New Palestine High School

Friday is the annual Battle for the Boundary Rail, as the New Palestine Dragons host the Mt. Vernon Marauders in the 67th meeting between the two schools. MT. VERNON MARAUDERS (0-3, 0-1 HHC) at (5A 1/1) NEW PALESTINE DRAGONS (3-0, 1-0 HHC) Time: 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 12 Location: Kelso Stadium Tickets: $7, at gate or https://public.eventlink.com/tickets?t=138689 Audio broadcast: NewPalRadio.com Video broadcast: IHSAAtv.org/NewPalestine ($) Promotion: NPCFL Night SETTING THE SCENE The Dragons meet their oldest and fiercest rival this week as they host the Mt. Vernon Marauders in the annual Battle for the Boundary Rail. It’s the 58th regular season meeting and 67th overall meeting between the schools. The Dragons are 41-24-1 in the series, and 34-22-1 in regular season contests. NP is 20-12-1 in games played at Kelso Stadium. The Dragons have won five straight meetings and 13 of the last 15. The Boundary Rail - a piece of track from the interurban line that once ran along U.S. 40 - was introduced to the series in 2005 as a traveling trophy. The Dragons are 17-3 in Boundary Rail meetings. Last year, the Dragons swept two meetings, beating MV 56-8 in the regular season behind Jacob Davis’ career-high 240 passing yards. In the sectional, the Dragons won 28-14, with Davis running for 118 yards and throwing for 103. The Dragons enter the week with a 27-game conference winning streak. They are 82-2 in HHC games under Kyle Ralph’s tutelage. DRAGONS NOTES The Dragons raced to a quick 14-0 lead last week, led 28-0 at the half and rolled to a victory over Yorktown. Jacob Davis threw for 233 yards on 12-19 passing - the second-highest passing total of his career. He spread the ball around to five difference receivers, with Landon Maddox catching five passes for 114 yards and a 49-yard touchdown. Cameron Rollyson also had a 44-yard TD catch. Maddox’s posted the first 100-yard receiving game for a Dragon since Austin McMahan had 106 yards in the 2024 season opener against Kokomo. The Dragons gained 422 yards last week, their second 400-yard game of the season. NP had 189 yards on the ground, with Caden Jacobia rushing for 84 yards and a score, and Davis 83 yards and two touchdowns. The Red Rage held Yorktown to eight total first downs last week - and only two in the first half. Yorktown’s offense did not cross midfield until the midpoint of the third quarter, after which the running clock had been triggered. NP’s first-unit defense has allowed one touchdown in three games this year. The Red Rage had six sacks and 13 tackles for loss last week. Sam Hirschy tallied two sacks, 3.5 TFLs and eight total tackles. Evan Walker had a sack, 2 TFLs and eight tackles. Desmond Palmer, Brock Brownfield and Isaiah Wise also had sacks. Davis (Towson), Brownfield (Purdue), Abe Walling (Army West Point) and Palmer (Indiana State) have committed to play at Div. I colleges next year. SCOUTING THE MARAUDERS MV had a late comeback fall short last week against Greenfield-Central, as the Marauders scored two fourth-quarter TDs to close their deficit to 24-21, but were unable to fully overcome a 17-point deficit. Quarterback Mason Meyer ran the openking kickoff back for a TD. He also threw a 60-yard TD pass to Evan Privett and had a rushing TD in the fourth quarter. MV is 0-3 for the second consecutive season. LOOKING AHEAD The Dragons finish their three-game homestand next week against Pendleton Heights, which features two teams currently ranked in their respective classes’ Top 10s. FOLLOW US All New Palestine games are broadcast free-to-listen at NewPalRadio.com. All home 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/graphic: Molly Dunn