New Palestine High School

The New Palestine football team scored on the first possession of each half and ground out a 28-14 victory over Mt. Vernon Friday in the sectional opener. The No. 1 Dragons (9-0) advance to face Yorktown (7-3) in next week's sectional semifinal, which will be at Yorktown. The Dragons were able to use their running game to maintain possession on long drives from the opening kickoff, and keep their distance from the Marauders. Defensive tackle Michael Thacker provided the big play. With the Dragons leading 14-6 at halftime, MV took the second-half kickoff. After converting a third-and-long, MV faced another third-down play. Quarterback Mason Meyer attempted a throw to the flat, but it never got there. Thacker put up his hands from his defensive line position and snared the pass, picking it off and running it back 32 yards for a touchdown to give the Dragons a 21-6 edge. MV wouldn't go away. After the two teams exchanged punts, Meyer hit Ryker Baer for a 55-yard TD - their second long touchdown connection of the night. The two-point conversion drew the Marauders within 21-14. But the Dragons had a big response drive. Taking over at their own 35, Gavin Neal's three-yard gain on third-and-2 moved the chains. On the next series, they faced third-and-6 from midfield, and quarterback Jacob Davis sprinted down the right sideline for a 13-yard gain to again move the chains. The next play was a 25-yard pitch to Eli Wasson, setting the Dragons up in the red zone. There Davis rolled to the right, saw defenders in his path, then improvised by cutting back left and throwing a long pass across the field to a sliding Austin McMahan in the end zone for a 13-yard TD, restoring a two-score advantage. MV gained a first down, but stalled near midfield on the ensuing possession, which featured Dragons defenders breaking up three consecutive passes. The Dragons then bled the clock, taking more than six and a half minutes off as they drove to the Marauders' 3. The drive stalled there, but they left MV with just 66 seconds and 97 yards to make up a two-score deficit. Four incomplete passes later, the Dragons held on downs and had sealed the win. Davis completed 8-of-13 passes for 103 yards and two TDs, but did much of his damage with his legs, rushing for a career-high 118 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries. Neal (64 yards) and Josh Ranes (43 yards) also helped power a 224-yard rushing attack. In the opening half, the Dragons set an early tone, using the ground game to methodically move into MV territory. There, Davis found Garrett Ranes wide open for a 26-yard touchdown to give the Dragons an early lead. After pinning the Marauders deep in their own territory on the ensuing kickoff, the Dragons looked to be in good shape, but Meyer hit Baer on a deep pass for a 90-yard touchdown. Garrett Ranes blocked the PAT to keep the Dragons up 7-6. The teams exchanged punts on their next possessions, with Cameron Rollyson's 20-yard return setting NP up at the Marauders' 27. They needed just four plays to score on Davis' 11-yard TD run to go up 14-6 late in the opening frame. MV slowed the game down in the second quarter, with two long, clock-eating drives, one of which stalled at the Dragons' 32 and ended in a punt, the other saw the Marauders run out the clock in the half. In the interim, the Dragons drove from their own 20 to the MV 5, bolstered by Davis' 52-yard run to the Marauders' 14. However, a bad snap on fourth-and-1 caused the drive to stall, and kept the lead at one score. Sectional Round 1: Dragons 28, Mt. Vernon 14 Friday, Oct. 25, 2024 at Kelso Stadium Mt. Vernon (4-6) 6 - 0 - 0 - 8 -- 14 New Palestine (9-0) 14 - 0 - 7 - 7 -- 28 Scoring summary NP-G.Ranes 26 pass from Davis (Wells kick), 7:08 MV-Baer 90 pass from Meyer (kick blocked), 5:19 NP-Davis 11 run (Wells kick), :54 NP-Thacker 32 interception return (Wells kick), 8:06 MV-Baer 55 pass from Meyer (Privett pass from Meyer), 11:52 NP-McMahan 13 pass from Davis (Wells kick), 8:18 Team stats First downs: MV 11, NP 17 Rushes-yards: MV 25-76, NP 40-224 Passing C-A-I: MV 8-22-1, NP 8-14-0 Passing yards: MV 197, NP 103 Total plays-yards: MV 47-273, NP 54-327 Fumbles-lost: MV 3-0, NP 1-0 Penalties-yards: MV 6-26, NP 7-65 Punts-avg: MV 3-29.7, NP 2-38.0 Time of possession: MV 25:28, NP 22:32 Individual stats Mt. Vernon Rushing: Brogan 9-37, Johnson 10-29, Meyer 6-10 Passing: Meyer 8-21-1-197, Joy 0-1-0-0 Receiving: Baer 6-183, Johnson 2-14 New Palestine Rushing: Davis 13-118, Neal 15-64, Jos.Ranes 11-43, team 1-(-1) Passing: Davis 8-13-0-103, Neal 0-1-0-0 Receiving: Wasson 3-41, McMahan 2-18, Rollyson 2-18, G.Ranes 1-26