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INDIANAPOLIS – When coach Kyle Ralph compares his top-ranked Class 4A New Palestine Dragons to the second-ranked East Noble Knights, it’s like looking into a mirror.
Statistically, the two state finalist programs are nearly identical, almost down the digit.
New Palestine (13-0) has totaled 545 points this season at 40.3 per game, while East Noble (13-1) has amassed 541 points at an average of 38.6 ppg. The Dragons’ power spread offense has produced 395.5 yards per game compared to the Knights’ power formation’s 358.0. Both programs have netted more than 3,000 yards rushing and well over 1,500 yards passing and 5,000-plus yards in total offense.
The Dragons’ 3-3 stack defense allows a mere 8.77 ppg. The Knights’ 3-4 defense isn’t too far behind at 10.29, while both thrive on takeaways and decisive margins of victory at 31.54 for New Palestine and 28.36 for East Noble.
“They are a lot like us. Statistically, they’re about even with everything we are and what we do,” said Ralph, a three-time state championship coach at New Palestine with a career record of 140-14 in 12 seasons. “Formations are about the same. Attack plan is about the same. Play great defense. Play great special teams. Physical, punishing offense with an intermediate passing game with some home run hitters that break team’s backs. It should be a great game.”
Friday’s 4A IHSAA football state championship at 3 p.m. inside Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis could be a tug-of-war between a Dragons’ team seeking a fourth state title in six appearances since 1990 – fifth trip in the past 10 years – and a Knights’ squad in search of its first crown in 24 years and second in four state finals berths since 2000.
Coincidentally, the game will pit friend against friend in Ralph and East Noble first-year head coach Alex Stewart, who formed a bond with his weekend adversary over the past decade-plus.
“Oddly enough, I’ve known Alex since I got the job up here. He was actually a strength coach and assistant coach at Richmond (2013-2014). He and I became really good friends,” Ralph said. “I kind of helped him through the process when he got the head coaching job at Western (2017-2023). He and I shared a lot of ideas for a few years back-and-forth. I congratulated him on the East Noble job when he got it because we’re good friends, and I was pumped for him. Now, here we are coaching against each other.”
While the storyline might be hyped as friends turned foes, neither sees their 4A state showdown that way. Instead, much like pals in the park playing a game of chess, both view the state finals stage for what it is.
“We’re competitors. You want to go out and compete and win a football game, so I don’t think it’s that hard to set it aside. I’ve coached against a lot of my good friends over the years, and in the coaching community you become friends with the guys you play,” said Stewart, who carries a 67-40 career-coaching record through 10 years. “People that are outside of the coaching community might not understand that, but you get to know people and understand that these are all like-minded individuals. Some of them you become good friends with over the years, and you always want to have those bragging rights, but at the end of the day, it’s not hard to set that aside and go compete.”
One thing coach Ralph and his Dragons know is how to contend over Thanksgiving weekend.
An undefeated 15-0, 4A state champion in Ralph’s second year at New Palestine in 2014 (4A), the Dragons have reached the state tournament’s final four a total of seven times since 2013 in both 4A and 5A (2015, 2018, 2019).
A state runner-up in 2015 (5A), the Dragons are 3-1 overall in Ralph’s tenure when competing in the state finals and finished a perfect 14-0 twice during the team’s back-to-back run at 5A in 2018-2019.
The Class 4A State Championship featuring East Noble (13-1) and New Palestine (13-0) will stream via PPV on IHSAAtv.org this Friday at 3 pm ET / 2 CT!
A championship victory this weekend would solidify New Palestine as the 20th school in tournament history to win four or more state titles, the fourth unbeaten state champion in program history and would cement Ralph as the 16th coach in state history to win four titles, tying him with six others.
“It’s interesting because someone told me the other day that since I’ve got this job, we have the second-highest success rate of getting to semi-state games and getting here outside of Center Grove. I didn’t know that, and I think it really sunk in after we won the game against Martinsville last week,” Ralph said. “It has been an incredible stretch of getting to the final four. That was our seventh one in 12 years, and now, this is the fifth time we’ve been downtown. I’m just really proud of that. It speaks volumes to the community all the way down to the NPFL with our little guys that are playing on Saturdays, all the coaches, my staff and all the guys we’ve had over the years. You don’t succeed because of one person. You succeed because of an entire group of people pulling the same direction.”
The Dragons’ heavy lifters on offense are junior running back Josh Ranes (2,072 rushing yards, 26 TDs), junior quarterback Jacob Davis (1,822 passing yards, 22 passing TDs/612 rushing yards, 12 TDs) and senior wide receiver Austin McMahan (778 yards, 12 TDs).
Defensively, the Dragons are captained by senior defensive tackle and Ball State commit Michael Thacker, a four-year starter and the program’s all-time career sack leader (30.5) with over 100 tackles for a loss in his career.
Junior middle linebacker Garrett Ranes leads the Dragons with 86 tackles, 19.5 for a loss.
The East Noble Knights are riding a 12-game winning streak into their meeting with New Palestine under coach Stewart. The Knights are in search of their first state championship since 2000 (4A) after claiming runner-up honors in 2003 (4A) and 2019 (4A). The first runner-up finale was guided by former New Palestine head coach Tim Able, while the latter was spearheaded by current East Noble athletic director Luke Amstutz.
East Noble’s lone loss this season was on Aug. 31 at 2023 5A state champion Fort Wayne Snider, 35-10, before the Knights won five of their next 12 by shutout and seven overall with seven points or less surrendered.
“Our offensive line coach (Kristian Jarrett) made the joke after the (Mishawaka) semi-state game, ‘Hey, way to manage expectations year one. You set the bar pretty high for yourself.’ But that’s what every coach dreams about. You want to be in a program where the expectation is to come down here and do this on a year-to-year basis,” Stewart said. “It’s exciting to be part of a program that’s like that.”
Senior quarterback and captain Rylee Biddle has wowed the Knights’ faithful with 1,584 passing yards and 20 TDs in his first year as a starter. He also starts at safety.
Senior running backs Dylan Krehl (1,625 yards, 19 TDs) and Dallas Plattner (790 yards, 9 TDs) power the backfield, while junior Mason Treesh (630 yards, 6 TDs) paces the receiving corp.
Krehl is equally a force on defense at linebacker where he amassed 116 tackles, 20 for a loss with five sacks, three forced fumbles and an interception. Senior safety Logan Hatton has 90 tackles and four interceptions.
East Noble’s sectional title this season marked its first since 2020, and its regional was the first in six years. Stewart utilized player talent, coaching and his network, including Ralph previously, to refine a program coming off an 8-3 season in 2023.
“I’ve used (Ralph) as a resource to bounce ideas off of from a weight room standpoint, and he called me when I got this job actually, and we talked on the phone for a little while. He’s just been somebody that I’ve admired,” Stewart said. “He does a great job with his program, and some of the ideas he has within his program I’ve tried to mold our program off of, and it’s been a nice relationship.”
However, the state final is a different realm that Stewart and the Knights are prepared to potentially conquer with insight from Amstutz and many others, including Western Boone’s three-time state championship coach Justin Pelley.
“One of the benefits I have is most of our staff was on staff in 2019 when they came down here, so one of the first things we did Saturday morning was we sat and talked about what some of the things those guys did in 2019 that they would have changed,” Stewart said. “Our goal is to win a state championship, and there’s going to be a lot of people who want to provide meals and there are things that come with this week, but we have to keep the focus on winning a state championship.”