NEW PALESTINE — Taking advantage of the other team’s mistakes was the theme of Friday’s Hoosier Heritage Conference football game between New Palestine and Pendleton Heights.
The Dragons did.
The Arabians didn’t.
A bad snap on a punt and an interception on Pendleton Heights first two possessions led to 14 New Palestine points.
The Dragons, up 14, tried to let the Arabians back in with an interception and fumble of their own, but the Arabians followed with two three-and-out series.
New Palestine added two more first half touchdowns on its way to a 38-3 victory at Kelso Stadium.
The Dragons are 2-3 overall and 2-1 in the HHC. The Arabians fall to 3-2 and 1-2.
“It’s huge. We don’t want to turn the ball over like that, but the fact our defense bailed us out and got stops is big,” New Palestine head coach Kyle Ralph said. “It was nice to see our offense take advantage of their mistakes, which is something we’ve been able to do in the past, but haven’t been able to do well this year. It was nice to see us do that this year.”
On the game’s opening series, Pendleton Heights got near midfield, but a sack of quarterback Luke Candiano by freshman lineman Michael Thacker and junior defensive back Eli Hook forced fourth down. The snap to Arabian punter Justin Beeler was off target and the Dragons ended up starting with the ball at the PH 32.
New Pal converted a fourth down from the PH 25, on a five-yard run by Blaine Nunnally, then scored on a 20-yard rush from Kyler Kropp.
Brendan Tanksley added the first of his five successful PATs — he also had a 32-yard field goal in the third quarter — to give the Dragons a 7-0 lead with 5:42 remaining in the opening quarter.
Two plays into the ensuing series, Candiano was picked off by senior defensive back Gus Walling. The ball was tipped at the line of scrimmage by Thacker.
The Dragons began their series at the Arabian 14. Three plays later sophomore running back Grayson Thomas scored on a 2-yard run.
The Arabians got a 26-yard field goal from Dominic Apo to start the second quarter to cut the home team’s lead to 14-3.
The Madison County club looked to be gaining momentum when New Pal quarterback Damon Hockett was picked off by Brennan Adams.
It didn’t happen.
The series, which started at the Arabian 34 ended three plays later at the Arabian 33 on a sack by Dragon junior Eian Roudebush.
The Dragons gave the ball right back after a botched handoff between Hockett and Thomas. Again, the Arabians were unable to do much, starting from their own 39 and ending on their own 41.
“You’ve got to give all the credit to the defense,” Hockett said. “They set us up for a great start and gave us chances to be explosive. It fires everyone up when you score early.
“I’ll take the blame for those mistakes. They were all me.”
The Dragons Red Rage defense bailed them out, then the Dragon offense made them pay.
Its next series was a one and done. From the Dragon 21, Hockett connected with Isaiah Thacker on a 79-yard pass play. Thacker out-ran the Pendleton Heights defense and went untouched to the end zone for a 21-3 Dragon lead.
Before halftime, Thomas had his second touchdown of the game.
Set up by a 38-yard run from Hockett, on third-and-16, Thomas scored from 18 yards away with just 1:32 left until halftime.
Ralph was glad to see his club turn the Arabian mistakes into points, but he was concerned about his team’s offensive errors.
“We are leaving a lot of missed opportunities on the field,” Ralph said. “If you’re going to be a good football team that can’t happen.
“If you want to play championship level football, you can’t waste opportunities. We’ve been wasting a lot this year. We wasted more tonight. We’ve got to be more efficient and execute better offensively.”
The Dragons executed on their first second-half possession. They got the ball to start the second half and took little time in adding to their lead.
Thomas, from the Dragon 17, went 65 yards on the first play from scrimmage. Three plays later Hockett scored on a 4-yard run for a 35-3 NP lead.
Thomas finished with 15 carries for 132 yards. Hockett completed 7 of 14 passes for 191 yards and a touchdown. He rushed 12 times for 55 yards and a score. Isaiah Thacker had three catches for 138 yards and a touchdown.
Kropp rushed for 47 yards and Nunnally picked up 22 yards on the ground and grabbed three passes for 42 yards.
The New Pal defense made it rough on Pendleton Heights’ veteran Candiano. The senior quarterback was 4 of 14 for 50 yards and two interceptions.
James Malone led the Arabians offense with 11 carries for 52 yards.
“They put the clamps on us,” Pendleton Heights coach Jed Richman said. “You have to give them credit. Until we learn to be more disciplined in situations this is going to happen against good teams. Their record is misleading. They’re a high-quality football team and are going to win a lot more games this season.
“They’re well-coached and they played hard. We played hard, too, but we didn’t always play smart.”
The win was the Dragons 10th straight over the Arabians and 20th in the last 22 meetings. Pendleton Heights has not beaten New Palestine since 2012.
The Arabians will finish their three-week run of Hancock County opponents next week with a trip to Mt. Vernon.
New Palestine ends its three-game homestand (going 2-1, including a win over Yorktown and loss to Mt. Vernon), but will stay in Hancock County, traveling to Greenfield-Central next week.
New Palestine 38, Pendleton Heights 3
PENDLETON HEIGHTS (3-2, 1-2);0;3;0;0;—;3
NEW PALESTINE (2-3, 2-1);14;14;10;0;—;38
NP—Kyler Kropp 20 run (Brendan Tanksley kick), 5:42
NP—Grayson Thomas 2 run (Tanksley kick), 3:48
PH—Dominic Apo 26 FG, 11:46
NP—Isaiah Thacker 79 pass from Damon Hockett (Tanksley kick), 5:25
NP—Thomas 18 run (Tanksley kick), 1:32
NP—Hockett 4 run (Tanksley kick), 10:01
NP— Tanksley 32 FG, 1:36
