New Palestine High School

The New Palestine football team won a wild sectional contest Friday at Pendleton Heights, posting a 53-35 victory in a game that featured more than 1,000 yards of total offense between the two teams. The No. 2 Dragons improved to 7-3 and advance to face No. 1 Cathedral (7-3) in next Friday's sectional final, which Cathedral will host. PH, ranked No. 5 in the media poll, finishes 8-2, with both losses to the Dragons. The Dragons jumped out to leads of 14-0 and 35-7, but had to keep matching scores in the second half, as PH repeatedly cut the Dragons’ lead to two scores, and NP responded. The Dragons dialed up big plays against a PH defense that loaded the box to try to stop NP’s running game. Logan Parks ran for 211 yards and four touchdowns, while NP quarterback Rhys Ragan completed 13-of-16 for 249 yards and three scores. Four of the Dragons’ seven touchdowns were from beyond 35 yards. They set the tone early - with Parks carrying for 20 yards on the game’s first play. But it was big plays that got the Dragons going. Ragan dialed up a long 39-yard TD to Cael Butler on the first possession, on which Butler made a contested catch in the end zone. Butler then picked off a pass on PH’s first play from scrimmage, setting up a 15-yard drive and the first of Parks’ four touchdowns. Butler would finish the game with an interception on PH’s last play. NP’s defense then forced back-to-back stops - a three-and-out, and then a fourth-and-short stop near midfield - and turned both into TDs - a 60-yard run by Parks up the middle, and a short pass to Ryder Gardner that he turned upfield and into a 42-yard touchdown. Armed with a 35-7 lead, the Dragons were closing in on putting the game away. But PH quarterback Brandt Gray led a 13-play touchdown drive before halftime, then hit Byron Vores for a 35-yard TD on the first drive of the third quarter to make it a 35-21 game. Every time PH had a punch, NP had a counterpunch. NP responded with a drive for an Evan Walker field goal on its first second-half possession to restore a three-score lead. An interception by Brayden Newsom got the ball back for the Dragons, but they turned it over on the next play. PH then embarked on a 62-yard touchdown drive, ending with a short run by quarterback Brandt Gray to cut the lead to 38-28. The Dragons took over after an unsuccessful on-side kick. Two plays later, Ragan hit Butler on another deep ball for a 44-yard TD, their second long connection of the game. The lead remained two scores, at 44-28, after a missed PAT. A sack by Sam Hirschy on second down at midfield stalled PH's next drive, and the Arabians turned it over on downs, leading to Walker's second field goal of the day, a 34-yarder, pushing the lead to 47-28. PH again responded with a touchdown drive to cut the lead to 47-35 in the late stages. After another unsuccesful on-side kick, Parks broke free for a 39-yard run, setting up his fourth TD - a 9-yard scamper - two plays later. Butler sealed the game with an interception in the end zone on the Arabians' final possession. Gray did yeoman’s work to keep his team in the game. He completed 28-of-46 for 378 yards and three touchdowns, and also ran for 68 yards and two score. PH amassed 468 yards of offense, including 300 in the second half. Sam Hirschy had a big day on the defensive line for the Dragons, with 10 tackles, three sacks, four quarrerback hurries and 4.5 tackles for loss. NP tallied 548 yards of offense, averaging more than 10 yards per play, and scored on nine of its 11 drives - a fumble and a missed field goal the only two empty possessions. Sectional 13 semifinal: Dragons 53, Pendleton Heights 35 Friday, Oct. 30, 2026 at John Broughton Field, Pendleton New Palestine (7-3) 14 - 21 - 3 - 15 -- 53 Pendleton Heights (8-2) 7 - 7 - 7 - 14 -- 35 Scoring summary New Palestine 53, Pendleton Heights 35 New Palestine (7-3);14;21;3;15;-;53 Pendleton Heights (8-2);7;7;7;14-;35 Scoring summary NP–Butler 39 pass from Ragan (Walker kick), 9:32 NP–Parks 2 run (Walker kick), 7:36 PH–Mitchem 24 pass from Gray (Hankenhoff kick), 2:05 NP–Parks 3 run (Walker kick), 11:00 NP–Parks 60 run (Walker kick), 8:51 NP–Gardner 42 pass from Ragan (Walker kick), 6:42 PH–Gray 1 run (Hankenhoff kick), 2:00 PH–Vores 35 pass from Gray (Hankenhoff kick), 8:15 NP–Walker 29 FG, 4:28 PH–Gray 3 run (Hankenhoff kick), 11:32 NP–Butler 44 pass from Ragan (kick blocked), 10:39 NP–Walker 34 FG, 5:37 PH–Joel Weaver 10 pass from Gray (Hankenhoff kick), 2:53 NP–Parks 9 run (kick blocked), 1:41 Team stats First downs: NP 20, PH 26 Rushes-yards: NP 37-300, PH 31-90 Passing C-A-I: NP 13-16-0, PH 28-46-3 Passing yards: NP 249, PH 378 Total plays-yards: NP 53-549, PH 77-468 Fumbles-lost: NP 1-1, PH 0-0 Penalties-yards: NP 7-58, PH 7-60 Punts-avg: NP 0-0, PH 1-38.0 Time of possession: NP 21:01, PH 26:59 Individual stats New Palestine Rushing: Parks 21-211, Stephens 6-37, Gardner 4-30, Ragan 5-23, team 1-(-1) Passing: Ragan 13-16-0-249 Receiving: Oglesby 5-59, Gardner 3-55, Maddox 3-52, Butler 2-83 Pendleton Heights Rushing: Gray 23-68, Weaver 8-22 Passing: Gray 28-46-3-378 Receiving: Vores 10-125, Mitchem 6-67, Weaver 6-47, Behrendt 3-34, Bussel 2-92, R.Garner 1-13