New Palestine High School

The New Palestine football team's season came to a conclusion Friday night, as the No. 1 Dragons dropped a 20-7 decision at No. 2 Roncalli in the Class 4A regional. The Dragons finish the season with a 12-1 record, with Hoosier Heritage Conference and sectional championships. After the Red Rage held Roncalli on downs on the first possession of the game, they mixed runs with Kyler Kropp with Daniel Tippit passes to move into Roncalli territory. The drive appeared to stall, as they faced fourth-and-11 from the Roncalli 35. Tippit threw a deep ball to Isaiah Thacker, who ripped the ball from a Roncalli defender in the end zone for a touchdown, giving the Dragons a 7-0 lead in the opening quarter. Roncalli responded with an eight-play, 68-yard drive highlighted by a 29-yard run by Luke Hansen, leading to a touchdown to tie the game. The Dragons drove to the Roncalli 28 but stalled on downs on their next possession. The Red Rage forced a punt and then saw Roncalli drive to the Dragons' 26 on the final possession of the half, but a Michael Thacker sack ended the threat and the half. The Dragons forced a punt on the opening possession of the second half, but went three-and-out. Roncalli used a long punt return to move the ball to the Dragons' 47. The Royals drove 47 yards in 10 plays, finishing with a three-yard TD run to take a 14-7 lead with 2:32 left in the third quarter. The Dragons responded with a drive to the Roncalli 35, but were stopped on fourth-and-1. The Red Rage forced a three-and-out. The Dragons took over at their own 39 after a punt, but turned the ball over on downs after another fourth-and-1 stop. Roncalli bled the clock on a six-minute drive that ended in a touchdown. The Dragons drove deep into Roncalli territory on the ensuing possession, but turned the ball over on downs in the closing seconds. Tippit led the Dragons offensively, throwing for 111 yards, 96 to Isaiah Thacker. He also ran for 57 yards, while Kyler Kropp ran for 50 yards. The Dragons were outgained 328-218 in the contest. IHSAA Class 4A regional: Roncalli 20, Dragons 7 Friday, Nov. 11, 2022 at Bob Tully Field, Indianapolis New Palestine (12-1). 7 - 0 - 0 - 0 -- 7 Roncalli (12-1). 0 - 7 - 7 - 6 -- 20 Scoring summary NP-I.Thacker 35 pass from Tippit (Tanksley kick), 2:46 R-Moyers 5 run (Parrett kick), 10:39 R-Baugh 3 run (Parrett kick), 2:32 R-Hansen 2 run (kick blocked), 1:30 Team stats First downs: NP 13, R 17 Rushes-yards: NP 34-107, R 47-236 Passing C-A-I: NP 10-28-0, R 5-14-0 Passing yards: NP 109, R 56 Total plays-yards: NP 62-216, R 61-292 Fumbles-lost: NP 0-0, R 0-0 Penalties-yards: NP 4-20, R 3-25 Time of possession: NP 21:08, R 26:52 Individual stats New Palestine Rushing: Tippit 16-59, Kropp 18-50 Passing: Tippit 10-26-0-109, team 0-2 Receiving: I.Thacker 8-95, Mitchell 1-7, Kropp 1-7 Roncalli Rushing: Hansen 34-195, Moyers 7-17, Baugh 6-24 Passing: Moyers 5-12-0-56, team 0-2 Receiving; Brandenburg 3-34, Elsener 1-12, Koglin 1-10