INDIANAPOLIS — Dragon football players were lined up in numerical order on the field at Lucas Oil Stadium after the Class 5A state championship game waiting to receive their first-place blue ribbon medals.
Keith Fessler, principal of New Palestine High School, started at the front of the line and worked his way toward the back shaking hands with each young man, congratulating them on their 28-14 win against Decatur Central.
“This is just great,” Fessler said. “It means so much to our school and the community seeing everyone rallying around these kids — it’s really neat.”
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Click here to purchase photos from this galleryDragons fans came from near and far to support the New Palestine High School football team in their quest for a state crown. They were not disappointed.
The town, with an estimated population of around 2,370, purchased approximately 4,100 pregame tickets. Athletic department officials estimated 7,000 Dragons fans filled the lower sections of Lucas Oil Stadium behind the Dragons’ bench. Boosters had spread the word for fans to wear red to the game, and the grandstand was a sea of crimson by kickoff.
Throughout the game, the Dragon sections were loud and proud, even performing the wave during timeouts to keep the positive energy rolling. The players noticed.
“Dragon Nation is the best nation out there,” said Austin Keele, a senior lineman. “They’ve been with us through thick and thin.”
Keele had around 100 family and friends at the game and said having the support meant the world to him.
Hours before kick-off, several hundred New Palestine supporters lined U.S. 52 dressed in red and holding “Good luck Dragons” signs and noise makers. They cheered on the team buses as they departed the high school and headed to Indianapolis.
Lois Leeberg, grandmother of Maxen Hook, junior safety and wide receiver, was one of the folks on hand. She was anxious but excited for the game and felt with the Dragons faithful behind the team, the players were up to the task.
“I’m from Owen County, and I’ve never seen the likes of how this community here supports their teams at this school,” Leeberg said.
She wasn’t alone in the thought.
David Turk, dad of Justin Turk, a senior on the team, attended the pregame sendoff with his wife, Brenda, and their youngest son. He loved seeing the community come out and send the boys off on a good note. He had a big cutout of his son’s head on a stick and was standing on a two-foot brick wall waiting for the team buses to roll by.
“There’s just so much excitement,” he said. “We’re a little sad because it’s the last game, but we’re really proud.”
Chauncey Jones and his wife, Jill, brought two carloads of Dragon faithful to the game to support their son, Aven Jones, a junior linebacker. Jones’ grandparents, uncle, aunt and cousins drove all the way from Iowa, a nine-hour trip, just to support their favorite Dragon.
The relatives have watched and listened to several games online during the regular season and were thrilled to see the biggest win of the season in person.
Watching her son win a state championship with family members is something Jill Jones will cherish.
“They did it,” she said with a smile after the game from her front-row seat. “Winning a state championship is something Aven will always remember.”
Long after the game was over, a group of New Palestine Junior High School football players was standing, in awe, watching the Dragons get the state championship trophy.
Senior cheerleader Sarah Thompson said the moment was made all the more inspiring when you look at the timeline of Dragons football over the past few years.
“It’s amazing, considering we didn’t make it out of sectionals the last two years,” Thompson said. “Now we get the chance to come back and win 5A state for the first time in our school’s history.”
“We’re so blessed and so proud to be supporting this team and to be cheering this team on,” she added. “It’s definitely a bittersweet moment for the seniors, those of us who have to leave.”
There was a lot of heart left out on the field, agreed senior Audrey VanderWal, whose shouts of spirit could be heard over the roar of the crowded student section. VanderWal assisted the team during players strength and conditioning sessions throughout the season and has grown close to several of the team members, she said.
“We’ve seen joy and excitement here tonight,” VanderWal said. “We’ve poured a lot into these last four years supporting our Dragons, so it means a lot to get a state championship title.”
Thomas Wood, an eighth-grader, is already looking forward to next year, when he’ll be a freshman player for the Dragons.
“It’s inspired me and makes me want to go out this summer and work hard to get back here next year and the years to come,” Wood said.
Following the game, players and their family members gathered back at the high school for a chance to take photos with the championship trophy. While the hour was late, it was well worth it as players and fans alike tried to savor every moment of their perfect 14-0 season.
The Daily Reporter’s Evan Myers contributed to this story.
