New Palestine High School

The New Palestine football team found itself down two scores after the first quarter, but the Dragons bookended the half with scores - taking the lead on the final play of the first half and extending it on the first play of the second - en route to a 38-21 road victory Friday at Pendleton Heights. The Dragons (4-1) - ranked No. 1 in the coaches' poll and No. 2 by the media - posted another win over a top-ranked team, as PH was ranked No. 10 by the coaches and No. 4 by the media. They also handed the Arabians their first loss of the year and took sole possession of first place in the HHC with a 3-0 conference record. Logan Parks had another huge day, rushing 35 times for 285 yards and four touchdowns. It marked his third consecutive game with at least 250 yards - in his third career start. He joins Charlie Spegal as the only backs to rush for 250 yards in three consecutive games. The Dragons found themselves in a 14-point hole quickly, as PH went on a 16-play drive to start the game, ending it with a 1-yard TD run by quarterback Brandt Gray. The Dragons then had a three-and-out stalled by penalties, and after a punt, two more penalties gave PH the ball on the 12 yard line. Two plays later, multiple missed tackles allowed a 16-yard touchdown pass, and the Dragons trailed by two scores with 1:31 remaining in the opening quarter. They quickly responded, ripping off a 78-yard drive and capping it with a 35-yard touchdown pass from Rhys Ragan to Ryder Gardner on the second play of the second quarter. The Red Rage then stiffened, forcing three straight punts. While the Dragons' next drive stalled near midfield, they got the ball back. A 36-yard pass to Cael Butler started a quick four-play drive, which Parks ended with a 7-yard touchdown run to tie the game with 1:58 left in the quarter. The Dragons again forced a three-and-out, but after a long punt, started at their own 10 yard line with 1:16 left and one timeout. They executed a perfect two-minute drill. Two straight runs - one by Parks and one by Ragan - netted first downs and moved the DRagons to their own 36. A 14-yard pass to Landon Maddox brought the ball into plus territory. Ragan and Parks each followed with 14-yard runs to move the ball to the 20. After another scramble by Ragan, a defensive penalty with no time left gave the Dragons one more play. Evan Walker converted a 20-yard field goal on the half's final snap to give the Dragons a 17-14 lead. The Dragons wasted no time in the second half. Gardner returned the opening kickoff 40 yards to the 47. On the next play, Parks bounced a sweep outside and outraced everyone up the left sideline for a 53-yard touchdown, extending the lead to 24-14. Mason Oglesby's pancake block sprung him for the final 15 yards. After another stop near midfield, the Dragons embarked on a 13-play, 80-yard drive that took nearly half the third quarter, and ended with Parks' 4-yard TD run to make it a 31-14 game. Waynee Estes then stuffed a quarterback keeper on fourth-and-1 at midfield, and the Draogns quickly took advantage, with Parks finishing a 51-yard drive with his fourth touchdown of the day. PH scored a TD on its next drive and got the ball back, but Andrew Davis and Butler forced a fumble after a long pass, and the Dragons were able to run out the clock. Ragan threw for 130 yards, completing 8-of-11 passes. Gardner had four catches for 50 yards, while Butler, Oglesby and Maddox also caught passes. The Dragons amassed 470 yards of total offense, their third straight week over 400 yards. The Dragons next play Sept. 25 for the 59th annual Homecoming game against Greenfield-Central at Kelso Stadium. Week 5: New Palestine 38, Pendleton Heights 21 Friday, Sept. 18, 2026 at John Broughton Field, Pendleton New Palestine (4-1, 3-0) 0 - 17 - 14 - 7 -- 38 Pendleton Hts. (4-1, 1-1) 14 - 0 - 0 - 7 -- 21 Scoring summary PH-Gray 1 run (Hankenhoff kick), 4:36 PH-Vores 16 pass from Gray (Hankenhoff kick), 1:31 NP-Gardner 35 pass from Ragan (Walker kick), 11:26 NP-Parks 7 run (Walker kick), 1:58 NP-Walker 20 FG, :00 NP-Parks 53 run (Walker kick), 11:41 NP-Parks 4 run (Walker kick), 2:44 NP-Parks 2 run (Walker kick), 9:17 PH-Gray 5 run (Hankenhoff kick), 6:47 Team stats First downs: NP 24, PH 20 Rushes-yards: NP 46-340, PH 40-152 Passing C-A-I: NP 8-11-0, PH 10-17-0 Passing yards: NP 130, PH 139 Total plays-yards: NP 57-470, PH 57-291 Fumbles-lost: NP 0-0, PH 3-1 Penalties-yards: NP 11-79, PH 6-35 Punts-avg: NP 3-28.7, PH 4-37.5 Time of possession NP 24:51, PH 23:09 Individual stats New Palestine Rushing: Parks 35-285, Ragan 9-61, team 2-(-6) Passing: Ragan 8-11-0-130 Receiving: Gardner 4-50, Oglesby 2-30, Butler 1-36, Maddox 1-14 Pendleton Heights Rushing: Gray 27-103, Weaver 13-49 Passing: Gray 10-17-0-139 Receiving: Vores 3-68, Saxon 2-30, Mitchem 2-24, Weaver 2-10, Bussell 1-7