New Palestine High School

For the second straight week, the New Palestine football team got off to a slow start offensively, but the Red Rage defense suffocated its opponent and gave the offense time to find its footing. This week, it came in a 35-0 victory over Shelbyville, the Dragons' second straight shutout victory. The Dragons allowed just 43 total yards in the contest - including one rushing yard - and pitched the 27th shutout of coach Kyle Ralph's 12 seasons. It marked the first time the Dragons had posted back-to-back shutouts since blanking New Castle and Greenfield-Central in the first two rounds of the 2023 sectional. The Red Rage surrendered five first downs, and forced four straight three-and-outs in the second half. Offensively, the Dragons took a while to get untracked, but led 14-0 at halftime before putting the game away in the second half. After the opening drive stalled near midfield, the Dragons forced a three-and-out and took over near midfield. The Dragons methodically moved into the red zone, but a holding penalty put them behind the chains. On third-and-11, Jacob Davis found Garrett Ranes in the back of the end zone for a 12-yard touchdown, giving the Dragons a 7-0 lead late in the opening frame. The teams traded three-and-outs on their next two series, before Shelbyville hit a 31-yard pass to move inside the Dragons' 30. However, the defense stiffened and stuffed the Golden Bears for a six-yard loss on fourth-and-2. On the ensuing possession, a 49-yard pass to Austin McMahan on third-and-9 moved the Dragons to the Shelbyville 25, where Caden Jacobia finished the drive with an 8-yard TD run, putting NP up 14-0 midway through the second quarter. The Dragons again stuffed Shelbyville on fourth-and-short near midfield and moved the ball to the Golden Bears' 6, but a busted play on fourth-and-short was stopped and the Golden Bears survived with a 14-0 deficit going into halftime. Shelbyville took the second half kickoff and moved inside the Dragons' 15 after 30 yards of defensive penalties on the Dragons, but the defense again stiffened and forced a third turnover on downs. A fumble gave the ball back to the Bears near midfield, but they would not gain a first down the rest of the game, punting four consecutive times. The Dragons then got going quickly. Josh Ranes blasted through a hole on the left side and ran 70 yards untouched for a score - his fourth TD run of 60 or more yards this season - to put NP up 21-0. On the next possession, a 29-yard punt return by Cam Rollyson set the Dragons up at the Shelbyville 18. Ranes needed just two plays to find paydirt - carrying the last 11 yards to give NP two scores in 3:07 and a 28-0 lead. On the next possession, a keeper by Davis for 24 yards set the Dragons up in the red zone. Ranes appeared to have his third TD of the night, but a holding penalty in the end zone wiped that off the board. However, Jacobia carried in three plays later for his third TD of the night to trigger the running clock. Shelbyville was held to minus-21 yards in the second half, largely due to three Dragons sacks. The Golden Bears had one yard rushing for the game. Over the last two weeks, the Dragons have allowed 88 total yards in the two shutouts. The Dragons clinched a piece of the HHC title, as they have a two-game lead over four teams who are now 3-2 on the season. It is the Dragons' 24th conference championship overall, including their third consecutive and their 12th in the last 15 years. The Dragons gained 391 yards of total offense in the game, led by Ranes' 139 yards and two scores on 10 carries. He eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark for the year and now has 1,029 yards. Davis also eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark in passing yards, as he threw for 150 yards and a touchdown, completing four passes for 76 yards to McMahan. Davis now has 1,103 passing yards for the year. Week 7: Dragons 35, Shelbyville 0 Friday, Oct. 4, 2024 at McKeand Stadium, Shelbyville New Palestine (6-0, 5-0) 7 - 7 - 14 - 7 -- 35 Shelbyville (1-6, 0-5) 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 -- 0 Scoring summary NP-G.Ranes 12 pass from Davis (Wells kick), 3:46 NP-Ca.Jacobia 8 run (Wells kick), 6:39 NP-Jos.Ranes 70 run (Wells kick), 3:46 NP-Jos.Ranes 11 run (Wells kick), :39 NP-Ca.Jacobia 3 run (Wells kick), 7:25 Team stats FIrst downs: NP 13, S 5 Rushes-yards: NP 32-239, S 27-1 Passing C-A-I: NP 12-18-0, S 6-13-0 Passing yards: NP 147, S 42 Total plays-yards: NP 50-386, S 40-43 Fumbles-lost: NP 1-1, S 1-0 Penalties-yards: NP 6-75, S 5-24 Punts-avg: NP 2-34.0, S 6-29.8 Time of possession: NP 22:36, S 25:24 Individual stats New Palestine Rushing: Jos.Ranes 10-139, Ca.Jacobia 10-50, Davis 8-31, Wadman 2-10, Wiegand 2-9 Passing: Davis 12-18-0-147 Receiving: McMahan 4-76, Rollyson 2-18, Oglesby 2-6, Ca.Jacobia 1-26, G.Ranes 1-12, Wasson 1-5, Maddox 1-4 Shelbyville Rushing: Martin 14-18, Ju.Eads 2-5, Fitzgerald 5-(-4), Gwinnup 3-(-18), Hahn 2-1, team 1-(-1) Passing: Gwinnup 5-12-0-51, Myers 1-1-0-(-9) Receiving: Fitzgerald 3-46, W.Bailey 1-7, B.Bailey 1-(-2), Martzall 1-(-9)