NEW PALESTINE — Something is different this week.
New Palestine running back Charlie Spegal is not the most talkative high-school athlete. That’s nothing new. But this week, he’s been even less so, keeping more to himself.
“Normally he’s pretty quiet, but this week, he’s like extra quiet,” New Palestine senior offensive lineman Jacob Brittsan said. “You can tell he’s extra dialed in. I asked him (Monday) if he was excited. He looked at me, he didn’t even say anything, he just nodded his head. I knew then that he was ready.”
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The reason he is so focused? Spegal is heading back to where it all began for him. He’s heading to his former home.
When the New Palestine Dragons take the field at Delta High School tonight, Spegal will be back at his old stomping grounds, the very field where he started his record-shattering high school career, in the same city where he grew up.
It’s the first time since Spegal transferred to New Palestine after his sophomore season that the star running back will play on his old field.
“It’s where I grew up at,” Spegal said. “To go back there, as a senior, my last regular season game … this is where it all started.”
It’s not the first time Spegal has faced his old team. He did that in last year’s season finale, an 84-13 New Palestine win that clinched sole possession of the Hoosier Heritage Conference title and kept two big winning streaks — regular-season wins and HHC wins — alive for the Dragons.
Spegal showed no mercy against the Eagles last year, rushing for a career-high 387 yards and seven touchdowns on just 16 carries.
Both the running back and his offensive line were a little amped up for that game.
“I think we were just a little extra motivated. It was a lot of hype for him going into it,” Brittsan said. “We just wanted him to have a good game, show that this is his home now, that he’s a New Pal Dragon now, not a Delta Eagle.”
“I was definitely extra motivated,” Spegal said. “Just playing my old team, it was really fun. I was looking forward to it.”
He’s had another huge year in 2019, breaking the state’s all-time rushing yardage record in Week 3. Tonight, he is in striking distance of another record, the state’s all-time scoring mark currently held by Brett Law.
Spegal is 18 points away, at 934 career points. He has 155 total touchdowns, with 153 coming on the ground. Those are both IHSAA records, as are his 9,433 career rushing yards.
Delta will surely be looking to try to slow Spegal, something not many — if any — teams have succeeded at over the past four years.
“It’s not like Delta wants to stop him more because he used to go to Delta,” New Palestine coach Kyle Ralph said. “Everybody wants to stop him because he’s been able to run all over pretty much anyone we’ve played. I’m sure for them it’s a little extra motivation. For us, it’s business as usual.”
There’s a lot at stake in this one for Spegal and the Dragons, just like there was in last year’s game against the Eagles. They’ve got the streaks, which currently sit at 62 straight regular-season wins and 47 straight conference wins.
The streak they care most about, though, is the seven straight HHC championships. They take pride in those conference titles, and they certainly don’t want to share them with anybody.
“It’s a big deal for us. That’s one of the most important goals on our board every year is to be a conference champion,” Ralph said. “All the stuff our guys go through is to put you in a position to be a champion. We don’t work as hard as we work to be mediocre, or tie, or split our conference with somebody else.
“They put themselves again in a position to play a championship round of football, which is what you want to be a New Pal Dragon for. You come to school here, you play football here, you make that sacrifice to be a champion, not to be average. These guys have done a great job of getting themselves there; now they need to finish it.”
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Eastern Hancock (7-1) at Lapel (5-3), 7 p.m.
Delta (7-1, 5-1) at New Palestine (8-0, 6-0), 7:30 p.m.
Yorktown (6-2, 4-2) at Mt. Vernon (6-2, 4-2), 7:30 p.m.
Greenfield-Central (1-7, 1-5) at New Castle (2-6, 1-5), 7:30 p.m.
For a complete breakdown of each Week 9 game, jump inside to Page B2.
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