New Palestine High School

The New Palestine football team took command on the first play from scrimmage Friday night at Pendleton Heights, as Josh Ranes broke free off left tackle and outran the Arabians for a 75-yard touchdown. The Dragons never stopped, as they amassed 641 yards of offense in a 56-17 victory over the Arabians. Ranes ran for 268 yards and three touchdowns, pacing a 475-yard rushing attack. Gavin Neal, seeing his first action of the season after an injury, had 108 rushing yards and two scores from the running back position. Quarterback Jacob Davis threw for 168 yards and two scores, while also running for 78 yards and a score in the victory. The 641-yard output marked the Dragons' largest offensive total since a 691-yard game Nov. 2, 2018 against Anderson. The Dragons built an early lead, but had to save off multiple PH comebacks. After Ranes' TD run, the teams traded punts before PH drove into Dragons territory and Wyatt DeBertrand drilled a 40-yard field goal. The Dragons responded with an efficient five-play, 75-yard drive in which each play resulted in either a first down or a touchdown. A 36-yard scramble by Davis set up Ranes' 3-yard TD run, pushing the lead to 14-3. A Caden Jacobia interception got the ball back for the Dragons, but penalties stalled the possession. However, the Dragons dialed up a big play on their next - a 49-yard pass from Davis to Austin McMahan. Davis then capped an 8-play drive with an 8-yard run to put the Dragons up 28-3 late in the second quarter. PH responded, as Cooper Sims made a one-handed 34-yard catch on fourth down, setting up a 23-yard TD to Jacob Rowley to cut the Dragons' lead to 28-10 late in the second quarter. The Dragons drove to the PH 15 on the ensuing drive, but missed a 32-yard field goal as time expired. Kicker Evan Walker made a big play on the second-half kickoff. PH's Keaton Jones broke free, but Walker - the last defender - made an open-field tackle. The Red Rage forced a three-and-out and got the ball back for the offense, which needed little time to cash in, as Davis hit Garrett Ranes with a shovel pass for a 34-yard touchdown. PH responded with another touchdown - aided by two Dragons penalties - to cut the lead to 35-17, and then forced a punt. However, the Red Rage helped flip the game. Michael Thacker blocked a punt, setting the Dragons up at the PH 18. Three plays later, Ranes carried in from 11 yards out to push the lead to 42-17. PH again drove deep into Dragons territory, but an interception by Connor Jacobia - his third in as many weeks - ended the threat. The Dragons went 80 yards on the ensuing drive, with Neal carrying the last 38 for a TD on 2nd-and-20. After another PH punt, Neal finished off a late drive to trigger the running clock. The game was the first 600-yard game since the Dragons tallied 604 against Mt. Vernon in September 2023. Ranes was the first 200-yard rusher since Grayson Thomas ran for 285 in that game. Ranes and Neal were the first to rush for 100 yards in the same game since Thomas and Kyler Kropp did so in a victory over Greenfield-Central in the 2023 sectional. The Dragons amassed 403 yards in the first half alone. The Dragons are now 4-0 on the year and 3-0 in the Hoosier Heritage Conference. They will face fellow unbeaten Greenfield-Central next week for Homecoming at Kelso Stadium. Week 5: Dragons 56, Pendleton Heights 17 Friday, Sept. 20, 2024 at John Broughton Field, Pendleton New Palestine (4-0, 3-0) 14 - 14 - 14 - 14 -- 56 Pendleton Hts. (2-3, 1-2) 3 - 7 - 7 - 0 -- 17 Scoring summary NP-Jos.Ranes 75 run (Wells kick), 11:41 PH-DeBertrand 40 FG, 6:45 NP-Jos.Ranes 3 run (Wells kick), 4:49 NP-McMahan 49 pass from Davis (Wells kick), 8:40 NP-Davis 8 run (Wells kick), 4:15 PH-Rowley 23 pass from Frank (DeBertrand kick), 1:42 NP-G.Ranes 34 pass from Davis (Wells kick), 9:18 PH-Jones 4 run (DeBertrand kick), 7:04 NP-Jos.Ranes 11 run (Wells kick), 1:47 NP-Neal 38 run (Wells kick), 8:38 NP-Neal 2 run (Wells kick), 4:06 Team stats First downs: NP 24, PH 18 Rushes-yards: NP 41-473, PH 20-31 Passing C-A-I: NP 8-14-0, PH 20-40-2 Passing yards: NP 168, PH 284 Total plays-yards: NP 55-641, PH 60-315 Penalties-yards: NP 13-130, PH 3-30 Fumbles-lost: NP 0-0, PH 0-0 Punts-avg: NP 3-29.0, PH 6-25.2 Time of possession: NP 23:33, PH 24:27 Individual stats New Palestine Rushing: Jos.Ranes 23-268, Neal 8-108, Davis 7-78, Oglesby 3-19 Passing: Davis 8-14-0-168 Receiving: McMahan 5-83, Oglesby 2-48, G.Ranes 1-34, Rollyson 1-3 Pendleton Heights Rushing: Jones 14-36, Pedersen 2-3, Frank 4-(-8) Passing: Frank 20-40-2-284 Receiving: Sims 10-119, Rowley 5-108, Jones 2-17, Behrendt 2-10, DeRolf 1-30