New Palestine High School

The New Palestine football team will honor its 18 seniors and play for a conference title this week as the Dragons host Delta. DELTA EAGLES (4-4, 2-2 HHC) at (5A 3/4) NEW PALESTINE DRAGONS (5-3, 4-0 HHC) Time: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 16 Location: Kelso Stadium Tickets: $7, at gate or https://public.eventlink.com/tickets?t=211541 Audio: NewPalRadio.com Video: IHSAAtv.org ($) SETTING THE SCENE The Dragons enter Senior Night looking to clinch their fifth straight outright Hoosier Heritage Conference championship, which they would do with a win. The Dragons have already clinched a share of what would be their 16th HHC title - all since 2005 - and 26th overall conference championship. The Dragons lead the all-time series 18-15, and have won 13 consecutive meetings. NP won a 56-7 decision last year at Delta, scoring 35 points in the first quarter. This will be the final game of the current series, which has been played 30 consecutive seasons, as Delta is exiting the Hoosier Heritage Conference after this season. DRAGONS NOTES The Dragons host Senior Night tonight, honoring their 18 seniors. During their four-year careers, the Dragons have gone 44-6 and won three sectional, two regional, two semistate and two state championships, as well as three outright HHC titles so far. A week ago, the Dragons welcomed one of the nation’s top teams, IMG Academy, to Kelso Stadium. The Dragons tied the game at 7-7 midway through the second quarter on a touchdown pass from Rhys Ragan to Mason Oglesby. Earlier in the first quarter, Brady Lantz had an interception to thwart a scoring chance. Ragan was 12-of-26 for 107 yards and a touchdown last week. Oglesby was his top target, with six catches. Landon Maddox and Ryder Gardner had three catches each, combining for 76 yards. Running backs Kade Stephens and Logan Parks combined for 105 rushing yards against a stout defense with four-star players and Power 4 commits across the board. RB Logan Parks crossed the 1,000-yard barrier in Week 7 against Roncalli. He now has 1,061 yards and 14 touchdowns on the season. Ragan passed the 3,500-yard mark for his career in Week 6 against Greenfield-Central, when he threw for a season-high 204 yards and four TDs. He now has 3,722 passing yards and 47 career TDs. He has spread the ball around - Ryder Gardner has 363 yards, Oglesby 316, Cael Butler 313 and Maddox 226. . Oglesby joined Tyler Walden and Duke Blackwell in the 100 receptions club last week. He now has 103 career catches. With 1,225 yards, he is in eighth place on the NPHS all-time receiving list, and needs 35 yards to catch seventh-place Jay Ehle. Juniors Andrew Davis and Evan Walker and sophomore Cohen Wuethrich had double-digit tackles for the second straight week against IMG. Davis had 11 stops, while Walker and Wuethrich had 10 each. Walker leads the Dragons with 82 tackles. SCOUTING THE EAGLES Delta improved to 4-4 after a 35-21 victory over Greenfield-Central last week. QB Deacon Blevins has thrown for 1,462 yards and is completing 65% of his passes. Aven Thomas leads the Eagles in rushing with 971 yards and 5.1 ypc. Ryan Lynch (45-455), J.J. Furney (17-367) and Carter Jackson (30-253) lead Delta in receiving. Blevins threw for 195 yards and Thomas ran for 142 last week against G-C. Lynch also ranks second in the state with seven interceptions. DL Isaiah Wine has 19 tackles for loss. LOOKING AHEAD The Dragons will have a bye week next week as the rest of the state opens IHSAA tournament play. The Dragons open the sectional Oct. 30 with a rematch at Pendleton Heights. NP beat the Arabians 38-21 in Week 5, scoring 38 consecutive points to seize conrol of the game. FOLLOW US All New Palestine games are broadcast free-to-listen at NewPalRadio.com. Home games are also available pay-per-view at IHSAAtv.org. NPHS Athletics are on Facebook and Instagram (@NewPalestineDragons), Twitter (@NPHSDragons) and online (NewPalestineAthletics.com).