New Palestine 2026 Football Preview: Schedule, Players and Prediction | Top 25 Public HSFB
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2026 Public Schools Top 100 Preview: No. 75 New Palestine
New Palestine returns a championship receiving corps and a disruptive young defense while replacing the quarterback, top three rushers and veteran linemen from a 14-0 team.
Top 25 Public HSFB8/17/20266 min read
New Palestine won every game it played in 2025 and finished the job against Merrillville. The Dragons broke a 17-17 tie with 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter of the IHSAA Class 5A final, won 38-17 and completed a 14-0 season.
It was New Palestine's second straight state championship and fifth overall. The 2026 roster carries that standard while replacing the quarterback, top three rushers and veteran linemen from an offense that scored 630 points. Head coach Kyle Ralph reported four returning starters on offense and four on defense before the season.
Team Snapshot
2025 record: 14-0
2025 conference record: 7-0
2025 finish: IHSAA Class 5A state champion
2026 classification: IHSAA Class 5A
Head coach: Kyle Ralph
Returning starters reported by the program: Four on offense, four on defense
2025 scoring: 630 points scored, 77 allowed
2026 Outlook
The first job is replacing Jacob Davis. The graduated quarterback threw 22 touchdown passes and ran for 14 more in 2025. Rhys Ragan is expected to take over on offense after moving in from Texas. Ryder Gardner, who was initially projected to be quarterback will move to wide receiver and still play defensive back.
That receiving group gives Ragan a strong starting point. Landon Maddox averaged 44 receiving yards per game and caught six touchdown passes. Cael Butler averaged 38.6 yards and scored four times. Mason Oglesby caught 34 passes for 513 yards and six touchdowns. All three were juniors in 2025 and now form an experienced senior group.
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Oglesby is the most recruited player on the roster. The Class of 2027 tight end and linebacker committed to Kansas in May after choosing the Jayhawks over Indiana, North Carolina and Ohio State. He is also one of the returning defenders Ralph identified as central to the 2026 team.
The running game has a larger vacancy. Caden Jacobia, Davis and Josh Ranes were New Palestine's top three rushers, and all graduated. The Dragons also lost Purdue signee Brock Brownfield and Army signee Abe Walling from the line. Kaeden Ralph, a Class of 2028 center, gained starting experience as a sophomore and now has to help organize a younger group.
Sam Hirschy gives both lines a proven young player. He recorded 63 tackles, 20.5 tackles for loss, 8.5 sacks and 12 quarterback hurries as a sophomore. The Class of 2028 defensive lineman now holds reported offers from programs that include Auburn, California, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska, Purdue, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech and Wisconsin.
Andrew Davis returns behind him after leading the Dragons with four interceptions, including three in the sectional championship win over Cathedral. Evan Walker also returns after kicking two field goals in the regional win over East Central and a 37-yarder in the state final. The defense and kicking game may have to carry more early weight while the new backfield settles.
Ralph left no ambiguity about the expectation. He wrote that championship football is the expectation at New Palestine and set goals of winning the Hoosier Heritage Conference and defending the state title. The roster has enough returning playmakers to pursue both, but it must solve the offense's most important jobs in August.
Players to Know
Mason Oglesby | TE/LB | Class of 2027 Oglesby is committed to Kansas after catching 34 passes for 513 yards and six touchdowns in 2025. He is the most established receiving target and a returning two-way starter, so New Palestine needs his impact on more than passing downs.
Sam Hirschy | DL/OL | Class of 2028 Hirschy produced 63 tackles, 20.5 tackles for loss, 8.5 sacks and 12 hurries as a sophomore. He is the defense's most proven source of disruption and one of the linemen who must help replace major graduation losses on offense.
Ryder Gardner | WR/DB | Class of 2027 Gardner will be another play maker on the outside, and a key asset who knows the offense for newcomer, Rhys Ragan. He also will be a key defender as well.
Landon Maddox | WR/DB | Class of 2027 Maddox led New Palestine at 44 receiving yards per game and caught six touchdown passes in 2025. He gives Gardner an established outside target and a player who already produced in championship games.
Cael Butler | WR/DB | Class of 2027 Butler averaged 38.6 receiving yards per game and scored four times last season. His return prevents defenses from treating Oglesby and Maddox as the only threats in the passing game.
Rhys Ragan | QB | Class of 2028
Ragan will be taking over at quarterback after moving in from Texas.
Kaeden Ralph | C | Class of 2028 Ralph started at center as a sophomore on a senior-heavy championship offense. With Brownfield and Walling gone, his communication and consistency become central to the entire backfield transition.
Andrew Davis | WR/DB | Class of 2028 Davis led the Dragons with four interceptions as a sophomore. Three came against Cathedral in the sectional championship, evidence that he can change a playoff game from the back end.
Schedule Breakdown
The championship defense begins against another champion. New Palestine hosts St. Francis of Wheaton, Illinois, which won the 2025 IHSA Class 5A title. One week later, East Central visits for a rematch of New Palestine's 20-6 regional victory.
Four straight conference road games follow: Yorktown, Mt. Vernon, Pendleton Heights and Roncalli. Greenfield-Central visits in the middle of that run. The schedule then changes scale when IMG Academy comes to New Palestine on Oct. 9.
The Dragons close against Delta before the IHSAA tournament. St. Francis, East Central, Roncalli and IMG Academy give the new backfield four very different tests, while the conference schedule leaves little room for a slow reset.
Complete 2026 Schedule
Aug. 21: vs. St. Francis (Ill)
Aug. 28: vs. East Central
Sept. 4: at Yorktown
Sept. 11: at Mt. Vernon
Sept. 18: at Pendleton Heights
Sept. 25: vs. Greenfield-Central
Oct. 2: at Roncalli
Oct. 9: vs. IMG Academy (FL)
Oct. 16: vs. Delta
Biggest Question
Can New Palestine rebuild the backfield without losing its offensive identity?
Newcomer Ragan will have three proven senior targets. What he does not have is Davis' 36 combined touchdowns or the production of the top three 2025 rushers. The answer starts against an Illinois champion and must hold up when IMG Academy arrives in October.
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8-1 regular season; reaches the Class 5A state championship game.
I have New Palestine extending its conference championship streak and returning to Lucas Oil Stadium. Oglesby, Gardner, Maddox and Butler give Ragan an unusual amount of receiving experience for a new starter, and Hirschy gives the defense a disruptive centerpiece. IMG Academy is the obvious regular-season loss candidate, while the rebuilt running game and offensive line decide whether the Dragons can win five more playoff games.
Bottom Line
New Palestine is replacing championship production, not championship expectations. The returning receiving corps, Hirschy's pressure and Davis' ball production give the Dragons a real base while the quarterback, running back and line jobs change hands.
No. 75 reflects the transition. If Ragan and the new runners are dependable by October, New Palestine has enough around them to play for a third straight state title.
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