NEW PALESTINE — Franklin had gained momentum, but it couldn’t gain possession.
New Palestine answered Franklin’s lone score of the game with the longest drive of the night, sealing the Dragons spot into next week’s Class 5A Sectional 14 championship contest.
After Franklin went 86 yards in 19 plays to cut the Dragons halftime lead to 22-7, the Dragons took the football and didn’t give it back until the game was decided.
Franklin had taken 8:37 seconds off the clock, but the Dragons outdid that with a 20-play, 90-yard possession that took 11:38. It ended in a Grayson Thomas 4-yard touchdown run and a 29-7 New Palestine victory at Kelso Stadium Friday.
The Dragons (7-3) will play Whiteland (6-3) in the sectional title game for the second straight year. The Warriors beat the Dragons last year, in Whiteland. They made it to the title game with a victory Friday over Columbus East. Next week’s sectional championship will be played in New Palestine.
Franklin ends the season with a 3-7 record.
Played in a downpour most of the night, the final New Palestine drive consisted of 19 runs and just one pass, a 16-yarder to Isaiah Thacker. Most of the yards came three and four at a time. Other than Thacker’s reception, there were only two other plays that were 10 yards or more. Thomas had a 12-yard run on a third-and-four from the New Pal 16. Quarterback Damon Hockett rushed for 11 yards on a fourth-and-one play from the Dragon 46.
“Not our standard New Palestine drive there to finish the game, but one we needed desperately, really, really desperately,” head coach Kyle Ralph said. “At times, our play was about as bad as the weather and that’s not a good thing.
“At the end of the day, we were resilient and found a way to get the job done. In conditions like these, when you’re a spread team, and we had a lot of passing stuff in our game plan, you have to be happy to find a way to still win.”
There were only five total possessions in the second half. Franklin opened with a three-and-out. New Palestine followed with a four-play possession.
Franklin took over on its own 14 with 9:13 left in the third quarter. The Dragons got the ball with just 36 seconds remaining in the third and gave it back to the Grizzly Cubs with just 58 seconds left in the game.
“Our goal was just one first down at a time and shred that clock,” Hockett said.
The quarterback had two key fourth-down runs on the series. Along with his 11-yard dash to extend the possession, he had a 3-yard run on fourth-and-3 from the Franklin 36.
“He had run the ball really well downhill,” Ralph said. “I felt like getting the ball to him in his hands quick, no meshes, no fumble possibilities, get him downhill let him pick a running lane, and just plow the ball forward was our best bet. He’s a tremendous competitor. I have a lot of confidence in him to get those hard yards when he needs to. When a senior like that stepping up in that momentum and really performing it is absolutely massive.”
The Dragons led 22-0 at halftime and were aided by nine quick points from their special teams.
The second of two bad snaps to Franklin punter John Shepard began the nine-point run.
Shepard grabbed the loose ball in the end zone and was tackled by a number of Dragons for a safety to give the home team a 12-0 lead on the first play of the second quarter.
The ensuing free kick was fielded by Thacker at the New Pal 35 and returned 65 yards for a touchdown. Two plays into the second quarter, New Palestine’s lead grew to 19-0.
An earlier bad snap gave the Dragons a short field to score. Starting from the Franklin 5, Hockett scored three plays later on a 1-yard run to give New Palestine a 10-0 lead with 5:42 remaining in the opening quarter.
The Dragons added a pair of first-half field goals from Brendan Tanksley. He connected from 22 yards with 8:06 to go in the first quarter for the game’s first points. He ended the first half with a career-best 40-yarder.
Thomas finished the night with 33 carries for 134 yards. Hockett had 15 carries for 67 yards.
The Dragons will be playing in the sectional title game for the eighth time in Ralph’s nine season at New Palestine.
“Eight out of nine years in a sectional championship game since I’ve been here, that’s an absolutely incredible accomplishment for our program and our boys to be able to lay claim to something like that,” Ralph said. “It’s what our kids work hard for. We work hard to play in championship environments and scenarios.
“Yea, we’re playing in a division above where we belong and everything, but we once again found a way to get the job done and put ourselves in contention for a sectional championship. It’s got to bring the best out of our players and our staff. I’ve got a lot of confidence in that and we’ll see what we’ve got a week from tonight against a very good Whiteland team.
New Palestine 29, Franklin 7
FRANKLIN (3-7);0;0;7;0;—;7
NEW PALESTINE (7-3);10;12;0;7;—;29
NP—Brendan Tanksley 22 FG, 8:06
NP—Damon Hockett 1 run (Tanksley kick), 5:42
NP—safety, Franklin punter tackled in end zone, 11:51
NP—Isaiah Thacker 65 kick return (Tanksley kick), 11:42
NP—Tanksley 40 FG, 0:00
F—Clay Pinnick 1 run (Patrick Fancher kick),:36.7
NP—Grayson Thomas 4 run (Tanksley kick),:58
