New Palestine High School

The New Palestine football team finished its first goal Friday night - clinch the outright Hoosier Heritage Conference championship. The next goals begin next week, when IHSAA tournament play begins. But for now, the Dragons will enjoy their 47-7 Senior Night victory over Delta, which clinched the 12th Hoosier Heritage Conference title in school history and their eighth unbeaten season in 10 years. Junior Grayson Thomas ran for 183 yards and a career-high five touchdowns, while senior quarterback Danny Tippit completed 15-of-25 for 214 yards and two scores. Senior wideout Blaine Nunnally had a career-high nine catches for 135 yards and a touchdown in the victory. The Red Rage defense set the tone, holding Delta on downs at midfield on the game's first possession and allowing just five first downs in the game - four of which came on the same drive. The Dragons got going with a 41-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah Thacker midway through the first quarter, as he caught a pass in one-on-one coverage, pivoted on the defender and beat him to the pylon. After forcing a three-and-out, the Dragons took over at their own 14. A penalty pushed them back to the 6, but from there, the Dragons marched 15 plays for a score, the key play a 21-yard pass to Nunnally on fourth-and-10 from the Delta 44. Another 19-yard pass to Nunnally followed, setting Thomas up for a 2-yard score, the first of his five TDs. Delta scored on its next possession, capping a 79-yard drive to cut the lead to 14-7, but the Dragons made an offensive adjustment, bringing Eli Hook on as a tight end. IT worked. The Dragons converted two fourth downs on the ensuing drive, capped with a 34-yard burst for a score by Thomas on fourth-and-1. After another three-and-out, Thomas took the next play 38 yards for a score to put the Dragons up 27-7 at halftime. Thomas had TD runs of 44 and 27 yards in the third quarter - the latter coming after the Dragons converted after facing first-and-27 due to a penalty. Tippit, who was 7-of-8 after halftime, finished the scoring with a 29-yard pass to Nunnally to cap a 20-point third quarter and trigger the running clock. Thomas had 35 yards on his first 10 carries against an aggressive Delta defense, which played all 11 defenders within five yards of the ball, but on his last seven carries, had 138 yards and four touchdowns as the Dragons began to take control of the line of scrimmage. The Dragons finish the regular season 9-0. They open sectional play next week at Mt. Vernon. Notes: Thomas' five TDs moved him into second place on the NPHS career scoring list with 57 touchdowns and 344 points, passing Alex Neligh (56 TDs, 336 points) in both categories. ... His 183 rushing yards were the fifth-highest of his career. ... Isaiah Thacker had four catches for 69 yards, moving him into fourth place on the Dragons' career receiving list. He passed Blake Austin. Thacker now has 1,372 career receiving yards at NP. He needs 247 to catch Colby Jenkins for third place. ... Tippit has 1,864 passing yards this season, moving into sixth place on the Dragons' single-season passing list. ... The Dragons shut out their opponent in the first quarter for the ninth consecutive game. The Dragons have outscored teams 125-0 in the opening quarter this season. ... Sophomore Keagan Harrison had his first career interception. Week 9: Dragons 47, Delta 7 Friday, Oct. 14, 2022 at Kelso Stadium, New Palestine Delta (3-6, 1-6). 0 - 7 - 0 - 0 -- 7 New Palestine (9-0, 7-0) 7 - 20 - 20 - 0 -- 47 Scoring summary NP-I.Thacker 41 pass from Tippit (Tanksley kick), 5:49 NP-Thomas 2 run (Tanksley kick), 11:55 D-Elliott 24 pass from K.Bond (Stanley kick), 6:31 NP-Thomas 34 run (Tanksley kick), 3:18 NP-Thomas 38 run (kick blocked), 1:24 NP-Thomas 44 run (pass failed), 9:22 NP-Thomas 27 run (Tanksley kick), 4:53 NP-Bl.Nunnally 29 pass from Tippit (Tanksley kick), 2:53 Team stats First downs: D 5, NP 18 Rushes-yards: D 29-38, NP 31-185 Passing C-A-I: D 4-13-1, NP 15-25-0 Passing yards: D 61, NP 214 Total plays-yards: D 42-99, NP 56-399 Fumbles-lost: D 0-0, NP 0-0 Penalties-yards: D 4-35, NP 4-40 Punts-avg: D 7-34.1, NP 2-26.0 Time of possession: D 26:08, NP 21:52 Individual stats Delta Rushing: Samuels 16-29, M.Bond 2-4, K.Bond 2-3, Carpenter 9-2 Passing: K.Bond 4-13-1-61 Receiving: Elliott 3-57, J.Manor 1-4 New Palestine Rushing: Thomas 17-183, Tippit 7-4, O'Dell 1-3, Ley 1-2, Doss 2-0, Harley 1-(-3), Marrow 2-(-4) Passing: Tippit 15-25-0-214 Receiving: Bl.Nunnally 9-135, I.Thacker 4-69, Kropp 1-6, Mitchell 1-4