New Palestine High School

The New Palestine football team hosts the sectional championship game Friday at Kelso Stadium against Cathedral. #2/2 CATHEDRAL IRISH (7-3) at #1/1 NEW PALESTINE DRAGONS (10-0, 7-0 Hoosier Heritage) Time: 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 7 Location: Kelso Stadium Tickets: $8, https://public.eventlink.com/tickets?t=156515&p=238959 NOTE: Passes will NOT be accepted at the gate. Everyone must have a ticket. (HHC/season/all-sports/faculty/gold/senior passes will NOT be accepted) Audio: NewPalRadio.com Video: none SETTING THE SCENE The Dragons are seeking to win their fifth consecutive sectional championship as they host Cathedral. The Dragons have won 15 sectional titles in school history, nine of which have come in the previous 12 seasons under coach Kyle Ralph. This is the fifth all-time meeting between the Dragons and Irish. The teams have split the previous four, all in the regional. NP is 2-0 in meetings at Kelso Stadium, most recently, a 35-10 victory in the 2019 regional en route to the Dragons’ third state title. NP is back in Class 5A after spending three seasons in Class 4A, due to the Tournament Success Factor. The Dragons were previously in 5A from 2015-21, during which time they won four sectional titles, three regional and semistate titles, and the state championships in 2018 and 2019. NP is 81-38 all-time in the IHSAA tournament. They are 42-8 overall and 26-3 in sectional games under coach Kyle Ralph. DRAGONS NOTES The Dragons finished off their second straight unbeaten regular season and the 14th in school history. It’s their 10th unbeaten regular season in 13 years under coach Kyle Ralph. In doing so, they won the 25th conference title in program history, including the 15th Hoosier Heritage Conference championship. Last week, the Dragons’ 28-point second quarter led to a 42-7 victory over No. 10 Plainfield. It was the Dragons’ fourth victory over a team that has been ranked this season, and fourth over a team currently in the Sagarin Top 30. The Dragons have 13 return touchdowns this year - seven on special teams and six on defense. The most recent was Cameron Rollyson’s 9-yard INT return against Plainfield last week, as he picked off a screen pass and ran it in for a score. Last week’s victory was powered by the running game. The Dragons had 290 yards rushing, led by Jacob Davis’ 145-yard, two-touchdown game. Caden Jacobia had 62 yards and a TD and Josh Ranes 40 yards and two scores. On the season, the Dragons are averaging 9.8 yards per rush. The Red Rage allowed 32 total points in the regular season, breaking the school record of 42 set by the 2014 state championship team. The No. 1 unit has allowed 16 points and two touchdowns all season. Senior QB Jacob Davis has 1,486 passing yards this season and 4,400 his career. He also has 5,871 yards of total offense in his career. He is currently fourth on the NPHS all-time passing list. He needs 27 yards to catch Zach Neligh for third and 175 to catch second-place Justin Plummer. His 42 career passing TDs are second. The Red Rage has 24 sacks this season - led by Sam Hirschy’s 6.5 - and 13 takeaways. Garrett Ranes has two INTs and two fumble recoveries. Hirschy had two sacks to lead another solid defensive performance last week. The Dragons held Plainfield to 122 total yards. It was the ninth time in 10 games a team the Red Rage has held a team below 150 total yards. SCOUTING THE IRISH Cathedral enters the week ranked No. 2 after a 68-0 victory at Anderson last week. The Irish are led by senior QB Cameron Koers, who has thrown for 127 yards per game. Running back Jimmy Pappas averages 101 yards per game, and Xavier Dangerfield 90 yards per game. Cathedral’s defense has posted three shutouts this season, and is allowing 15.4 ppg. LOOKING AHEAD The winner of today’s game faces No. 7/8 East Central or No. 8/7 Whiteland in the regional. If the Dragons win, they would travel to East Central but host Whiteland. FOLLOW US All New Palestine games are broadcast free-to-listen at NewPalRadio.com. NPHS Athletics is on Facebook and Instagram (@NewPalestineDragons), Twitter (@NPHSDragons) and online (NewPalestineAthletics.com). All home games are also video streamed at IHSAAtv.org on a pay-per-view basis.