New Palestine High School

The New Palestine football team's defense has been stifling all season. Friday night, they were again, holding Greenfield-Central to eight first-half yards in a 49-0 shutout of the Cougars. The Dragons are now 6-0 on the season, and have three shutouts this season. The top-unit defense has not allowed a score since the opening drive in its Week 2 game. NP scored in all three phases - with the offense producing five scores, the special teams adding one on a blocked punt, and the defense adding one as Bryan Caldwell scooped up a fumble and ran it in for the game's final score. Jacob Davis completed 11-of-12 passes for 191 yards and three touchdowns. Cael Butler had four catches for 67 yards and a score, while Landon Maddox had two catches for 74 yards and two touchdowns. Caden Jacobia tallied 106 rushing yards and two scores on seven carries. Offensively, the Dragons took control early. Davis started a 73-yard opening drive with a 19-yard run on the first play. Jacobia finished it with a 12-yard TD run, but then the Red Rage set the tone. They forced the first of six consecutive three-and-outs, and forced a punt. Sam Hirschy broke through and blocked the punt. Brock Brownfield scooped it up and ran it in 15 yards for a score to push the lead to 14-0 just three and a half minutes into the game. The defense kept getting stops, and the offense kept cashing in. G-C did not gain a first down in the opening half, and its longest play was for five yards. Big plays were the order of the next few possessions. Jacobia took a third-down stretch play and ran it in 64 yards for a score to make it a 21-0 game. The 21-point first quarter marked the fourth time - and third consecutive - the Dragons have opened a game with a 21-point quarter. They have scored on the game's opening drive each week this season. On the first play of the second quarter, Maddox took a forward pitch 54 yards up the right sideline for a score. The Dragons turned it over on downs on their next trip, but the Red Rage immediately forced another three-and-out, and two plays later, Davis threw a beautiful ball down the left sideline to Butler for a 53-yard score. The two-minute drill produced another TD - a 20-yard pass to Maddox - with 33 seconds left. Offensively, the Dragons have scored nine touchdowns from beyond midfield in six games this season. With a 42-0 lead at halftime, the Dragons played their second unit in the second half. G-C drove to the Dragons' 29 on its first drive of the half, but the Red Rage stuffed them on fourth down. On the Cougars' next possession, a botched handoff was scooped up by Caldwell and run in for a touchdown. It was Caldwell's second TD in as many weeks, and the Dragons' second defensive score this season. The 47 yards allowed were a season-low, and marked the second time this season the Dragons have held a team below 100 yards. The Dragons are next in action Oct. 3 for Homecoming against Shelbyville. Week 6: Dragons 49, Greenfield-Central 0 Friday, Sept. 26 at Clayton Myers Field, Greenfield New Palestine (6-0, 4-0) 21 - 21 - 0 - 7 --49 Greenfield-Central (3-3, 2-2) 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 -- 0 Scoring summary NP-Ca.Jacobia 12 run (Walker kick), 10:28 NP-Brownfield 19 blocked punt return (Walker kick), 8:29 NP-Ca.Jacobia 64 run (Walker kick), 5:28 NP-Maddox 48 pass from J.Davis (Walker kick), 11:50 NP-Butler 53 pass from J.Davis (Walker kick), 4:07 NP-Maddox 20 pass from J.Davis (Eakin kick), :33 NP-Caldwell 26 fumble return (Eakin kick), 9:41 Team stats First downs: NP 18, G-C 2 Rushes-yards: NP 28-237, G-C 29-47 Passing C-A-I: NP 13-14-0, G-C 0-1-0 Passing yards: NP 197, G-C 0 Total plays-yards: NP 42-434, G-C 30-47 Fumbles-lost: NP 1-1, G-C 3-1 Penalties-yards: NP 6-50, G-C 7-66 Punts-avg: NP 0-0, G-C 7-39.0 Time of possession: NP 24:47, G-C 23:13 Individual stats New Palestine Rushing: Ca.Jacobia 7-105, J.Davis 6-37, Gardner 6-36, Stephens 3-19, Parks 3-25, Hubbard 2-6, Estes 1-9 Passing: J.Davis 11-12-0-185, Gardner 2-2-0-12 Receiving: Butler 4-67, Oglesby 3-39, Maddox 2-68, Rollyson 1-13, A.Davis 1-8, Lantz 1-4, G.Ranes 1-(-2) Greenfield-Central Rushing: Hinton 8-37, Turner 4-15, Benavente 7-5, Everhart 1-3, Nolting 5-(-1), Williams 1-(-1), Barngrover 1-(-3), Antle 1-(-6), team 1-(-2)