NEW PALESTINE — Jake Wells kicks for a lot of teams.
For the New Palestine football team, he handles kickoffs, punts, field goals and extra points.
For the New Palestine soccer team, he was the Dragons starting goalkeeper.
But the biggest team he kicks for is battling one of the toughest opponents of all.
He’s on the team trying to help fund research for pediatric cancer.
In the summer of 2022, Wells went to a kicking camp in Tennessee, picked up a flyer and now, along with other Dragon kickers, began fundraising for childhood cancer research.
An invitation only camp in Gatlinburg, Tenn., Wells was leaving a session when he picked up a pamphlet for Alex’s Lemonade Stand, a foundation for childhood cancer. He said he read the information on the ride back to the hotel and that evening set up a website ‘Kick-It With the Dragons’ to help raise money for the cause.
Through the site, people can give donations or they can pledge money for every time he or one of his teammates kicks off, punts, attempts a field goal or PAT.
He and former teammate Brendan Tanksley, now a kicker at Rose-Hulman, raised $2,382 last season. So far this year, Wells has just recently gone over the $1,000 mark at $1,054.
“You can pledge or donate,” Wells said. “Pledges are for every kick, punts, field goals, PATs and every kickoff. I count those toward the pledges. I count them up and you can do a flat donation, too. It all goes to Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation.”
For example in a game earlier this season against Mt. Vernon, the Dragons scored nine touchdowns. If you pledged $1 per kick, that’s $18 dollars donated for the nine PAT attempts and ensuing kickoffs.
Wells said he has no direct ties to childhood cancer, but has had family members that have dealt with costly medical conditions. He thought this would be a great opportunity for his community to support a great cause.
“It was really quite random, happenstance that I did it, but I am really grateful I (started the site),” Wells said. “It’s pretty cool to say I am helping potentially find a cure for cancer for kids.”
Wells said he texted Tanksley and then-New Palestine special teams coach Wes Anderson about starting the fundraiser last year and both were on board.
New Palestine head coach Kyle Ralph said, Wells and Tanksley came to him about it last season, too. The players were going to have to do some things prior to games and during the week of games related to the foundation, but they didn’t want attention to them, just to the cause.
“I think, for our kids and teenagers especially, I like that they understand there is something out there bigger than them,” Ralph said. “There is something out there that you can truly make a change or make a difference if you find ways to be creative and put your mind to something.
“Tanks has graduated, but Jake is carrying on the tradition. They understand they have a chance to make an impact on something bigger than themselves and they are doing it. …. Maybe it’s something our kickers will do forever now, I don’t know. It’s a really great tradition they have started.”
Wells said the biggest hurdle has been getting the word out. He updates his social media accounts regularly about how people can get involved. He said his parents help with it, too.
Just a junior, Wells plans on continuing kicking for cancer research next season, but he wants to make it bigger.
He would like to get other communities involved next year, too, possibly tying it in with a school’s FCA programs.
“In the end it’s about fundraising for the research and that what matters.” Wells said. “I want to put it out where more people can do it, and more people can learn about it, that’s what matters.”
In addition, Wells said a school friend on the baseball team has asked about helping him find a way to get a baseball-related fundraiser going.
“It’s a crazy thing because that camp was by invitation only,” Wells said. “The fact that I got invited, the fact that I got one of those flyers, the fact that I went to the website and set it up, the series of events were so specific. It’s something that makes me feel more grateful that I have this opportunity to do it. A lot of kids don’t get the opportunity to play, let alone to do something like this.”
Wells said if people want to get involved and pledge or donate they can go to the “Kick-It with the Dragons 2023” website at bit.ly/KickIt2023.
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Friday’s Sectional Football Games
Class 2A Sectional 38
7 p.m. – Lapel at Eastern Hancock
Class 4A Sectional 22
7 p.m. – Mt. Vernon at Richmond
7 p.m. – New Castle at New Palestine
7 p.m. – Pendleton Heights at Greenfield-Central
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Game Capsules
Eastern Hancock (5-4) at Lapel (5-4)
Kickoff: 7 p.m.
