NEW PALESTINE — Every week, the goal is the same for the New Palestine Dragons. Be 1-0. Win each week, regardless of the opponent.
They’d be lying, though, if they said this week wasn’t a little different. That goal is still the priority, but the opposition makes tonight’s game stand out.
It’s not a Hoosier Heritage Conference opponent or even a tournament game, but when the Dragons head to Greenwood tonight to take on Center Grove for the second straight year, it’ll be the defending Class 5A champions, ranked No. 1 in their class this year, taking on a 2018 6A regional champion that’s ranked No. 4 in 6A.
“It’s definitely a game we’ve had circled these past two years,” New Palestine senior Maxen Hook said. “We’ve been lifting, we’ve been grinding, it’s been in the back of our minds all summer. Every week, it’s supposed to be 1-0, but there’s always Week 2, we’ve got Center Grove coming up. We’ve gotta be ready.”
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Last year was almost a case of David vs. Goliath, with the Dragons, the smallest 5A school and a mid-4A by enrollment, taking on the 6A powerhouse Trojans, their first-ever 6A opponent. New Palestine wasn’t intimidated, taking control of that game early and imposing their will on Center Grove, making a statement to the rest of Indiana with a 31-9 win.
The Dragons proved themselves a year ago. They feel like they need to do so again tonight in a game between two potential state championship contenders.
“I think there’s a lot of people out there that still think it was a fluke game for Center Grove,” Hook said. “We’ve still got to come out there and play with that edge on our shoulder like we did last year. They’re going to be ready.”
New Palestine plans to be ready, too. Head coach Kyle Ralph said that his team has had one of the best weeks of practices since he’s been at the school, in part due to strong leadership from his seniors.
The challenge for the Dragons remains the same as it was a year ago. The Trojans are still a much bigger program from a much bigger school. They’ve got the numbers advantage and a very literal size advantage.
They were able to overcome the size discrepancy a year ago. That doesn’t mean it’ll be easy tonight.
“They’ve got three offensive linemen that are over 6-foot-4 and over 305 pounds, and we don’t have a single player in our program that is anywhere near that general size,” Ralph said. “Having to replicate that throughout the week is impossible. We just don’t have the resources that those bigger schools have that maybe one of our scout players is 280. We don’t have that, either. That’s probably the biggest hurdle on a week like this, trying to mimic what they do when you don’t have the personnel that they have to be able to replicate.”
While it makes the game preparation a unique challenge, the Dragons showed a year ago that the size difference doesn’t mean as much as you may think come game time.
“When you’re out there and you’re flying around, you’re not really looking at how big the guy is across from you,” Hook said. “You’re just trying to make a play.”
Both teams come into the game boasting powerful rushing attacks, just as they did a year ago. Center Grove ran for 293 yards last week in a 21-14 loss to 6A No. 1 Warren Central, the defending state champs. New Palestine rushed for 291 yards in a 63-13 win against Kokomo.
The Trojans had tremendous success against Warren Central despite missing standout running back Carson Steele, who missed the opener with an injury and may not play tonight. Steele out-rushed Dragons standout Charlie Spegal in last year’s game, rushing for 173 yards and 32 carries. Spegal had 95 yards on 20 carries, his lowest output of the season.
Center Grove’s defense will likely be keyed in to try to contain the Mr. Football candidate again.
“The main difference was how well-coached they are and the game speed,” Spegal said of playing the Trojans last year. “They play a lot faster, and the holes close a lot faster, too. I’ll have to react faster, know if I have to put my head down to gain yards or make a cut.”
Spegal enters the game just 50 yards away from second place on the Indiana career rushing list. He is 230 yards away from becoming Indiana’s all-time leading rusher.
He has a chance to break that mark every time he steps on the field this season, including tonight. But first things first — Spegal and the Dragons want to win. There’s a reason this game stands out to them, and they know what kind of opportunity is ahead of them.
“It’s a cool experience, because you know the MIC is one of the top conferences, with the top players and teams,” Spegal said of the Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference, whose members include several powerhouse schools in the Indianapolis area. “To prove that we can beat a team like that was awesome.”
If they can do it again tonight at 7 p.m., the Dragons will achieve their goal of 1-0 this week and extend their 55-game regular-season winning streak heading into next week’s HHC opener.
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New Palestine at Center Grove, 7 p.m.
Eastern Hancock at Wes-Del, 7 p.m.
Richmond at Mt. Vernon, 7 p.m.
Whiteland at Greenfield-Central, 7:30 p.m.
See a complete breakdown of each of tonight’s game inside on Page B2.
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