New Palestine High School

Two plays into Friday's sectional semifinal game, Eli Hook stepped in front of a pass and ran it back to the Greenfield-Central red zone. Two plays later, Grayson Thomas was sprinting into the end zone to give the New Palestine football team a lead it wouldn't relinquish in a 33-9 sectional victory. The Class 4A No. 1 Dragons (11-0) advanced to face Connersville (7-4), a 27-20 victor over New Castle in the other semifinal game, in next Friday's Sectional 22 championship game at Kelso Stadium. The Dragons forced four turnovers and used offensive balance - as five different players scored the team's five touchdowns - to win their 11th straight game and defeat G-C for the 13th consecutive time. Junior Kyler Kropp was pressed into service at the running back position after Thomas was injured on his second carry of the game. Kropp carried 24 times for 149 yards and a touchdown, helping the Dragons gain 280 total yards. Hook's interception and Thomas' early TD, coming 96 seconds into the game, set the tone for the night. After the teams traded turnovers on downs, the Cougars cut the lead to 7-3 with a 38-yard field goal, but the Red Rage stiffened after a 29-yard pass on fourth down set the Cougars up at the Dragons' 16. The Dragons immediately responded with a big play on special teams. Daniel Thacker returned the ensuing kickoff 58 yards to the G-C 40. Seven plays later, senior QB Daniel Tippit hit senior Isaiah Thacker on a screen pass for a 16-yard TD, extending the lead to 13-3 on the final snap of the first quarter. The Cougars couldn't muster much offensively the rest of the half. The Dragons extended the lead to 19-3 in the second quarter as Kropp finished a 59-yard drive with a 7-yard run. Kropp had eight carries for 67 yards on the march that gave the Dragons a two-score lead going into halftime. Again, complimentary football set up the second half. G-C marched to the Dragons' 5, but Blaine Nunnally stripped the ball free and recovered it on the one-foot line. The Dragons then motored the ball down the field, starting with a 5-yard pass to Nunnally to give them room. From there, it was a series of big plays, as the Dragons gained first downs on five consecutive snaps - three runs by Kropp, one by Tippit and a 36-yard pass to Nunnally. That got the Dragons into the red zone, where Eian Roudebush came in at quarterback and took a direct snap around right end 7 yards for a touchdown. The Dragons went the length of the field in eight plays and just 2:21, a 14-point swing that put them up 26-3 and snuffed out any hope of a G-C comeback. An interception by Daniel Thacker at midfield set up another score - a four-yard run by Nunnally - early in the fourth. G-C added a late touchdown and threatened again, but Isaiah Thacker's interception sealed the game. NOTES: The Dragons will be seeking their 13th sectional title in school history next week against Connersville. ... It will be the first-ever meeting between the Dragons and Spartans. ... The Dragons' 280 yards were their first game below 300 yards this season. ... Kropp achieved his first career 100-yard rushing game. It was the Dragons' ninth 100-yard game this season, as Thomas also has eight. ... Thomas did cross the 1,500-yard barrier for the season, the 12th 1,500-yard rushing season in school history. ... Isaiah Thacker's two catches moved him past Brandon Collins for fifth place on the school's career receptions list with 77. ... The Dragons are now 26-5 all-time against Greenfield-Central. Class 4A Sectional 22 semifinal: Dragons 33, Greenfield-Central 9 Friday, October 28, 2022 at Kelso Stadium, New Palestine Greenfield-Central (7-4). 3 - 0 - 0 - 6 -- 9 New Palestine (11-0) 13 - 6 - 7 - 7 -- 33 Scoring summary NP-Thomas 11 run (Tanksley kick), 10:24 G-C-Lee 38 FG, 2:27 NP-I.Thacker 16 pass from Tippit (kick failed), :02 NP-Kropp 9 run (pass failed), 2:13 NP-Roudebush 7 run (Tanksley kick), 1:57 NP-Bl.Nunnally 4 run (Tanksley kick), 8:44 G-C-DeJarnett 11 pass from Freeman (run failed), 2:08 Team statistics First downs: G-C 16, NP 15 Rushes-yards: G-C 44-116, NP 33-189 Passing C-A-I: G-C 15-32-3, NP 7-14-0 Passing yards: G-C 156, NP 91 Total plays-yards: G-C 76-272, NP 47-280 Penalties-yards: G-C 2-15, NP 7-63 Fumbles-lost: G-C 2-1, NP 2-1 Punts-avg: G-C 2-43.0, NP 2-33.0 Time of possession: G-C 32:11, NP 15:49 Individual statistics Greenfield-Central Rushing: Zellers 23-76, Allen 9-32, J.Hinton 4-12, Foley 1-11, Freeman 7-(-15) Passing: Freeman 15-32-3-156 Receiving: J.Hinton 5-61, DeJarnett 4-48, Mullen 3-22, Wadle 2-9 Knecht 1-16 New Palestine Rushing: Kropp 24-149, Tippit 4-17, Thomas 2-13, Roudebush 1-7, Bl.Nunnally 1-4, team 1-(-1) Passing: Tippit 7-14-0-91 Receiving: Bl.Nunnally 3-49, I.Thacker 2-24, Mitchell 1-14, Clark 1-4