New Palestine High School

The New Palestine football team used big plays on defense to build a lead, then finished it with a record-breaking play Friday night in a 35-14 victory over Kokomo at Kelso Stadium. The Dragons built a 28-7 halftime lead, turning three consecutive Wildkats turnovers into points. But Kokomo turned the tide in the second half, using its ground-and-pound double-wing offense to grind out an 18-play, 74-yard, 10-minute drive to cut the lead to 28-14. Kokomo then forced back-to-back three-and-outs, but couldn't capitalize - the Dragons held the Wildkats on downs at midfield, then forced a punt - a 60-yarder that was downed inside the Dragons' 1 yard line. That set the stage for the capper. After a run for no gain and two penalties pushed the Dragons within inches of their own goal line, junior quarterback Jacob Davis dropped back and flung a pass downfield for Austin McMahan, who had beaten the defense. The Dragons' wideout bobbled the ball briefly, then reeled it in and outran the Wildkats, breaking one final tackle at the 25-yard line for a 99-yard touchdown. It was the longest play in school history, breaking the previous best - a 98-yard run by James Young in the 2014 state championship game. The longest pass had been a 93-yarder from Matt Rodgers to Jay Ehle against Hamilton Southeastern in 1993. That TD, coming with 5:08 left, was the exclamation point on the Dragons' victory. In the opening half, the Dragons were efficient on both sides. After an initial Dragons drive stalled at the Kokomo 35, the Wildkats drove 80 yards in 12 plays to take an early 7-0 lead. From there, the Dragons were efficient. Davis led a seven-play, 71-yard response drive in which the Dragons never faced a third down. Davis capped it ith a 27-yard TD on his first carry as a Dragon. Mason Oglesby recovered a fumble on Kokomo's second play on its next drive, and the Dragons quickly responded. Two plays in, Davis hit Eli Wasson on a post pattern for a 29-yard TD to put the Dragons up 14-7 in the opening minute of the second quarter. Kokomo drove to midfield, but the drive ended when Cameron Rollyson picked off a third-down pass. The Dragons quickly drove deep into Wildkats territory, which was capped by Josh Ranes' 4-yard TD run with 2:42 left in the half. Ranes then intercepted a pass on Kokomo's next snap - thanks to pressure from his brother Garrett. Two plays later, Davis hit Oglesby with a shovel pass that broke for a 14-yard TD to put NP up 28-7. The Dragons were the model of efficiency in the first half, scoring 28 points and garnering 13 first downs in just 22 snaps. They faced only one third down, which came on the opening possession. In his first start, Davis was efficient, going 10-of-13 for 213 yards and three touchdowns. McMahan had two catches for 106 yards. Oglesby caught six passes for 65 yards, while Wasson caught two for 42. Each had a TD. Caden Jacobia led the Dragons' running game with 52 yards. Kokomo ran 34 plays in the second half to the Dragons' eight, but turned those into just 118 yards of total offense - most coming on the Wildkats' touchdown drive. The Dragons (1-0) return home to Kelso Stadium next Friday to face Decatur Central, the defending 5A runner-up. Week 1: Dragons 35, Kokomo 14 Friday, August 23, 2024 at Kelso Stadium Kokomo (0-1) 7 - 0 - 7 - 0 -- 14 New Palestine (1-0) 7 - 21 - 0 - 7 -- 35 Scoring summary K-Morris 1 run (Reyes kick), 4:12 NP-Davis 27 run (Wells kick), :38 NP-Wasson 29 pass from Davis (Wells kick), 11:01 NP-Jos.Ranes 4 run (Wells kick), 2:42 NP-Oglesby 14 pass from Davis (Wells kick), 1:49 K-Pollard 2 run (Reyes kick), 1:56 NP-McMahan 99 pass from Davis (Wells kick), 5:08 Team statistics First downs: K 18, NP 14 Rushes-yards: K-53-185, NP 17-85 Passing C-A-I: K 5-8-2, NP 10-13-0 Passing yards: K 56, NP 213 Total plays-yards: K 61-241, NP 30-298 Fumbles-lost: K 3-1, NP 1-0 Penalties-yards: K 4-36, NP 7-51 Punts-avg: K K 1-60.0, NP 3-33.7 Time of possession: K 32:03, NP 14:57 Individual statistics Kokomo Rushing: Morris 21-71, Pollard 18-69, Moore 11-47, Cunningham 1-4, Parks 1-(-3), team 1-(-3) Passing: Pollard 5-8-2-56 Receiving: Gillispie 2-37, Barker 3-19 New Palestine Rushing: Ca.Jacobia 8-52, Davis 4-15, Jos.Ranes 3-13, Wiegand 2-5 Passing: Davis 10-13-0-213 Receiving: McMahan 2-106, Oglesby 6-65, Wasson 2-42