TGD Hancock County Game of the Week on Saturday
New Palestine (2-1) vs. Batesville (3-0) at Lucas Oil Stadium
Pregame 11:30 a.m., Kickoff Noon; Saturday, Sept. 12, 2009
Hear it here at Audio Sports Online.
The coaches:
NP: Tim Able (1st year at NP, 2-1; 18th year overall, 97-93)
Batesville: Eric Heppner (14th year at Batesville, 97-58)
The series: NP won 30-13 last season and has won two in a row in the series. Since these teams began, the Dragons have won four of six meetings. The 2007 game was a 7-6 NP victory. This is always a pretty good non-conference matchup between two pretty evenly-matched teams that have a lot of respect for each other.
Scouting the Dragons: The Dragons are coming off an impressive 49-14 victory over Pendleton Heights in which they ran for 440 yards, threw for 103 more and scored on seven of their first eight possessions. The FieldTurf at Lucas Oil Stadium should benefit a team that has a lot of speed -- most notably coming from senior WR/RB/FS Pat Feeney. He had 200+ yards rushing and 100+ receiving last week, including 3 touchdowns. He has five TDs total and is averaging 160 yards per game from scrimmage. On defense, he has four interceptions and has a pick in all of the Dragons' games so far. The Dragons have a lot of balance -- senior QB Cary Albrecht has thrown for 234 yards and run for 117 so far -- and RBs Austin Cahoy, Brett Jackson, Michael Phelps and Bryce Pierson will all touch the ball. Cahoy had a big game last week against PH. NP's defense clamped down against the run last week, holding PH to 87 rushing yards. They'll have to again against a Batesville team that likes to keep the ball on the ground. Pierson and LB Chris Poland lead the team in tackles. Last week, NP's defense produced four takeaways, all interceptions. While a lot of teams are getting a new look at Lucas Oil Stadium this week, this will be the Dragons' second trip to the home of the Indianapolis Colts. They helped inaugurate the stadium by playing on the facility's opening night last year -- a 33-12 loss to Whiteland in the 2008 season opener. NP will also play in Lucas Oil on Oct. 10 against Greenfield-Central.
Scouting the Bulldogs: Batesville has rolled through its first three games, scoring an average of 34 points per game. One of those was against 5A Jennings County. The Bulldogs have also beaten Milan and South Dearborn on the season. The Bulldogs are one of the premier 3A teams in southeastern Indiana, going 70-31 from 2001-08 (including a 5-5 mark last season) and winning six straight sectionals in that time. Batesville will employ two different offensive setups, but both will be run-oriented -- the Wing-T is the base offense, but the Bulldogs will throw in some single-wing. Last year, they had a lot of success running the latter against NP. Senior QB Connor Kelley is a run-pass threat. In the win over Milan, he therw for nearly 200 yards. Against Jennings County, he ran and threw for more than 100. His favorite receiver is tight end Tom Jeffers, who opened the year with a 117-yard receiving game against Jennings County. The guys who usually touch it in the backfield are halfback Chris Miller and fullback Brigham Patterson, both of whom were key players for the Bulldogs last season. In this game, don't expect a lot of passing -- both of these teams love to run the ball and have the horses to do so.
Myself, Jim Ryan and Tim Adams will have the call. Make sure to listen to what will be a great high school football game ... Saturday morning at 11:30 a.m.
While you're at it, make sure you check out Pak-Rite Rentals. If you own a business, they've got the container or trash compactor to suit you. Call them at 861-5537. Also, we want to welcome Batesville's State Farm Insurance and Paul Ehrman to our team this weekend. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.
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