Football Preview: Pendleton Heights Arabians vs. New Palestine Dragons
Pendleton Heights hasn't had much luck against New Palestine recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Pendleton Heights Arabians are taking a road trip to take on the New Palestine Dragons at 7:00 p.m. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Pendleton Heights comes in on four and New Palestine on ten.
Pendleton Heights is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They walked away with a 31-21 win over Greenfield-Central.
Keaton Jones was his usual excellent self, rushing for 192 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 8.3 yards per carry. He showed off some serious burst, turning on the afterburners on one carry for 58 yards.
Pendleton Heights was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 217 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 156 rushing yards in six consecutive matchups.
Meanwhile, New Palestine was fully in charge on Friday, breezing past Yorktown 41-7. The result was nothing new for the Dragons, who have now won nine games by 21 points or more so far this season.
Josh Ranes continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, rushing for 263 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 16.4 yards per carry. Connor Jacobia made the highlight reel by snagging an interception and taking it all the way to the house.
On the other side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to New Palestine's defense and their six sacks. The heavy lifting was done by Brock Brownfield and Michael Thacker, who racked up four sacks between them. Brownfield is also on a roll when it comes to total tackles, as he's now made six or more in the last three games he's played.
New Palestine pushed their record up to 10-0 with the victory, which was their sixth straight on the road. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 45.5 points per game. As for Pendleton Heights, they now have a winning record of 6-5.
Friday's contest might be decided in the on the ground. Pendleton Heights has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 188 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like New Palestine struggles in that department as they've been averaging 253.6. It's looking like Friday's match might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Pendleton Heights took a serious blow against New Palestine in their previous meeting back in September, falling 56-17. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Ranes, who rushed for 268 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 11.7 yards per carry. Now that Pendleton Heights knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
