NEW PALESTINE — The Dragons haven’t forgotten what happened last year against Zionsville.
That game — a 26-24 loss in the sectional final — didn’t sit well with them.
“Last year left a sour taste in our mouth, but the past is the past,” senior receiver Colby Jenkins said. “It’s a new year, a new game. It’s all about how we play this week and how well we can stay focused and execute what we have to this year to win.”
The loss last year, the only one the Dragons endured all season, served as a bit of motivation pushing forward into the 2018 season.
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New Palestine was undefeated last year, ranked No. 1 in the state, just like they are this year. They were favored against the Eagles. And they lost on a 48-yard field goal with 7.1 seconds remaining.
“Like Colby said, with the sour taste in your mouth, it really pushes you through the off-season,” quarterback Zach Neligh said. “That bitter taste in your mouth really pushes you through the harder competition, like the seven-on-seven, 11-on-11 that we’ve done with different teams. It’s all preparing you for the end goal. I think with the experience last year, while it was bad, it was good for us through the offseason to really push us forward, get us prepared for Kokomo, Center Grove and the rest of the season.”
The Dragons certainly came out motivated this year, trouncing Kokomo 77-0 in the season opener and controlling Center Grove in a 31-9 win a week later.
They haven’t really slowed down since. New Palestine has averaged 65.33 points per game this year, tops in Indiana. They have won their nine games by an average of 56 points.
The offense is on fire, coming off an 84-13 rout of Hoosier Heritage Conference runner-up Delta.
Last year, Zionsville contained the Dragons offense. New Palestine had 119 yards passing and 138 yards rushing in that contest, a far cry from the 365 yards per game the Dragons have run for this year.
Zionsville comes into this year’s contest sporting a 6-4 record, compared to New Palestine’s 9-0 mark. The Eagles were 6-5 last year when the teams met in the sectional final.
That record can be deceiving, as the Dragons learned last year. The Eagles have played a schedule with a high degree of difficulty, facing off against several 6A teams, including a few top 10 opponents.
They have a huge roster, dwarfing the Dragons. New Palestine knows it’s in for a challenge again, but it’s one they think they are ready for.
“At the end of the day, you only get to play 11 at once, so the other guys that are standing there don’t really matter a whole lot,” New Palestine coach Kyle Ralph said. “We’ve got a lot of confidence in our 11 guys that we put out there. They’ve got multiple Division 1-level players in size and speed in their corner, for sure, but we’ve done a good job of improving as a team this year, and we’re really going to have to lean on that tremendously. It’s a big challenge, going against that level of talent and ability and size.”
Last year, Zionsville opened the Dragons’ eyes. New Palestine was a relatively young team and not accustomed to losing.
They looked like a favorite to win a state championship, only to see that dream come to an end much earlier than expected.
The Dragons learned a lot from that loss. They are leaning on some of those lessons in preparing for tonight’s marquee game.
“I need to make my reads, make my throws, definitely not turn the ball over. I didn’t turn the ball over last year, but that’s another key fact of it,” Neligh said. “With their offense, you don’t want to give them good field position. From last year, it’s just a lot of execution stuff that needs to be fixed. It wasn’t the best game that we played last year, and we need to learn from that.”
“Everyone knows what’s expected,” Jenkins added. “Last year with a young team, not everyone knew the difference between playoff football and regular-season football. On the field it’s two different games. Everyone plays their hardest, because they know one team is going home at the end of the night. There’s a different level of competition and just get-up-and-go attitude you have to have in the playoffs. It’s just different. You have to come out and play.”
Like the Dragons, Zionsville returns a large core of last year’s team. They are led by senior quarterback Josh Wagner, who has passed for 2,014 yards with 23 touchdowns and 9 interceptions.
They have two big-play receivers in seniors Jordan Hull and Tommy Fossett III, who have combined for nearly 1,900 yards and 23 TDs.
The Dragons are accustomed to going against some explosive passing offenses and dynamic receiving duos. They’ve stopped the passing attacks of Pendleton Heights and New Castle, for example, with relative ease. And the success they’ve had containing those teams, and the huge margins of victory against teams all season, gives the Dragons a jolt of confidence as they look to take down the last team to top them.
While the team has been rolling since the opening kickoff of the season, their quarterback said that the No. 1 team in Class 5A is even better after the sectional bye week and preparations for Zionsville.
“It’s exciting seeing everything start working together,” Neligh said. “It’s been working all year, but as the tournament starts, the sharper we’re getting, and it’s exciting to see everyone kind of pick up, do their own part, and seeing it all work together as one machine.”
The Dragons’ machine is ready for another opportunity to run over Zionsville. It’s a game that, looking at the sectional before the season, certainly looked like a possibility.
Maybe it was even inevitable.
Now, it’s a reality.
“In the back of our kids’ minds, I certainly think that this is a game that they’ve all wanted to play in ever since last year,” Ralph said. “You let a team get the best of you. We’ve got a lot of guys coming back from that team. They want to come back and prove they’ve gotten better, that they can beat a team like that.”
They know they will have to come out at their absolute best to get past Zionsville this year. The Dragons have only had one or two games this year where they didn’t play up to their standards, Ralph said. He’s been happy with their consistency and high level of play for the most part this season.
New Palestine knows it can’t afford a down night tonight if they want to make a run at the ultimate goal of a state title.
“When they come out and they play like they’re supposed to play, and they play together, and they play like they’ve been coached, we can definitely do some damage. That’s what it takes. You’ve got to do that stuff, now,” Ralph said. “You have an off week in the playoffs, especially against a great opponent like this one, you’re going home. Your season is over. We’ve got to really tap into our potential, and every kid has got to meet it and play their best game, if we’re going to be successful.”
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Three Hancock County teams remain in the state tournament, and all three are on the road tonight for 7 p.m. starts.
No. 1 New Palestine at No. 7 Zionsville
Mt. Vernon at Greenwood
Greenfield-Central at Anderson
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