By Andrew Smith
For The Daily Reporter
YORKTOWN – The New Palestine football team has made a habit of turning games in a flash.
Friday night, the damage was done in a five-second span in the Class 4A No. 1 Dragons’ 41-13 victory over Yorktown.
Yorktown had been moving the ball on its first possession, but the Dragons’ defense stuffed the Tigers on fourth-and-1, setting the Dragons off on a 69-yard scoring drive capped by Jacob Davis’ 4-yard TD run.
Moments later, Connor Jacobia fell on a muff on the ensuing kickoff, leading to a 5-yard scamper by Josh Ranes.
In a span of five seconds, the Dragons’ lead had grown from 6-0 to 21-0, and they were well on their way to the victory.
“It was my teammate who had outside contain who was able to open that ball up for me and hit their player,” Jacobia said of the fumble recovery. “(That play) was huge for us. Our offense has weapons everywhere.”
The Dragons’ weapon of choice Friday was Ranes, who ran for 177 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries. With the lead at 21-0, his 40-yard run helped set up Davis’ third rushing touchdown of the night in the second quarter. Ranes then carried 64 yards up the gut on the Dragons’ first offensive snap of the third for a score to put NP up 41-0.
In-between, Jacobia had a diving interception. Three plays later, Davis hit Austin McMahan for a 55-yard touchdown with 1:14 left in the half to give the Dragons a 35-point lead and trigger the running clock.
The Dragons’ starters got one series each in the second half, and made the most of it, with the defense forcing a punt and Ranes scoring on the lone offensive play for the starters.
“We haven’t played a second half in two weeks,” Dragons coach Kyle Ralph said, noting last week’s game against Decatur Central was canceled after halftime due to lightning. “Coming out, it was up to the boys as far as how long they played. If they came out and did their jobs, it was going to be short-lived. I was proud our defense came out and made a nice stop, and offense came out with a one-play drive. That’s how you’re supposed to start a half.”
While Yorktown scored twice against the Dragons’ JV defense, the second-half drives for the second unit were important minutes.
“Those young guys deserve to get on the field, because they make us better on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. They make our varsity good,” Ralph said. “It was good to see them get a lot of clock time.
“Our depth is getting tested. We don’t have much right now. It’s hard to be a 4A team. You’re never going to have a lot of depth. Getting those young guys some game experience on a varsity field, hopefully, those nerves are gone. In years past, it’s paid big dividends for us. The more those guys play on Friday night, the better off you’re going to be in the future.”
The Dragons moved the ball effectively — gaining 259 yards on the ground and 375 yards overall. Davis was 7 of 8 for 116 yards through the air and ran for 55 yards behind a line that controlled things up front. That was most notable on Davis’ third rushing touchdown, which was a broken play. He turned to hand the ball off, but had no running back in the area, so he tucked it and walked untouched into the end zone.
“The main goal is to move people off the ball,” Dragons center Landon Seib said. “There will be holes open. It’s nice whenever your quarterback gets a score.”
Yorktown sophomore quarterback Sam Tokar was 20-for-34 for 163 yards, including nine for 104 yards and a score to Ephraim Daugherty. Yorktown had 236 yards of total offense, with most coming against the Dragons’ second-unit defense. NP held Yorktown to 12 rushing yards in the first half.
The Dragons (2-0, 1-0 HHC) turn their attention to a trip to Fortville and their 65th meeting with Mt. Vernon next week in the annual Battle for the Boundary Rail. Yorktown is now 2-1 overall and hosts arch-rival Delta next week.
–
New Palestine 41, Yorktown 13
New Palestine (2-0, 1-0);21;14;6;0-;41
Yorktown (2-1, 0-1);0;0;7;6;-;13
Scoring Summary
1st Quarter
NP – Jacob Davis 33 run (kick failed), 9:59
NP – Davis 4 run (Austin McMahan pass from Davis), 2:23
NP – Josh Ranes 5 run (Wells kick), 2:18
2nd Quarter
NP – Davis 3 run (Wells kick), 4:32
NP – McMahan 55 pass from Davis (Wells kick), 1:14
3rd Quarter
NP – Ranes 64 run (kick failed), 5:49
Y – Ephraim Daugherty 54 pass from Sam Tokar (Drake Ford kick), 2:49
4th Quarter
Y – Noah Long 3 run (kick failed), 3:49
