) ST. FRANCIS SPARTANS (2025: 11-3) at 5A 1/1 NEW PALESTINE DRAGONS (2025: 14-0) Time: 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 21 Location: Kelso Stadium, New Palestine Tickets: $7, https://public.eventlink.com/tickets?t=196810 Audio: NewPalRadio.com Video: IHSAAtv.org ($) SETTING THE SCENE The Dragons open their 59th season of varsity football with a first - the first-ever game against an out-of-state opponent. The Dragons meet defending Illinois Class 5A state champion Wheaton St. Francis. This marks the second consecutive year the Dragons will play a non-conference matchup featuring two defending state champions. The Dragons are coming off their fifth state title, and second set of back-to-back titles. The Dragons have a new-look team, as they return four offensive and four defensive starters. NP brings a state-best 28-game winning streak into this week’s contest. It is two wins shy of the school record of 30, set between 2018-2020. DRAGONS NOTES The Dragons enter the year ranked No. 1 for the 21st consecutive week and carrying a ranking for the 41st consecutive week. While the Dragons will have a lot of new faces in the lineup, they return a lot of talent, especially up front and on the perimeter. Offensively, the Dragons return their top three receivers in seniors Mason Oglesby (34-513, 6 TD), Landon Maddox (25-440, 6 TD) and Cael Butler (20-347, 4 TD). The Dragons also return two starting junior linemen who hold Div. I offers - Kaeden Ralph and Sam Hirschy. On defense, Hirschy was the team’s third-leading tackler a year ago with 63 stops, 8.5 sacks and 20.5 TFL. Junior linebacker Evan Walker (59 tackles) and junior safety Andrew Davis (47 tackles, 4 INT) were fourth and fifth in tackles. Oglesby is also a returning starter at linebacker. Oglesby is 91 yards away from becoming the 12th 1,000-yard receiver in school history. All four of Davis’ interceptions came during the state tournament. He had three picks in the sectional final against Cathedral, and another in the state championship game against Merrillville. The three interceptions tied Garrett Kuhn’s school record. Junior QB Rhys Ragan was 6-of-7 for 99 yards in Friday’s scrimmage at Columbus North, including a touchdown to Cael Butler, who had 84 receiving yards. Ryder Gardner had 29 receiving yards. Davis led the defense with five tackles during the scrimmage. The Dragons outscored Columbus North 24-6. The Dragons have long been excellent on special teams. Last season, the Dragons tallied 14 return touchdowns - 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. Dragons head coach Kyle Ralph is one of three coaches in IHSAA history to coach five unbeaten state championship teams, joining Hall of Famers Dick Dullaghan and Bud Wright. Ralph is the fastest coach to 100 (109 games) and 150 (164 games) wins in IHSAA history. SCOUTING THE SPARTANS St. Francis went 11-3 last season and won the Illinois Class 5A title, winning a number of close games during the tourney including a 39-35 victory over New Lenox Providence Catholic in the title game. Like the Dragons, St. Francis will be reloading this year. The Spartans graduated their top passer and top four receivers. The Spartans return their top rusher in senior Tivias Caldwell (838 yards, 6.8 ypc, 8 TD) and top tackler in James McGrath (88 tackles), a Western Illinois commit. QB Jadon Wilson transferred from East St. Louis. 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).