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New Palestine dominates East Noble for fourth 4A crown
INDIANAPOLIS – The East Noble Knights struck first, but the top-ranked New Palestine Dragons found the end zone more often.
Down 7-0 early in the first quarter during the 52nd annual IHSAA football state finals, the Class 4A No. 1 Dragons responded with four touchdown drives on their next five possessions and never looked back, defeating the No. 2 Knights, 56-26, inside Lucas Oil Stadium.
New Palestine’s 28-point rally set the tone during the program’s dominating run towards a fourth football state title in 10 years, second in 4A (2014) and first since winning back-to-back 5A championships in 2018-2019.
“I’m proud of our kids. I’m proud of our coaches and our community,” said head coach Kyle Ralph, who is 141-12 in 12 years at New Palestine and 4-1 in state title games. “What these boys do is special. It never gets tiring. It is tiring to do this, but you never get tired of winning, especially at this level and at a high level like we have. It’s hard to do. You have to be proud.”
The Dragons had won each of their previous three state titles in perfect fashion and the trend continued with their third 14-0 finish. New Palestine went 15-0 in their second state finals appearance overall (2014 in 4A) and first since 1990 (in 3A). In 2015, the Dragons were 5A state runner-up at 13-1.
Class 4A State Championship
New Palestine 56, East Noble 26
“Being undefeated was the goal at the beginning of the season. I remember there was a group chat that I recently saw and thought about the other night. It said 15-0. We weren’t able to get 15-0, but we got 14-0, so it feels great to be able to accomplish that,” New Palestine quarterback Jacob Davis said.
“The mindset was we just need to play our ball game, and our ball game is smashmouth football. We might not know exactly what’s coming, but we do not care. We’re going to run it down your throat every single time.”
The Dragons never deviated from their identity, collectively rushing for 384 yards on 57 carries and a 4A state finals record seven touchdowns led by junior Josh Ranes’ 166 yards and four scores.
“It feels great. You can’t really describe this feeling. It’s crazy,” said Ranes, who is the seventh running back in New Palestine history to rush for 2,000 yards or more in a season. “The O-line worked its (tail) off today, and they opened the holes, and I hit them hard. They are the most important people on the team for sure.”
The starting five of juniors Brock Brownsfield, Aiden Redmon, Colin Whetsel, Abe Walling and senior Landon Seib paved the way for New Palestine’s fourth straight week highlighted by a pair of 100-yard rushers.
Junior Caden Jacobia turned 17 carries into 163 yards and two rushing touchdowns. Davis added 53 yards rushing and a touchdown to give the Dragons seven overall, which bested New Palestine’s previously shared 4A state finals record of six rushing TDs set in 2014.
Ranes’ four touchdowns tied the 4A state finals record for most scored by an individual player and tied for most rushing touchdowns by an individual in a 4A state championship contest.
“We knew they had a good defense, and we’re really heavy on our run game, so that’s what really got us going in the beginning,” Jacobia said. “With them scoring first that was a really big dealbreaker, so we had to stay in, stay positive and we just had to keep coming back. We’re a very all-around team. Whoever gets the ball and scores, we cheer for them. We cheer for each other. We’re all there for each other.”
Ranes’ 24 points scored tied for most in a 4A state finals game, joining him with four other players in state tournament history.
“I remember watching (New Palestine) beat Valparaiso (in 2019) when I was a little kid, and I just wanted to be here and win, too,” Ranes said. “We knew what we were capable of.”
Ranked No. 1 in the state at the start of the season, the Dragons went wire-to-wire behind a stingy defense and a prolific offense, which nearly tied the 4A state finals mark for first downs (24) by posting 23. New Palestine amassed 511 yards in total offense against East Noble.
The Dragons strung together four straight touchdown drives to open the second half, building off their 28-13 halftime advantage to lead by 37 points in the fourth quarter.
Davis completed 11 of 12 passes for 127 yards and a touchdown strike to senior Austin McMahan for 52-yards in the first quarter that handed the Dragons their first lead 14-7. Sophomore Mason Oglesby had seven receptions for 53 yards. McMahan hauled in three passes for 71 yards.
“We have so many playmakers from the receivers to the two running backs we have, and I can do a little bit on the ground. You never know who’s going to end up with the football and score,” Davis said.
