New Palestine High School

It's the Battle for the Boundary Rail as the New Palestine Dragons football team travels to Mt. Vernon. 5A 1/2 NEW PALESTINE DRAGONS (2-1, 1-0 HHC) at MT. VERNON MARAUDERS (2-1, 1-0 HHC) Time: 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 11 Location: Mt. Vernon Stadium, Fortville Tickets: $6, https://public.eventlink.com/tickets?t=192999 (fans are encouraged to purchase tickets early to avoid lines) or at the gate Audio: NewPalRadio.com SETTING THE SCENE The Dragons are poised for their 68th meeting with Mt. Vernon - and the 59th regular season meeting. They have played annually since 1968. The Dragons have dominated the series recently, winning 14 of the last 16 meetings, including seven straight over the last four seasons. The Boundary Rail traveling trophy has been contested since 2005. The Dragons have won 18 of the 21 contests, including a 71-0 game last year in which NP outgained MV 529-59. It was the most lopsided result in the series’ history. NP holds a 42-24-1 record in the all-time series, including 21-11 in games played at MV. Both schools began varsity football in 1968. MV is the only school the Dragons have faced in every year of their football history. DRAGONS NOTES The Dragons bounced back last week with their second ranked win of the season, beating 4A No. 6/7 Yorktown on the road. Logan Parks’ third touchdown, coming in the final seconds of the first half, put the Dragons up for good in a 42-28 victory. Parks ran for 269 yards and four TDs last week in his first varsity start. It set a record for the most yards in a first NPHS varsity start. The previous mark was held by Charlie Spegal, who ran for 222 yards in his NP debut against Kokomo in 2018. Parks’ game was also the first 200-yard game by a Dragon since Josh Ranes ran for 263 yards on Nov. 1, 2024 at Yorktown. Junior QB Rhys Ragan was 10-of-19 for 203 yards and two touchdowns, posting his first 200-yard game as a Dragon. Cael Butler had 82 yards - including a 31-yard TD - on two catches. Landon Maddox tallied 72 receiving yards on four catches, with a 46-yard TD that put NP up 28-14. Mason Oglesby had five catches for 36 yards last week. The latter made him the 12th player in NPHS history with 1,000 career receiving yards. He needs 60 yards to move into the Top 10 and catch Todd Yoder. Oglesby also moved into sixth on the NPHS career receptions list with 82 last week. He needs four catches to move into the top five. DB Carson Forsyth had two interceptions last week, both of which led to Dragons touchdowns. It was the first game with multiple interceptions since Andrew Davis had three in the 2025 sectional final against Cathedral, and the first with two since Blaine Nunnally had two on Oct. 21, 2022 against Mt. Vernon. Junior DL Sam Hirschy had three sacks last week, moving his career total to 13. SCOUTING THE MARAUDERS What’s old is new again at Mt. Vernon, as former coach Mike Kirschner returns to the Marauders’ sidelines - with another former MV (and NP) head coach Doug Armstrong on the defensive staff. Kirschner was 30-8 in his first stint at MV from 2018-20, and is in his 23rd year as a head coach that also includes stops at Cascade, Ben Davis and Warren Central, with two state titles. MV is led by quarterback Mason Meyer, the second straight QB the Dragons will face who has committed to play Div. I baseball. The Arizona State commit has 465 passing yards and five TDs. His top targets are Brenten Johnson (209 yards, 2 TD) and Krue Hampton (154 yards, 2 TDs). Kobe James leads MV on the ground with 154 yards. Meyer threw for 245 yards and three TDs last week in a 28-7 victory over Greenfield-Central. Johnson had 170 yards and two TDs on three catches. MV tallied 391 yards of total offense. 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).