New Palestine head coach Kyle Ralph is no stranger to winning.
In his 13th season, Ralph has won his fifth state title and now boasts two separate undefeated back-to-back campaigns on his résumé. Yet, this team was a bit different as they capped off its repeat title quest with a 38-17 victory over Merrillville.
“No one has every done what we did,” Ralph said. “No one’s ever played five ranked teams in a row and won them all [to become] state champions.”
While the Dragons were able to win it, the Pirates were the ones to land the first punch as senior defensive back Keith Edwards picked off New Palestine quarterback Jacob Davis for the first of his two interceptions on the night. Afterwards, Merrillville marched down the field with ease and capped it off with a one-yard keeper from junior quarterback Michael Hill Jr. to go up 7-0.
Davis quickly found his rhythm, connecting with junior Landon Maddox streaking down the sideline for a 40-yard equalizer in the first quarter. With Davis coming down after a play with a shoulder injury, the Dragons leaned on senior running back Caden Jacobia to the tune of 93 first-half yards to go up 17-7.
Down double digits, it was then that the Pirates found out they would be without Hill for the remainder of the game. Rather than rolling over, senior quarterback Darnell Bowles Jr. subbed in and went 3-of-3 for 62 yards and a touchdown to put Merrillville on the board one more time before half.
“We had our moments where we were really poor,” Ralph said. “Some of that was Merrillville being a really good football team, and some of that [was] us not playing very well.”
Starting the third quarter, operations were not nearly as smooth for Bowles and the Pirates. The backup gunslinger would promptly be picked off by senior ATH Josh Ranes.
Thanks to a missed field goal, Bowles got redemption and drove Merrillville down the field, ultimately settling for a 34-yard field goal from Bentio Gonzalez to even the score late in the third quarter.
“We told the guys that this would be a marathon, not a sprint,” Ralph said. “We felt like we were in better condition; that we could win a game late like this, and that is exactly what happened.”
Knotted up at 17 to start the final period of play, the Dragons were the first to strike with a 24-yard run by Ranes early in the fourth quarter.
Just a few minutes later, a failed fourth-down conversion set Jacobia up perfectly for a go-ahead score and his second of the night. One last score from Ranes would put a bow on a dominant fourth quarter from the Hoosier Heritage champs.
As a team, the Dragons rushed for 312 yards and four touchdowns with Davis leading the way with 129 yards and Jacobia not far behind at 125.
Davis’ performance caps off an undefeated career as New Palestine’s starter, imploring Ralph to to urge Mr. Football voters to give his quarterback the nod for such an impressive campaign.
“I’d rather end [my career] like this, I don’t really care about [Mr. Football],” Davis said. “At the end of the day, all [we] cared about was to be able to come out here and win this tough game.”