New Palestine High School

The New Palestine football team hits the road for another matchup against a ranked team. 5A 1/2 NEW PALESTINE DRAGONS (3-1, 2-0 HHC) at 5A 10/4 PENDLETON HEIGHTS ARABIANS (4-0, 1-0 HHC) Time: 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 18 Location: John Broughton Stadium, Pendleton Tickets: $7, https://public.eventlink.com/tickets?t=203194 Audio: NewPalRadio.com SETTING THE SCENE The Hoosier Heritage Conference lead is on the line as two of Class 5A’s top teams meet for a Week 5 showdown. The Dragons have won four straight conference titles. PH will be the fourth ranked team the Dragons will have faced in five weeks this season. This is the 41st meeting between the two schools, who have met annually since 1994. The Dragons are 27-13 in the all-time series, and have won 15 straight contests since 2013, and 25 of the 27 meetings since 2003. The Dragons won a 42-6 decision last season, building a 35-point halftime lead and amassing 499 yards of total offense. DRAGONS NOTES The Dragons had a dominant 49-0 victory over Mt. Vernon last week, scoring on seven of their nine possessions, converting 8-of-9 third downs and amassing 570 yards of total offense. It was the most yards in a game since tallying 641 on Sept. 20, 2024 against Pendleton Heights. The Dragons gained either a first down or a touchdown on 31 of their 60 plays last week. The 27 first downs were a season-best. The Dragons are 90-2 in HHC games since Kyle Ralph took the reins in 2013. Junior RB Logan Parks had another big day. After running for 267 yards in his first varsity start in Week 3 against Yorktown, he ran for 263 yards and four touchdowns against MV. He became the first Dragon to rush for 200 yards in back-to-back games since Grayson Thomas did so in 2023, and the first to rush for 250 yards in back-to-back games since Charlie Spegal in 2019. Nine of Parks’ 25 carries were for 15 yards or more. Quarterback Rhys Ragan was 15-of-17 for 193 yards and a touchdown against MV, giving him a QB rating of 191.25 for the game. Ragan crossed the 3,000 yard passing milestone for his career last week. The Red Rage posted its first shutout of the season, forcing two turnovers -- interceptions by Xavier Harmon and Andrew Davis -- and holding MV to five first downs and 141 total yards. LB Waynee Estes led the Dragons with seven tackles. DL Eli Purciful had four quarterback hurries and Sam Hirschy had three. Senior SL/LB Mason Oglesby had eight catches for 90 yards in the win over Mt. Vernon. He now has 90 career catches and needs five to catch Colby Jenkins for third on the NPHS all-time list. He moved into 10th on the career receiving yards list with 1,090 yards. He needs 30 yards to catch Blaine Nunnally for ninth place. SCOUTING THE ARABIANS PH is 4-0 for the second straight season. The Arabians are led by QB Brandt Gray, who is completing 70% of his passes for 483 yards and eight touchdowns. He also averages 5.8 yards per rush. Gray has spread the ball around, with senior Camden Saxon leading the receiving corps with 11 catches for 127 yards. Junior RB Joel Weaver averages 159.3 yards per game on the ground. Defensively, the Arabians have been solid the last three weeks, Junior Noah Plovick leads PH with 29 tackles. Dee Heiden has 3.5 TFL and 2.5 sacks. Wyatt Elijah has two of PH’s seven INTs. Weaver ran for 262 yards last week in a 41-14 victory over Greenfield-Central. LOOKING AHEAD The Dragons return to Kelso Stadium next week to face Greenfield-Central in the Dragons’ 59th annual Homecoming game. 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).