New Palestine is 10-0 against New Castle since October of 2015, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The New Palestine Dragons are taking a road trip to challenge the New Castle Trojans at 7:00 p.m. One thing working in New Palestine's favor is that they have posted at least 31 points in their last five games.
New Palestine's defense heads into the matchup hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Friday. They really took it to Shelbyville for the full four quarters, racking up a 35-0 victory on the road. The result was nothing new for the Dragons, who have now won six matches by 21 points or more so far this season.
New Palestine's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Josh Ranes, who rushed for 139 yards and two touchdowns on only ten carries. The bulk of those rushing yards came from one huge play: a run that gained an incredible 70 yards. Caden Jacobia was in the mix as well, providing New Palestine with two touchdowns.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, 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.
New Palestine's defense made their presence known, laying out the QB four times. The heavy lifting was done by Brock Brownfield and Michael Thacker, who racked up all four sacks between them. Thacker is also on a roll when it comes to total tackles, as he's now made five or more in the last four games he's played.
Meanwhile, a victory for New Castle just wasn't in the cards on Friday as the squad wasn't able to take the lead at any point. They came up short against Mt. Vernon, falling 45-21. The loss continues a trend for the Trojans in their matchups with the Marauders: they've now lost nine in a row.
Despite the defeat, New Castle got top-tier performance from Caleb Clapp, who rushed for 66 yards and two touchdowns, and also picked up 78 receiving 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.
New Palestine pushed their record up to 6-0-1 with the win, which was their fourth straight on the road. As for New Castle, the loss snapped their winning streak at three games and leaves them with a 4-3 record.
Friday's contest will pit two of the most dominant backs against one another: Ranes and Clapp. Ranes has put up some stellar numbers this year, and currently owns excellent season averages 147 rushing yards per game this season. For his part, Clapp has averaged 108.6 rushing yards per game this season.
Everything came up roses for New Palestine against New Castle when the teams last played back in October of 2023, as the team secured a 63-0 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for New Palestine since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
