New Palestine High School

In a matchup of two unbeaten ranked teams, the Class 5A No. 1 New Palestine football team took command from the opening drive and rolled to a 42-6 victory over 4A No. 6 Pendleton Heights. The Dragons won their state-best 19th consecutive game. The Dragons set the tone from the beginning - calling seven straight running plays on the first drive before Caden Jacobia finished it with a 23-yard touchdown run - finishing with a spin move to free himself for the final 10 yards. Defensively, they forced five consecutive three-and-outs to open the game and held PH to six total yards in the first quarter. The Dragons’ dominance was seen up front, where NP ran for 260 yards. Jacobia had 132 yards on 14 carries and two touchdowns. He finished the second possession with a 3-yard score - which was set up by a 43-yard pass to Cael Butler. The Dragons opened things up - and did so with efficiency in the passing game. Quarterback Jacob Davis completed 13-of-15 passes for 202 yards and two scores. He hit Connor Jacobia for a 54-yard touchdown to put NP up 21-0 late in the first, then found Garrett Ranes for a 29-yard TD early in the second. It was the first catch of the season for each player. Davis added another touchdown run to cap a 72-yard drive and extend the lead. PH didn’t gain its first first down until four minutes remained in the half, but the Arabians’ drive stalled at the NP 28 due to a fumble recovered by Garrett Ranes. The Dragons spread the ball around. Davis added 84 rushing yards to his passing total. Seven different receivers each caught at least two passes in the game, and eight different players had a play of double-digit yards. Connor Jacobia led NP with 68 receiving yards, and Butler had 65 yards on three catches. In the second half, Bryan Caldwell reeled in a forward pitch and carried it in for a six-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. Adalynn Eakin, a recent addition to the team, kicked the PAT. PH’s lone score was a touchdown pass from Brandt Gray to Cooper Sims on the game’s final play, which broke up the Dragons’ bid for their third shutout of the season. The Dragons are now 5-0 on the year and 3-0 in HHC play. They are in sole possession of the conference lead. They travel to Greenfield-Central next week. Week 5: New Palestine 42, Pendleton Heights 6 Friday, Sept. 19 at Kelso Stadium Pendleton Heights (4-1, 2-1) 0 - 0 - 0 - 6 -- 6 New Palestine (5-0, 3-0) 21-14- 0 - 7 -- 42 Scoring Summary NP – Ca.Jacobia 23 run (Walker kick), 9:04 NP – Ca.Jacobia 3 run (Walker kick), 5:22 NP – Co.Jacobia 54 pass from J.Davis (Walker kick), 2:25 NP – G.Ranes 29 pass from Davis (Walker kick), 9:29 NP – Davis 8 run (Walker kick), 4:46 NP – Caldwell 6 pass from Gardner (Eakin kick), 3:14 PH – Sims 5 pass from Gray (no kick), :00 Team stats First downs: PH 7, NP 25 Rushes-yards: PH 16-50, NP 35-258 Passing C-A-I: PH 11-22-0, NP 15-17-0 Passing yards: PH 95, NP 241 Total plays-yards: PH 38-145, NP 52-499 Fumbles-lost: PH 2-1, NP 1-0 Penalties-yards: PH 5-47, NP 7-71 Punts-avg: PH 6-43.8, NP 1-57.0 Time of possession: PH 22:02, NP 25:58 Individual stats Pendleton Heights Rushing: Gray 10-35, Foster 1-10, Weaver 4-3, Apple 1-2 Passing: Gray 11-22-0-95 Receiving: Sims 4-12, Beal 2-35, Mitchem 2-15, Behrendt 1-14, Vores 1-9, Keesling 1-9 New Palestine Rushing: Ca.Jacobia 14-131, J.Davis 12-83, Stephens 4-28, Hubbard 3-10, Gardner 2-6 Passing: J.Davis 13-15-0-221, Gardner 2-2-0-20 Receiving: Butler 3-65, Co.Jacobia 2-68, G.Ranes 2-31, Maddox 2-27, Oglesby 2-26, Caldwell 2-20, Rollyson 2-4