Nationally-ranked IMG Academy brings star-studded roster to New Palestine
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What is New Palestine’s football program up against when IMG Academy visits Hancock County on Friday night?
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Stars. Enough to light up the night sky.
Florida-based IMG Academy is ranked No. 4 in the country by USA TODAY and No. 6 by High School Football America. The Ascenders have 19 four-star players on the roster, including edge rusher Jackson Vaughn, a Notre Dame recruit with 15 tackles for loss and five sacks, and the top-rated junior quarterback recruit in the country in Georgia commit Jayden Wade.
This game only came about because of the defections of New Castle and Shelbyville from the Hoosier Heritage Conference. New Palestine added Roncalli, which it lost to 20-6 last week, and IMG Academy to fill out the nonconference schedule.
The IMG game came about after former New Palestine assistant and current Cascade coach Nick Brickens joked with coach Kyle Ralph in the spring that they should fill one of the open spots on the schedule with IMG. Two days later, Ralph got a text from IMG’s director of football operations that the program was looking for an opponent.
At first, he thought he was being pranked. But then he thought: Why not?
“My policy since I got here, when Al Cooper hired me, is that we would not be afraid to play anybody,” said Ralph, who is 160-16 in 14 years at New Palestine with five state championships. “No matter the state of our program, if someone asks to play, we’re going to try to rise to that occasion and play. If we have an opening and somebody calls, we’re going to play them. … I want our program built off competition and I want our kids to find out what they are made of. You can’t do that if you shy away. You take adversity head-on and come through it a little more polished than what you were.”
New Palestine does have ranked recruits. Senior tight end and Kansas commit Mason Oglesby is a four-star prospect on the 247Sports composite. Junior defensive lineman Sam Hirschy is a four-star prospect in the 2028 class. Kaeden Ralph, a junior lineman, has an offer from UConn. So does junior safety Andrew Davis.
IMG has visited Indiana previously, defeating the 2023 Ben Davis team 34-14. It was the only loss for the Giants in a Class 6A state title season. Wade, the Georgia recruit, has completed 69.5% of his passes for 1,188 yards and 16 TDs with no interceptions and rushed for 182 yards and three TDs.
But he is far from a one-man band. Osani Gayles, a four-star receiver headed to Alabama, has 25 catches for 552 yards and seven TDs. Eric McFarland, a four-star receiver headed to Texas A&M, has 20 receptions for 425 yards and seven TDs. Cornerbacks Aaryn Washington and Censere Gaylord are committed to USC and Washington, respectively. Junior running back Elijah Newman-Hall is committed to Ohio State.
The list goes on and on. If you don’t catch them Friday, IMG Academy will be on ESPN2 next week against NFL Academy out of London.
Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649.Get IndyStar's high school coverage sent directly to your inbox with the High School Sports newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Nationally-ranked IMG Academy brings star-studded roster to New Palestine