New Palestine High School

The New Palestine football team took command quickly Friday night, using a powerful running game and a suffocating defense to beat host New Castle 44-6. The victory clinched the Dragons' third consecutive outright Hoosier Heritage Conference title and their 10th in 12 years, moving NP's record to 7-0 (6-0 HHC). New Castle fell to 4-4 (3-3 HHC). The Dragons challenged their offensive line and running game early, and it quickly delivered. After Caden Jacobia's 44-yard return on the opening kickoff set the Dragons up in New Castle territory, the Dragons went to running back Josh Ranes four consecutive plays. He carried all 45 yards - including the last nine on a TD run - to put the Dragons up just 1:51 into the game. The snowball kept rolling from there. A three-and-out led to another short field, and another short drive. The Dragons needed just four plays to go 40 yards, capped by Caden Jacobia's 3-yard run, keyed by a 23-yard pass to Cameron Rolllyson on the penultimate play of the drive. New Castle went to a wildcat offense on the next series, but a fourth-and-1 stop set the Dragons up on the NC 31. Ranes capped a six-play drive with a 1-yard plunge to put the Dragons up 21-0, and NP followed with a successful onside kick and a quick 50-yard drive that was capped with Jacob Davis' 3-yard pass to Austin McMahan to make it 28-0 less than 14 minutes into the game. NC took advantage of three Dragons penalties and a leaping catch by Nick McMartin to score on the ensuing possession, but that was most of the offense the Trojans would muster. The Dragons quickly responded with a 10-play, 64-yard drive, keyed by a 17-yard pass to McMahan. That set up Ranes for a 3-yard TD to put the Dragons up 35-6. Another three-and-out forced a punt, but a Dragons drive stalled at the NC 32 in the final minute of the half. However, Aalijah Lissade picked off a deep pass on the Trojans' first play, and an 18-yard pass to Rollyson moved the Dragons into scoring territory, setting up Jake Wells for a 40-yard field goal, which he drilled with several yards to spare, pushing the lead to 38-6 at the break. The Dragons kept things going in the second half, forcing a three-and-out on the Trojans' first possession, then marching 41 yards in six plays. On third-and-5, Davis scrambled and threw on the run, finding Ben Hirschy. The freshman tight end reeled it in for his first career catch, then outran everyone to the end zone for his first career touchdown. From there, the second units took over, but the Dragons prevented New Castle from threatening, with freshman Evan Walker's fourth-down sack stopping one New Castle possession. The Trojans turned the ball over on downs three consecutive possessions to end the game. The Red Rage held New Castle to 81 total yards, the third consecutive game in which the Dragons have held a team to fewer than 100 total yards. Offensively, Ranes led the Dragons with 137 yards and three touchdowns on 17 carries. Davis threw for 138 yards, with Rollyson catching five passes for 69 yards to lead the receiving game. The Dragons finish the regular season next Friday at Kelso Stadium for Senior Night against Delta. Week 8: Dragons 44, New Castle 6 Friday, Oct. 11 at Neal Field, New Castle New Palestine (7-0, 6-0) 21 - 17 - 6 - 0 -- 44 New Castle (4-4, 3-3) 0 - 6 - 0 - 0 -- 6 Scoring summary NP-Jos.Ranes 9 run (Wells kick), 10:09 NP-Ca.Jacobia 3 run (Wells kick), 7:05 NP-Jos.Ranes 1 run (Wells kick), 2:30 NP-McMahan 3 pass from Davis (Wells kick), 10:27 NC-McMartin 14 pass from Bell (run failed), 7:49 NP-Jos.Ranes 3 run (Wells kick), 4:11 NP-Wells 40 FG, :03 NP-Hirschy 25 pass from Davis (kick blocked), 7:34 Team stats First downs: NP 17, NC 7 Rushes-yards: NP 36-210, NC 12-6 Passing C-A-I: NP 11-16-0, NC 12-29-1 Passing yards: NP 142, NC 75 Total plays-yards: NP 52-352, NC 41-81 Fumbles-lost: NP 1-0, NC 0-0 Penalties-yards: NP 8-95, NC 3-14 Punts-avg: NP 1-31.0, NC 3-19.0 Time of possession: NP 25:52, NC 22:08 Individual stats New Palestine Rushing: Jos.Ranes 17-137, Wiegand 7-26, Davis 4-24, Ca.Jacobia 5-21, Wadman 2-3, Gardner 1-(-1) Passing: Davis 10-15-0-138, Gardner 1-1-0-4 Receiving: Rollyson 5-69, McMahan 2-20, Hirschy 1-25, Ca.Jacobia 1-19, Wasson 1-5, Caldwell 1-4 New Castle Rushing: Clapp 8-11, Thrine 2-7, Reynolds 1-(-3), Bell 1-(-9) Passing: Bell 12-29-1-75 Receiving: Thrine 6-47, McMartin 2-17, Bennett 2-6, Logston 1-4, Turner 1-1