Football Preview: New Castle Trojans vs. New Palestine Dragons
New Castle hasn't had much luck against New Palestine recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The New Castle Trojans will face off against the New Palestine Dragons at 7:00 p.m. That match will pit two of the most dominant backs against one another: Caleb Clapp and Josh Ranes.
New Castle is probably headed into the matchup with a chip on their shoulder considering Mt. Vernon just ended the team's three-game winning streak on Friday. They lost 45-21 to the Marauders.
Despite the loss, New Castle got top-tier performance from Clapp, who rushed for 66 yards and two touchdowns, and also picked up 78 receiving yards. Clapp torched the secondary when he pulled down a catch that went for 77 yards. Another player making a difference was Carson Bell, who threw for 318 yards and a touchdown while picking up 11.8 yards per attempt.
Meanwhile, New Palestine put another one in the bag on Friday to keep their undefeated season alive. They took their contest on the road with ease, bagging a 35-0 win over Shelbyville. The Dragons might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won six games by 21 points or more this season.
New Palestine's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Ranes, who rushed for 139 yards and two touchdowns on only ten carries. Ranes' rushing production has been exceptional recently as that marked his sixth straight game with at least 119 rushing yards dating back to last season. The team also got some help courtesy of Caden Jacobia, who rushed for 50 yards and two touchdowns.
He was just one part of a punishing run game: New Palestine was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 239 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since back in October of 2023.
On the defensive side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to New Palestine's defense and their four sacks. The heavy lifting was done by Brock Brownfield and Michael Thacker, who racked up all four sacks between them.
New Castle's defeat dropped their record down to 4-3. As for New Palestine, they pushed their record up to 6-0-1 with the victory, which was their fourth straight on the road.
New Castle was dealt a bruising 63-0 loss at the hands of New Palestine when the teams last played back in October of 2023. Will New Castle have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
