New Palestine High School

The New Palestine football team took control of Friday's sectional semifinal game from the opening kickoff. Quite literally. Caden Jacobia took the opening kickoff 78 yards to the Yorktown 8. Two plays later, Josh Ranes plunged into the end zone to give the Dragons a lead they'd never relinquish in a 41-7 victory over Yorktown. The victory earned the Dragons (10-0) a trip to next week's sectional championship game at Kelso Stadium against Pendleton Heights (6-5). PH beat Greenfield-Central 31-21 in the other Sectional 21 semifinal. Jacobia - who had missed the last two games due to an injury - came up big in all three phases. Not only did his kickoff return set up the opening touchdown, he ended Yorktown's first possession by intercepting a pass inside the 5. The Tigers had mixed the run and pass well to drive into the red zone and were threatening to tie the game. He later scored a rushing TD in the second quarter. Then, it was the Josh Ranes show. The junior running back tallied 263 yards and three touchdowns on 16 carries, leading a 397-yard offensive attack for the Dragons. With the Dragons taking over at their own 3, a 13-yard pitch to Eli Wasson on third down moved the ball out of the danger zone. On the next play, Ranes carried left, then cut across the field for a 57-yard run to move the ball deep into Yorktown territory. Quarterback Jacob Davis finished the drive with an 11-yard TD on third-and-8, putting the Dragons up 14-0. After the Red Rage forced a three-and-out, Ranes capped a 73-yard drive with a 4-yard plunge, putting the Dragons up 20-0. He keyed it with runs of 37 and 20 yards. After another Yorktown punt, Ranes broke off a 26-yard run to set the Dragons up in Yorktown territory. Caden Jacobia took over at running back and carried for 30 yards, then finished it with a 2-yard TD run. Ranes' two-point conversion made it 28-0. Ranes then broke off a 60-yard run in the final minute, but the Dragons' drive stalled at the Yorktown 21, giving NP a 28-0 halftime lead, which was punctuated by Aalijah Lissade's interception on the final play of the half. The Dragons added on in the third. Brock Brownfield's fourth-down sack ended Yorktown's first possession. THe Dragons needed just four plays to answer with a 33-yard run by Ranes for his third TD of the night. Moments later, Connor Jacobia picked off a pass and ran it back 40 yards for a score to put the Dragons up 41-0. Yorktown scored a TD against a hybrid defense with a number of second-unit players late in the third, but the Dragons saw out the victory. The Dragons will be seeking their fourth consecutive sectional title and 15th overall next week when they host PH. NP beat the Arabians 56-17 in Week 5. Ranes posted his third 200-yard game of the season Friday. He now has 1,707 yards this season, moving to ninth on the Dragons' single-season rushing list. Sectional semifinal: Dragons 41, Yorktown 7 Friday, Nov. 1 at Tiger Stadium, Yorktown New Palestine (10-0) 14 - 14 - 13 - 0 -- 41 Yorktown (7-4) 0 - 0 - 7 - 0 -- 7 Scoring summary NP-Jos.Ranes 2 run (Wells kick), 11:12 NP-Davis 11 run (Wells kick), 1:09 NP-Jos.Ranes 4 run (kick falied), 8:50 NP-Ca.Jacobia 2 run (Jos.Ranes run), 2:31 NP-Jos.Ranes 33 run (kick failed), 7:45 NP-Co.Jacobia 40 interception return (Walker kick), 6:51 Y-Webster 13 run (Ford kick), 1:02 Team statistics First downs: NP 15, Y 11 Rushes-yards: NP 33-356, Y 27-65 Passing C-A-I: NP 3-7-0, Y 17-26-3 Passing yards: NP 42, Y 124 Total plays-yards: NP 40-398, Y 53-189 Fumbles-lost: NP 0-0, Y 0-0 Penalties-yards: NP 3-26, Y 2-15 Punts-avg: NP 0-0, Y 2-43.0 Time of possession: NP 17:47, Y 30:13 Individual stats New Palestine Rushing: Jos.Ranes 16-263, Wiegand 8-49, Ca.Jacobia 3-34, Davis 6-10 Passing: Davis 3-6-0-42, team 0-1 Receiving: Wasson 2-26, McMahan 1-16 Yorktown Rushing: Webster 13-62, Crumes 1-6, Spangler 3-5, Long 4-(-4), Tokar 6-(-4) Passing: Tokar 17-26-3-124 Receiving: Perdue 5-25, Webster 4-37, Daugherty 4-27, Witt 3-30, McKay 1-5