New Palestine High School

The New Palestine football team hosts Pendleton Heights Friday at Kelso Stadium with a sectional championship on the line. Pendleton Heights Arabians (6-5) at 4A #1/1 New Palestine Dragons (10-0) Time: 7 p.m. Friday Location: Kelso Stadium, New Palestine Tickets: $7, at gate or https://public.eventlink.com/tickets?t=101330 Audio: NewPalRadio.com SETTING THE SCENE The Dragons host Pendleton Heights seeking the 15th sectional championship in school history and their fourth consecutive title. The Dragons lead the all-time series 25-13 and have won 13 consecutive meetings since 2013. This is the fourth all-time tourney meeting. The Dragons won a 62-40 decision in the 2013 sectional in their last tournament matchup. In Week 5, the Dragons beat PH 56-17. Josh Ranes ran for a career-high 268 yards and three touchdowns, as the Dragons amassed 473 yards on the ground and 641 total yards in that contest. This is the Dragons’ sixth consecutive sectional game against an HHC foe. Eight of the Dragons’ nine sectional opponents since 2022 have been HHC teams. This is the 21st time the Dragons have faced a team in the state tournament they had beaten in the regular season. NP is 17-3 in such sectional games, including 10-0 under coach Kyle Ralph. The Dragons are 76-38 all-time in IHSAA tournament games, including 60-27 in the sectional. NP has won 14 sectional titles, including eight in the last 11 seasons. The Dragons are 14-9 all-time in sectional title games. Under coach Ralph, the Dragons are 24-3 in the sectional and 37-8 in tournament games. DRAGONS NOTES The Dragons posted an emphatic 41-7 victory over Yorktown in last week’s sectional semifinal contest, in which NP amassed 398 yards of offense - 356 on the ground. Josh Ranes had another big game, rushing for 263 yards and three TDs on 16 carries. Jacob Davis and Caden Jacobia also had rushing touchdowns. In his first game back after missing two weeks due to injury, Caden Jacobia was key in all three phases last week. He led the game off with a 79-yard kickoff return to the Yorktown 8 that set up Ranes’ first TD. He then thwarted Yorktown’s first drive with an interception on the 2-yard line, and scored a rushing touchdown. The Red Rage had three interceptions last week. Connor Jacobia’s fourth pick of the year became a 39-yard pick-6, the Dragons’ third defensive TD of the season. Aalijah Lissade and Caden Jacobia also picked off passes. The Dragons are plus-18 in turnover ratio, with 21 takeaways. The Dragons also had a season-high six sacks last week. Michael Thacker and Brock Brownfield had two each, while Sam Hirschy and Garrett Ranes each tallied one. The Dragons also had 11 quarterback hurries, with Thacker posting six. Davis now has 1,521 passing yards, placing him 13th on the single-season passing list. He needs 51 yards to move into the top 10. He has 2,486 career passing yards. RB Josh Ranes has 1,707 rushing yards. ninth on the Dragons’ season rushing list. He needs 57 yards to catch Luke Canfield for eighth place, and 123 to catch DuRon Ford in seventh. As a team, the Red Rage is allowing 3.5 yards per play and 156.8 yards per game. SCOUTING THE ARABIANS PH advanced to the sectional final with a 31-21 victory over Greenfield-Central last week. Senior RB Keaton Jones ran for 192 yards and two scores. The Arabians forced four first-half turnovers, including three fumble recoveries, in the victory. QB Colton Frank is the HHC’s leading passer, completing 54% of his passes for 1,671 yards and 18 touchdowns. Jones has run for 1,502 yards and 19 scores. After a 2-5 start, PH has won four straight games. PH has won two sectional titles in its history - in 2010 and 2011. This is PH’s first sectional championship game appearance since 2019. LOOKING AHEAD The winner of tonight’s game will meet either Roncalli or Chatard in the regional. If the Dragons win, they would host Roncalli but travel to Chatard. FOLLOW US All New Palestine games are broadcast free-to-listen at NewPalRadio.com. All home regular season games are also video streamed at IHSAAtv.org on a pay-per-view basis. NPHS Athletics is on Facebook and Instagram (@NewPalestineDragons), Twitter (@NPHSDragons) and online (NewPalestineAthletics.com). Photo credit: Aaron Smith