New Palestine High School

One goal is down for the New Palestine football team. The Dragons won their ninth Hoosier Heritage Conference championship in 11 years Friday, using a dominant defensive effort to beat host Delta 38-7. The Dragons finished the regular season 7-0 in HHC play and 7-2 overall, and are now 74-2 in conference games under head coach Kyle Ralph. NP did so by controlling the line of scrimmage, holding Delta to 122 total yards - their third straight opponent held to fewer than 150 yards - while Grayson Thomas and Kyler Kropp led a 342-yard rushing effort. Thomas ran for 248 yards and two touchdowns, while Kropp ran for 57 yards and two scores, and also caught a forward pitch for a 25-yard TD. A big reason for the defensive effort was the return of All-State junior lineman Michael Thacker, who had three sacks and spent much of the night in Delta’s backfield. He had missed the six previous games with an injury. John Ranes, another defensive lineman, also returned after missing the previous three games, bolstering the Dragons’ defensive front. With heavy rains falling throughout much of the contest making passing difficult, the Dragons feasted on their inside running game. Thomas broke a 34-yard run on the Dragons’ second possession to put NP on the board. A key moment came in the second quarter. After an interception set Delta up at the Dragons’ 24, the NP defense held and forced an unsuccessful field goal attempt. The Dragons then went 80 yards in five plays - with Thomas’ 53-yard run on third-and-long the key moment - and finished it with Kropp’s 15-yard scamper. After holding Delta on downs at midfield, the Dragons again marched 52 yards in seven plays, with Kropp taking a jet sweep in from 25 yards out with 17 seconds left in the half to give NP a 21-0 lead. The two combined to break the game open in the third. After a special teams miscue set Delta up for a 33-yard touchdown pass from Bronson Edwards to Chase Ritchie, the Dragons again moved the ball quickly. Thomas broke a 42-yard run to set the Dragons up in the red zone, where Kropp finished the drive with an 11-yard burst. On the ensuing kickoff, Jake Wells booted a ball that died at the 1 yard line. Delta’s returner expected it to go into the end zone and did not field it. The Dragons recovered the free kick and scored on the next play on a 2-yard run by Thomas to go up 35-7. Thomas netted his sixth career 200-yard game and his fourth this season, while Kropp tallied three touchdowns - two from the running back position and one as a slot. Wells added a 34-yard field goal to cap a mammoth 16-play, 11:15 drive to cap the scoring. The Dragons scored on their last five offensive possessions. The Dragons now turn their eyes toward Sectional 22. NP opens with conference foe New Castle next week at Kelso Stadium. The Dragons defeated the Trojans 35-7 last week. Week 9: Dragons 38, Delta 7 Friday, Oct. 13 at Delta HS, Muncie New Palestine (7-2, 7-0) 7 - 14 - 14 - 3 -- 38 Delta (5-4, 3-4) 0 - 0 - 7 - 0 -- 7 Scoring summary NP-Thomas 34 run (Wells kick), 4:06 NP-Kropp 15 run (Wells kick), 4:42 NP-Kropp 25 pass from Neal (Wells kick), :17 D-Ritchie 33 pass from Edwards (Stanley kick), 9:37 NP-Kropp 11 run (Wells kick), 8:02 NP-Thomas 2 run (Wells kick), 7:57 NP-Wells 34 FG, 3:54 Team stats First downs: NP 17, D 8 Rushes-yards: NP 48-339, D 33-41 Passing C-A-I: NP 3-8-1, D 7-13-0 Passing yards: NP 41, D 81 Total plays-yards: NP 56-380, D 46-122 Penalties-yards: NP 7-80, D 3-24 Fumbles-lost: NP 4-1, D 2-0 Punts-avg: NP 2-36.5, D 5-46.2 Time of possession: NP 26:41, D 21:19 Individual stats New Palestine Rushing: Thomas 27-243, Kropp 7-60, Neal 10-45, team 4-(-9) Passing: Neal 3-8-1-41 Receiving: Kropp 3-41 Delta Rushing: Bond 15-71, Carpenter 3-17, J.Jones 3-4, Backus 1-0, Russell 1-(-1), Ritchie 1-(-2), Lennis 1-(-4) Edwards 7-(-42), team 1-(-2) Passing: Edwards 7-13-0-81 Receiving: Ritchie 2-47, J.Manor 2-19, J.Jones 2-10, Bratton 1-5