New Palestine High School

One of the state's marquee matchups takes place Friday at Kelso Stadium as the Class 4A No. 3 New Palestine Dragons host the No. 4 Greenfield-Central Cougars in the Class 4A Sectional 22 semifinal. The contest is a rematch of a game the Dragons won 21-14 in Week 6. 4A #4/4 Greenfield-Central Cougars (9-1, 6-1 HHC) at 4A #3/3 New Palestine Dragons (8-2, 7-0 HHC) Time: 7 p.m. Friday Location: Kelso Stadium Tickets; $7, cash at gate or https://public.eventlink.com/tickets?t=56789 NOTE: This is an IHSAA tournament event, so no NPHS season/all-sports or sponsor passes will be accepted. Video: IHSAAtv.org Audio: NewPalRadio.com (coverage begins at 6 p.m.) SETTING THE SCENE Two Top-5 teams meet in the sectional semifinal as the Dragons meet neighbor Greenfield-Central with a trip to the sectional final on the line. The Dragons have won two straight sectional titles and have played in six consecutive sectional championship games. This is a rematch of a game the Dragons won 21-14 at Clayton Myers Field in Week 6. Grayson Thomas ran for 186 yards and two scores and Gavin Neal threw for 120 and a touchdown in that contest. The Dragons lead the all-time series 27-5 and have won 14 consecutive meetings dating to 2011. The two teams are meeting in the second week of the sectional for the second consecutive year. NP won a 33-9 decision last year in the sectional semifinal. NP has won seven sectional tiles in Coach Kyle Ralph’s first 10 seasons and 13 overall. The Dragons won their ninth HHC title in 11 years earlier this season. DRAGONS NOTES The Dragons were efficient last week in a 63-0 victory over New Castle. It was the first shutout since a 56-0 victory over Shelbyville Sept. 30, 2022 and the largest victory margin since a 63-0 victory over Shelbyville Oct. 4, 2019. It was the 25th shutout in coach Kyle Ralph’s 11 years. Last week marked the second time scoring 63 points in a game this season, as the Dragons also scored 63 in Week 4 against Mt. Vernon. The Red Rage was dominant last week, holding New Castle to minus-57 rushing yards and minus-26 yards of total offense. The Trojans had two first downs in the game and did not cross midfield. The Dragons had 4.5 sacks in the contest. Sophomore Cameron Rollyson had three sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Liam Fuller had the Dragons’ second defensive touchdown of the year with a 16-yard fumble return. Junior Michael Thacker had 5.5 tackles for loss among his seven stops. The Dragons spread the ball around last week en route to a 389-yard performance. Grayson Thomas ran for 142 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries. Gavin Neal completed 10 of 15 passes for 147 yards and three scores. Kyler Kropp had 107 yards from scrimmage and two receiving touchdowns. Mason Oglesby also had a receving TD. Malachi Haines and Bryan Caldwell rushed for touchdowns. The Red Rage has held four consecutive opponents to less than 200 yards of total offense. The Dragons defense has allowed 21 points total in those four contests. Thomas scored his 500th career point last week. He has 83 touchdowns in his career, plus a 2-point conversion. He also moved to sixth on the single-season rushing list with 1,861 yards. He needs 139 yards to become the sixth Dragon to rush for 2,000 yards in a season. With 5,759 rushing yards, he needs 241 yards to become the second Dragon to rush for 6,000 yards in a career. Thomas leads the HHC in rushing and in scoring, with 24 touchdowns. He is third in Class 4A in rushing. Senior WR/RB Kyler Kropp has been the Dragons’ jack of all trades. Last week, he had his second straight game with 100 yards from scrimmage. He had 74 yards through the air and 33 on the ground. Kropp has 1,225 carer receiving yards, seventh-most in school history. SCOUTING THE COUGARS Greenfield-Central is in the midst of its best season since 1975, when the Cougars were state runners-up. G-C ran for 358 yards in last week’s 27-17 victory over Pendleton Heights, led by 118 yards from Jacob Hinton. QB Dallas Freeman has thrown for 132 yards and run for 76 yards per game to lead the Cougars offensively. Hinton and Braylon Benavente have both run for more than 500 yards this season. LOOKING AHEAD Tonight’s winner will travel to either Mt. Vernon or Beech Grove in next week’s sectional champoinship game. NP faced MV in Week 3, winning 63-39. The Dragons last faced Beech Grove in the 2014 sectional championship game, an 83-20 victory. FOLLOW US All New Palestine games are broadcast free-to-listen at NewPalRadio.com. All home games are also video streamed at IHSAAtv.org on a pay-per-view basis. NPHS Athletics is on Facebook and Instagram (@NewPalestineDragons), Twitter (@NPHSDragons) and online (NewPalestineAthletics.com). Photo: Aaron Smith