Football Preview: New Palestine Dragons vs. Pendleton Heights Arabians
New Palestine has gone 10-0 against Pendleton Heights recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Friday. The New Palestine Dragons will look to defend their home field against the Pendleton Heights Arabians at 7:00 p.m. New Palestine will be looking to keep their 11-game home win streak dating back to last season alive.
New Palestine is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They claimed a resounding 41-7 victory over Yorktown. 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. He showed off some serious burst, turning on the afterburners on one carry for 60 yards. Connor Jacobia made the highlight reel by snagging an interception and taking it all the way to the house.
New Palestine didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off three passes before the game was over. It was truly a group effort as Aalijah Lissade, Jacobia, and Caden Jacobia picked up one apiece. Another thorn in Yorktown's side was Michael Thacker, who picked up two sacks and made eight total tackles (2.5 for loss).
New Palestine was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 356 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 176 rushing yards in nine consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, Pendleton Heights entered their tilt with Greenfield-Central on Friday with three consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with four. They came out on top against the Cougars by a score of 31-21.
It was another big night for Keaton Jones, who rushed for 192 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 8.3 yards per carry. His rushing production has been exceptional recently as that marked his fourth straight game with at least 124 rushing yards.
New Palestine's record now sits at 10-0. As for Pendleton Heights, they now have a winning record of 6-5.
Friday's matchup will pit two of the most dominant backs against one another: Ranes and Jones. Ranes just won't slow down this season and has run in 20 touchdowns while averaging 157.7 rushing yards per game. Jones has been a dominant force too and has run in 19 touchdowns while averaging 136.5 rushing yards per game.
Everything came up roses for New Palestine against Pendleton Heights in their previous matchup back in September, as the team secured a 56-17 win. Will New Palestine repeat their success, or does Pendleton Heights have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