Coaches: Pat Echeverria, 33-24, in 5th year at Eastern Hancock, 65-80 in 13th year overall. Tim Miller, 75-62 in 12th year at Lapel.
Recent history: This matchup’s history is about as recent as it gets. In Lapel last Friday, the Bulldogs beat the Royals 36-31.
Sagarin ratings: Eastern Hancock, 46.07, 160th overall, 22nd in 2A. Lapel, 55.07, 119th overall, 11th in 2A.
Players to watch: Eastern Hancock — RB Mark Kube, DB Caiden Willis, LB Gabe Johnson, QB Elijah Edon, WR/S Cam Volz, WR/DB Dylan Bowman, NG/T Logan Hoskins, TE Kayden Ruble, WR Eli Manship, OLB Evan Wheeler. Lapel – WR/DB Nick Witte, WR/FS Rylie Hudson, QB Devin Craig, RB Jack Miller, OLB Matt Carpenter, DE/T Chandler Lowes, LB Isaiah Young
What to look for: Last week’s matchup, offensively, was the run versus the pass. Eastern Hancock’s Kube rushed for 253 yards and three touchdowns. Lapel’s Craig threw for 357 yards and five touchdowns. The teams may not have shown their complete hands last week with a playoff game looming, but both teams will seek better performances on the defensive end to try to secure a spot in the semifinals.
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Mt. Vernon (5-4) at Richmond (1-8)
Kickoff: 7 p.m.
Coaches: Vince Lidy, 25-9 in 3rd year at Mt. Vernon. Randall Kerns, 1-18 in 2nd year at Richmond.
Recent history: It’s the first meeting between the two since Mt. Vernon beat Richmond 49-7 in a 2020 sectional game. The Marauders lead the overall series 4-0.
Sagarin ratings: Mt. Vernon 69.81, 62nd overall, 15th in 4A. Richmond, 24.08, 243rd overall, 59th in 5A.
Players to watch: Mt. Vernon — WR/KR Tre Jones, OL/DL Roland Trimble, RB Joliba Brogan, DB DJ Johnson, WR Chris Edmonds, DL Shawn Taylor, TE/DE Tyler Etherington, LB Christian Kiptoo, LB Corbin May, K Rylan Vinard, QB/WR Mason Meyer, LB Aiden Lindstrom. Richmond – DE/C Kevin Handley, RB/LB Lewis Alexander, CB Deontae Watkins, QB Jayden Shipp, WR Haviaire Lapsley
What to look for: The Marauders have had an up and down season, but are currently on the ‘up’ side. They come into the tournament opener with a season-high three-game winning streak. Brogan rushed for 212 yards last week and Meyer, a freshman, threw a big third-down TD pass in last week’s victory over Yorktown. In six of Richmond’s nine games it has failed to score double figures. They’ve lost four straight since a Sept. 15 19-0 win over Class 6A Indianapolis Tech. In the last three weeks, the Red Devils have been outscored 135-14.
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New Castle (1-8) at Class 4A No. 3 New Palestine (7-2)
Kickoff: 7 p.m.
Coaches: Kyle York, 26-47 in 7th year at New Castle. Kyle Ralph 123-13 in 11th year at New Palestine..
Recent history: The Dragons have won all 11 meetings including a 35-7 decision two weeks ago.
Sagarin ratings: New Castle, 48.64, 147th overall, 38th in 4A. New Palestine, 84.88, 19th overall, 4th in 4A.
Players to watch: New Castle – DB/WR/RB Tylin Thrine, QB Tyson Lewis, FS/WR/PR Cade Logston, LB/DB/RB Landon Semler, DL Christian Wagers, DE/RB Brenndon Thompson. New Palestine — DL Michael Thacker, RB/LS Grayson Thomas, OL/DL Ian Moore, OL/DL Brock Brownfield, RB/WR Kyler Kropp, WR/DB Mason Hiatt, QB Gavin Neal, LB Josh Ranes, LB Garrett Ranes, DB Caden Jacobia, DL Abe Walling, LB Mason Oglesby, WR Ty Mitchell.
