NEW PALESTINE — Just how big is the football game tonight between No. 1-ranked New Palestine and No. 2 Cathedral?
Consider this: The population of the town of New Palestine is about 2,500, but Kelso Stadium, capacity 3,800, could have a standing-room only crowd when the two teams play in the IHSAA Class 5A regional.
The game has been anticipated all season. The Dragons are defending state champions and are undefeated. The Fighting Irish are a perennial state powerhouse with nine state championships.
The winner moves on to next week’s semi-state game.
“There’s a lot of attention associated to this game not only locally, but all around the state,” New Palestine athletic director Al Cooper said. “It’s going to be a big game.”
Cooper and his staff have been prepping all week, organizing personnel for crowd control, concessions, parking and traffic flow for when the crowd leaves the high school. As detail-oriented as everything has to be, school officials are embracing the work and enjoying the game preparations.
“It’s not a normal game, that’s for sure,” Cooper said.
While New Palestine has played host to some notable sporting events in the past — football games against Bishop Chatard in 2013 and Columbus East in 2014 come to mind — tonight’s game just may top them all, fans and school officials said.
The New Palestine Grid Iron Alliance is having a tailgate party, complete with hamburgers and hot dogs, in the high school’s parking lot at 5 p.m. That’s two hours before kick-off, something they’ve done all year to help the Dragons fans get fired up. Everyone is invited and encouraged to bring a side dish and join in.
Even Cathedral fans.
“A lot of people in New Palestine send their kids to Cathedral, so if they show up, we want them to come and enjoy the tailgating,” said Brenda Turk, Grid Iron Alliance president.
The bigger the crowd the better, Turk said. And while Dragon fans have been hearing some pregame talk from Irish fans, they want the community to come together and enjoy what many hope could be the game of the year.
Rick Streiff, Cathedral’s athletic director, is the former Fighting Irish football coach who led Cathedral teams to those nine state championships. He thinks the game will come down to four or five key plays.
Streiff said attendance has been down for the team’s first couple of post-season games. But he anticipates the team will be well-supported when it steps onto Shepler Field.
“I think especially for this game, it will be well-attended by Irish fans,” Streiff said.
Cathedral received 500 tickets from the IHSAA, a standard bundle, and while sales were slow in the early part of the week, Streiff was expecting to sell all the tickets by tonight’s game.
“When you get a chance to play what is arguably one of the best teams in the state of Indiana, we’re very excited, and we know our fans are excited about it and our kids will come out and show up,” Streiff said. “You’re going to have a whole lot of people crawl out of the woodwork for this game.”
Streiff and Cooper noted it’s unfortunate that the top two teams in their class are playing so early in the playoffs. Either will likely be favored next week to advance to the state title game at Lucas Oil Stadium. Both athletic directors feel the regional game will have the atmosphere of a semi-state or state championship game.
Streiff noted while the Fighting Irish have multiple state championships, tradition doesn’t matter when the two teams step on the field. Players on both sides, he said, are looking to build their own legacy.
“Hopefully, both teams play well and whatever happens, happens,” Streiff said.
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New Palestine will be selling tickets for $8 at the high school until the end of the school day. The ticket window at the stadium is expected to open around 5:30 p.m.
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