“It’s beautiful back there in the backfield. It’s the best thing in the world. I think I’ve had two QB hurries the entire season, and probably it’s been mostly my fault, checking the wrong way, setting them up the wrong way, but they have done a great job all year. You can see that when we run for almost 400 yards in a state championship game.”
The Dragons’ defense limited East Noble (13-2) to 262 yards in total offense, 61 rushing yards (only six yards by halftime) and 10 first downs.
The Knights led 7-0 after junior quarterback Rylee Biddle connected with senior Logan Hatton on an 80-yard touchdown pass to cap East Noble’s one-play opening drive.
East Noble didn’t find the end zone again until the second quarter, down 28-7.
Biddle completed 7 of 27 passes for 201 yards and three touchdowns. Senior Landon Swagger had three catches for 82 yards and a touchdown. Hatton finished with one catch, and senior Jordan Borders caught one pass for a 30-yard touchdown in the second half.
Senior running back Dallas Plattner rushed for 72 yards and a 3-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter, as the Dragons pulled several starters.
“I’m proud of everyone that I got to play with for the past four years but especially this team. Everybody put in a lot of work after getting beat last year at semi-state. Everybody had a goal, and we reached the goal,” New Palestine senior defensive lineman Michael Thacker said.
The Dragons’ defense recovered a pair of lost fumbles, which the offense converted into two touchdowns, and forced six punts.
“I knew they were due for one touchdown. They’re a pretty solid team, so I won’t take that from them. They got a couple, but at the end of the day it’s about how much heart and how much passion we have for this game, and we had more, so we pulled it off.”
After losing to eventual 2023 4A state champion East Central, 49-0, at semi-state last season, the Dragons came into 2024 as the team to beat and defended that prediction.
The Dragons are projected to move up to 5A in 2025 due to the IHSAA success factor, but beforehand, they became the 20th school to win four or more football state titles in tournament history.
“We talked to the boys about that (preseason ranking). The ranking at the start of the year doesn’t matter. What you want is that number at the end of it. The problem is at the start it just puts a bigger target on your back for everybody because everyone wants to beat No. 1,” Ralph said. “Whether you deserve to be No. 1 at the start of the year or not, I don’t really buy into that, but I know we deserve to be No. 1 tonight, and that’s all that matters.”
Class 4A State Championship Records
Team
Most Rushing Touchdowns: 7 by New Palestine vs. East Noble, 2024. OLD RECORD: 6 by New Palestine vs. New Prairie, 2014; 6 by New Prairie vs. New Palestine, 2014.
Individual
Most Points (Tied): 24 by Josh Ranes, New Palestine vs. East Noble, 2024.
Most Touchdowns (Tied): 4 by Josh Ranes, New Palestine vs. East Noble, 2024.
Most Rushing Touchdowns (Tied): 4 by Josh Ranes, New Palestine vs. East Noble, 2024.
Longest Touchdown Pass: 80 by Riley Biddle to Logan Hatton, East Noble vs. New Palestine, 2024.
East Noble's Dylan Krehl named Eskew Mental Attitude Award winner
During the awards ceremony, Dylan Krehl (#32) of East Noble High School was announced by the IHSAA Executive Committee as the recipient of the Phil N. Eskew Mental Attitude Award in Class 4A Football.
The award is annually presented to a senior who is nominated by his principal and coach, and has demonstrated excellence in mental attitude, scholarship, leadership, and athletic ability during his four years of high school.
Dylan ranks in the top 15 percent of his senior class, is a member of the National Honor Society at East Noble, and earned Academic All-State distinction this season.
Dylan has been an All-State selection by the Indiana Football Coaches Association (IFCA) the last two seasons. He also wrestles for the Knights, was part of a sectional and regional championship team in 2023 and also advanced to the semi-state round as an individual that year. He has also participated in baseball at East Noble.
He is the son of Jason and Kari Krehl of Corunna, IN and is undecided on where he will attend college but is interested in studying Education.
The award is named in honor of Commissioner Phil N. Eskew, who served as the IHSAA’s third commissioner from 1962-76. Under his leadership, the IHSAA football state tournament was initiated in 1973.
The Indianapolis Colts, the presenting sponsor of the state tournament, presented a $1,000 scholarship to East Noble High School’s general scholarship fund in the name of Dylan Krehl.