What to look for: The Dragons won, but coach Ralph wasn’t particularly pleased with his club’s overall performance when the team’s met in Week 8. It’s only been two weeks ago, but there has been a big change in the New Palestine lineup. All-state defensive lineman Michael Thacker has returned after missing a number of weeks. His presence was felt last week when he had eight tackles, including 2.5 sacks and four total tackles for loss in a win at Delta. The Dragons and Trojans are going in opposite directions. New Palestine has won seven in a row. New Castle has lost eight straight.
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Class 4A No. 12 Pendleton Heights (7-2) at Class 4A No. 4 Greenfield-Central (8-1)
Kickoff: 7 p.m.
Coaches: Jed Richman, 48-36 in 8th year at Pendleton Heights, 83-66 in 14th year overall. Travis Nolting, 27-23 in 5th year at Greenfield-Central, 87-51 in 13th year overall.
Recent history: On Sept. 8 in Pendleton Heights, the Cougars came back from a halftime deficit to defeat the Arabians 43-38.
Sagarin ratings: Greenfield-Central 76.77, 37th overall, 8th in 4A. Pendleton Heights 75.33, 40th overall, 9th in 4A.
Players to watch: Greenfield-Central – TE/LB Lane Wadle, QB Dallas Freeman, RB/LB Cooper Hinton, RB/LB Jake Hinton, WR/KR Kirk Knecht, FB/DL Payton Foley, OL Brayden Flener,K/P/DB Aaron Lee, DE Zach Blevens. Pendleton Heights – QB Isaac Wilson, WR/DB Nate Derolf, WR Caden Sims, LB/RB Dresden Roberts, DL/OL Eli Libler, RB/LB Nick Trout, QB Colton Frank, MLB Garrett Pederson.
What to look for: Not just in Class 4A, this should be one of the better first-round matchups in the tournament. Pendleton Heights led Greenfield-Central 24-8 in the first half of their meeting in Pendleton before the Cougars rallied for the victory. Freeman threw two touchdown passes and rushed for two others in G-C’s victory. Blevens was a force on the defensive side with three tackles for loss. This is the fourth time in Nolting’s five years his Cougars have met Richman’s Arabians in the postseason. Pendleton Heights won in 2019 and 2020. Greenfield-Central won last year’s playoff matchup 34-28.
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2023 Hancock County Football Statistical Leaders
PASSING
Name,School;G;C;A;YDS;PCT;Y/G;TD;INT;RAT
Dallas Freeman, Greenfield-Central;9;96;154;1304;.623;144.9;19;6;112.7
Luke Ertel, Mt. Vernon;7;88;148;1181;.595;168.7;10;3;99.0
Mason Meyer, Mt. Vernon;5;15;27;257;.556;51.4;2;1;97.3
Gavin Neal, New Palestine;9;55;102;1086;.539;120.7;9;8;88.1
Elijah Edon, Eastern Hancock;9;102;176;1292;.580;143.6;9;7;81.4
RUSHING
Name, School;G;CAR;YDS;AVG;Y/G;TD
Grayson Thomas, New Palestine;9;239;1719;7.2;191.0;22
Joliba Brogan, Mt. Vernon;9;189;1405;7.4;156.1;16
Mark Kube, Eastern Hancock;9;157;1057;6.7;117.4;17
Braylen Benavente, Greenfield-Central;6;103;477;4.6;79.5;1
Dallas Freeman, Greenfield-Central;9;93;685;7.4;76.1;8
RECEIVING
Name, School;G;REC;YDS;AVG;Y/G;TD
Kirk Knecht, Greenfield-Central;9;36;652;18.1;72.4;10
Kyler Kropp, New Palestine;9;25;565;22.6;62.8;5
