NEW PALESTINE — A streak dating back to 2008 stayed alive on Friday night as the New Palestine Dragons continued their winning ways against Hoosier Heritage Conference rival Greenfield-Central 17-14.
The victory was the Dragons’ 10th-straight win over the Cougars (1-3, 1-3 HHC) and 13th-straight win in the regular-season series.
In a gritty game where both teams battled for dominance at the line of scrimmage, the Dragons (4-1, 3-1 HHC) were able to pull ahead late and hold the lead, which was a much different result than in the past eight meetings between the two teams.
Since 2008, the Dragons had won by an average score of 56-8 whenever the two teams met.
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The Cougars’ 2020 improvement was shown early as they were able to dominate the line of scrimmage in the first quarter to ignite their offense.
Throughout the first quarter, the Cougars caused two Dragon fumbles. The first came on a Lincoln Roth drop back for the Dragons, and the second on a short carry by senior David Spegal.
The first fumble was caused by the seemingly always present Cougars’ linebacker Spencer Johnson.
The two fumbles led to two scoring opportunities for the Cougars, but led to just one score.
Quarterback Lance McKee rushed the ball into the end zone from five yards out to put the first points on the board. The second Cougars’ scoring opportunity ended with a missed 37-yard field goal attempt.
“The line of scrimmage is where we are struggling at the most this year and we struggled there again tonight,” Dragons head coach Kyle Ralph said. “Greenfield did everything that we though they would do defensively and offensively and we still struggled to stop them. As the coach that is on me. We have to get better up front.”
After the sluggish first, the Dragons finally were able to move the ball in the second quarter. Using a 38-yard run from freshman Grayson Thomas, the Dragons found themselves in position to score.
Three plays later, Roth knotted the score.
On the ensuing kickoff, Cougars’ Joey Roland ran the ball back for an 85-yard touchdown, though the play was called back for a hold.
Despite the penalty, the Cougars did not lose focus. McKee scored on 16-yard run just eight plays later.
Before the end of the first half, Roth reached the end zone once more for the Dragons on a 44-yard run to send the teams into the locker rooms tied at 14.
In the third quarter, the teams exchanged small mistakes on offense that killed any momentum. The mistakes took the teams to the fourth quarter still tied.
Early in the fourth quarter, the Dragons pulled ahead on a 33-yard field goal from Brendan Tanksley. The make was his first of the season and his career.
The Cougars’ offense returned to the field with a late touchdown in mind. Over six minutes, the Cougars methodically moved down the field with multiple third-down conversions.
With 4:44 remaining, the Dragons returned the favor to the Cougars by forcing a fumble on an option run by McKee. The fumble was recovered by Dragons’ senior Austin White.
After the change in possession, the Dragons ran the ball for a first down on three consecutive plays and put the game away with a final run from Roth down to the 1-yard line with 37 seconds remaining.
The Cougars were out of timeouts and unable to stop the clock, giving the Dragons another win in the series.
After the game, Cougars head coach Travis Nolting was proud of his team despite the loss.
“I will never be happy with seeing a loss on the scoreboard, but I will always be happy when our kids show that they will play as hard as possible for all 48 minutes and give themselves a chance to win,” Nolting said. “We did that tonight.”
Ralph credited Nolting and his staff for the improvements made to the Cougars’ program.
“Greenfield-Central is growing and getting much better,” Ralph said. “Their offense is not an easy one to defend and figure out and they have obviously figured it out on their end.”
Nolting acknowledged that he felt the Cougars proved something Friday night.
“We aren’t the same ol’ Greenfield-Central,” Nolting said. “Not a soul can say otherwise after that. We are building something special here.”
The Cougars are at home against Yorktown next Friday night, while the Dragons will travel to winless Shelbyville.
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New Palestine 17, Greenfield-Central 14
NP (4-1, 3-1 HHC);0;14;0;3;-;17
GC (1-3, 1-3 HHC);7;7;0;0;-;14
Scoring Summary
1st Quarter
GC – Lance McKee 5 yd run (Cody Hargett kick), 58.5
2nd Quarter
NP – Lincoln Roth 5 yd run (Brendan Tanksley kick), 9:55
GC – McKee 16 yd run (Hargett kick), 6:09
NP – Roth 44 yd run (Tanksley kick), :46
4th Quarter
NP – Tanksley 33 yd field goal, 10:06
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