GREENWOOD — There’s not much room left for doubt about the New Palestine Dragons.
They made sure of that Friday night.
A hefty dose of Charlie Spegal, a defense that bent but never broke and a pair of big passing plays all added up to another statement victory for the Class 5A defending champions.
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Click here to purchase photos from this galleryThe Dragons did it again, this time toppling Center Grove on their own field, 28-9, their second marquee win against the Trojans in two years.
“What can you possibly say? We just went against one of the best teams in 6A, that went to the semistate game last year, toe-to-toe with Warren, quite a few of the same kids back,” New Palestine coach Kyle Ralph said. “Just what an effort by our guys to go out and play both ways like they did, the whole night, and finish a game like that just speaks to their buy-in to our weight program, our conditioning program, their mental toughness to never accept less than their best.
“What a hallmark game for our kids and our program.”
A year ago, New Palestine dominated Center Grove, humbling the Trojans and running them out of Kelso Stadium in New Palestine. Friday night they did it on the Trojans’ turf, running them out of their own stadium after another impressive display.
Spegal had a monster of a game, rushing 29 times for 219 yards and three touchdowns. He’s within a few carries, at most, of the all-time Indiana rushing record, which he should top in the first quarter Friday night against Yorktown.
It was a much different rushing attack for the Dragons than it was against Center Grove a year ago. Last year, the Trojans held Spegal to 95 yards on 20 carries, containing the standout running back.
They couldn’t do the same this time. Spegal had six runs of longer than 10 yards on Friday night, including a 30-yard scamper and touchdown runs of 21 and 28 yards.
“I just know that my offensive line blocked really well,” Spegal said. “And (QB) Lincoln (Roth), the way he led this team, only his second game starting, the way he led this team was unbelievable against one of the best teams we’ll play all season. The receivers were blocking downfield, the coaches were making adjustments at halftime. It was just an unbelievable all-around team effort.”
The Trojans controlled the clock for much of the first half, embarking on a pair of seven-plus minute drives. One went 14 plays, the other 16.
Both ended in field goals thanks to timely defensive plays, including a key third-down sack from Richard Clevenger to stall the second drive.
Center Grove ran the ball 23 times but netted only 61 yards on the ground in the first half as the Dragons clung to a narrow 7-6 halftime lead.
“Our defense in the red zone was spectacular. Our kids really buckled down and played good football,” Ralph said. “It’s just a great night. Stopping essentially a wing-T and a spread offense in the same night like that, and you’ve got to be prepared for two completely different offensive systems, that’s hard. Our kids prepared really well mentally and they benefited from it tonight when it came to crunch time.”
The Trojans took the second half kickoff and marched right down the field and into the red zone, but the Dragons defense again held strong and the momentum began to turn despite a 9-7 deficit.
“When we came out of halftime and our o-line just went to work, again, and our defense held, again, we were like, come on boys, they are tired. We’ve got them,” New Palestine senior Maxen Hook said. “We’ve got them right where we want them again. That’s just the conditioning, man.”
The Dragons fired back instantly. Roth found Hook, who took a catch 48 yards to the Trojans’ 21-yard line. Spegal went untouched the final 21 yards on the next play, putting the visitors back in front, 14-9, midway through the third, a drive that took just 46 seconds.
New Palestine struck with a big play again, a third-down screen pass from Roth to Hook that the receiver took 56 yards to the end zone, giving the Dragons a 21-9 lead with 6:58 left in the game.
The New Palestine defense continued to stifle the Trojans, and Spegal’s 28-yard touchdown run with 2:55 left put an exclamation point on the Dragons’ big win. The Dragons out-rushed the Trojans 231 to 152 and out-passed them 151 to 103.
Friday’s win marks the 56th straight in the regular season for the Dragons dating back to Aug. 23, 2013, that state’s longest active streak. They are 2-0 on the year and head into their Hoosier Heritage Conference opener Friday against Yorktown riding a truckload of momentum after proving just how good they are against one of the state’s juggernauts for the second straight year.
“It just feels amazing, because all summer and through the season, we’ve worked our butts off for this,” Spegal said. “We’ve conditioned, we’ve hit in practice hardcore, had some hard practices… we’ve prepared for this a long time.”
“If that doesn’t silence all the doubters we had, I don’t know what will,” Hook said.
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Eastern Hancock at Fountain Central, 7 p.m.
Mt. Vernon at Greenfield-Central, 7:30 p.m.
Yorktown at New Palestine, 7:30 p.m.
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