Eli Manship, Eastern Hancock;8;30;452;15.1;56.5;2
Tre Jones, Mt. Vernon;9;29;467;16.1;51.9;6
Ty Mitchell, New Palestine;7;14;292;20.9;41.7;3
TACKLES
Name, School;G;S;A;T;T/G;TFL
Garrett Ranes, New Palestine;9;54;25;79;8.8;12.0
Jake Hinton, Greenfield-Central;9;56;22;78;8.7;19.0
Cameron Volz, Eastern Hancock;9;51;25;76;8.4;1.0
Gabe Johnson, Eastern Hancock;9;55;20;75;8.3;9.5
Ayden Trueblood, Eastern Hancock;9;35;40;75;8.3;3.5
SACKS
Name, School;G;S;S/G
Shawn Taylor, Mt. Vernon;9;5.0.6
Evan Wheeler, Eastern Hancock;9;4.5;0.5
Garrett Ranes, New Palestine;9;4.0;0.4
Jake Hinton, Greenfield-Central;9;4.0;0.4
Zach Blevens, Greenfield-Central;9;4.0;0.4
INTERCEPTIONS
Name, School;G;I;I/G
Kirk Knecht, Greenfield-Central;9;4;0.4
Mason Hiatt, New Palestine;8;3;0.4
Caiden Willis, Eastern Hancock;9;3;0.3
Dylan Bowman, Eastern Hancock;7;2;0.3
Caden Jacobia, New Palestine;8;2;0.3
Tre Jones, Mt. Vernon;9;2;0.2
Cameron Volz, Eastern Hancock;9;2;0.2
PUNTING
Name, School;P;YDS;AVE
Aaron Redmon, Eastern Hancock;17;664;39.1
Jake Wells, New Palestine;18;576;32.0
John Duncan, Mt. Vernon;29;897;30.9
Aaron Lee, Greenfield-Central;8;198;24.8
RETURN YARDS
Name, School;K;P;T
Tre Jones, Mt. Vernon;677;62;739
Cameron Volz, Eastern Hancock;199;114;313
Kirk Knecht, Greenfield-Central;240;30;270
Cooper Hinton, Greenfield-Central;226;0;226
Kyler Kropp, New Palestine;188;0;188
SCORING
Name, School;G;TD;CONV;S;K;TP;P/G
Grayson Thomas, New Palestine;9;22;0;0;0;132;14.7
Joliba Brogan, Mt. Vernon;9;17;0;0;0;102;11.3
Mark Kube, Eastern Hancock;9;17;0;0;0;102;11.3
Kirk Knecht, Greenfield-Central;9;13;4;0;0;82;9.1
Kyler Kropp, New Palestine;9;12;0;0;0;72;8.0
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The Associated Press Top 10 Indiana high school football poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through games of Tuesday, October 17, 2023, rating points and previous rankings:
| 6A | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank-School | FPV | Rcd | TP | Pvs |
| 1. Brownsburg | (11) | 9-0 | 274 | 1 |
| 2. Center Grove | (3) | 8-1 | 254 | 2 |
| 3. Indpls Ben Davis | – | 8-1 | 224 | 3 |
| 4. Crown Point | – | 9-0 | 188 | 5 |
| 5. Westfield | – | 8-1 | 160 | 6 |
| 6. Hamilton Southeastern | – | 7-2 | 124 | 4 |
| 7. Indpls Cathedral | – | 6-3 | 106 | 7 |
| 8. Penn | – | 8-1 | 100 | 8 |
| 9. Carroll (Fort Wayne) | – | 7-2 | 60 | 9 |
| 10. Fishers | – | 6-3 | 34 | 10 |
Others receiving votes: Warsaw 12. Lawrence North 4.
| 5A | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank-School | FPV | Rcd | TP | Pvs |
| 1. Bloomington North | (13) | 9-0 | 274 | 1 |
| 2. Ft. Wayne Snider | (1) | 8-1 | 248 | 2 |
| 3. Bloomington South | – | 8-1 | 222 | 3 |
| 4. Valparaiso | – | 7-2 | 196 | 4 |
| 5. Lafayette Harrison | – | 8-1 | 156 | 5 |
| 6. Merrillville | – | 7-2 | 138 | 6 |
| 7. Decatur Central | – | 7-2 | 102 | 7 |
| 8. Floyd Central | – | 8-1 | 96 | 8 |
| 9. Mishawaka | – | 7-2 | 72 | 9 |
| 10. Castle | – | 6-3 | 22 | NR |
Others receiving votes: McCutcheon 6. Plainfield 4. Ev. North 2. Whiteland 2.
| 4A | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank-School | FPV | Rcd | TP | Pvs |
| 1. E. Central | (14) | 9-0 | 280 | 1 |
| 2. Ev. Reitz | – | 9-0 | 252 | 2 |
| 3. New Palestine | – | 7-2 | 208 | 4 |
| 4. Greenfield-Central | – | 8-1 | 184 | 6 |
| 5. Mississinewa | – | 9-0 | 142 | 7 |
| 6. E. Noble | – | 7-2 | 130 | 8 |
| 7. New Haven | – | 8-1 | 98 | 9 |
| 8. Northridge | – | 7-2 | 74 | 3 |
| 9. Kokomo | – | 7-2 | 56 | 5 |
| 10. Leo | – | 7-2 | 54 | 10 |
Others receiving votes: NorthWood 24. Pendleton Hts. 14. New Prairie 14. Jasper 6. Martinsville 2. Ev. Memorial 2.
| 3A | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank-School | FPV | Rcd | TP | Pvs |
| 1. Indpls Chatard | (14) | 9-0 | 280 | 1 |
| 2. Hanover Central | – | 9-0 | 222 | 2 |
| 3. Guerin Catholic | – | 7-2 | 180 | 3 |
| 3. Tippecanoe Valley | – | 9-0 | 180 | 4 |
| 5. Hamilton Hts. | – | 9-0 | 170 | 5 |
| 6. Gibson Southern | – | 7-2 | 156 | 6 |
| 7. Heritage Hills | – | 8-1 | 104 | 7 |
| 8. Tri-West | – | 8-1 | 60 | 8 |
| 9. Peru | – | 9-0 | 50 | 9 |
| (tie) Knox | – | 9-0 | 50 | 10 |
Others receiving votes: W. Noble 34. Batesville 26. Centerville 12. Vincennes 12. Lawrenceburg 4.
| 2A | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank-School | FPV | Rcd | TP | Pvs |
| 1. Triton Central | (10) | 8-1 | 272 | 1 |
| 2. Linton | (3) | 8-1 | 240 | 2 |
| 3. Brownstown | – | 8-1 | 216 | 3 |
| 4. N. Posey | – | 8-1 | 192 | 4 |
| 5. LaVille | (1) | 8-1 | 158 | 5 |
| 6. Alexandria | – | 8-1 | 144 | 7 |
| 7. Ft. Wayne Luers | – | 6-3 | 96 | 6 |
| 8. Bluffton | – | 8-1 | 60 | 10 |
| 9. S. Vermillion | – | 8-1 | 58 | 9 |
| 10. Lafayette Catholic | – | 6-3 | 42 | NR |
Others receiving votes: Paoli 30. Rochester 16. Greencastle 12. Eastbrook 4.
| 1A | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank-School | FPV | Rcd | TP | Pvs |
| 1. Indpls Lutheran | (14) | 8-0 | 280 | 1 |
| 2. Adams Central | – | 9-0 | 250 | 2 |
| 3. Carroll (Flora) | – | 9-0 | 224 | 3 |
| 4. Providence | – | 9-0 | 192 | 4 |
| 5. Indpls Park Tudor | – | 9-0 | 146 | 5 |
| 6. S. Putnam | – | 8-1 | 136 | 6 |
| 7. N. White | – | 9-0 | 114 | 7 |
| 8. Springs Valley | – | 8-1 | 94 | 8 |
| 9. Triton | – | 6-3 | 34 | NR |
| 10. S. Adams | – | 6-3 | 18 | NR |
| (tie) Milan | – | 6-3 | 18 | NR |
Others receiving votes: Sheridan 16. Madison-Grant 8. W. Central 6. N. Decatur 4.
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