HUXLEY — Matthew Karsten returned the second-half kickoff 75 yards for a touchdown to pull Newton High’s freshmen even with Ballard Friday night. Unfortunately, the Bomber freshmen scored late in the third quarter and late in the fourth quarter to hand the Cardinal freshmen their first loss of the season, 26-12.
That was Karsten’s fourth kickoff return for touchdown this season. Newton scored first in the game on a 26-yard run by Garrett Sturtz in the first quarter. Ballard scored two touchdowns in the second period to lead 12-6 at the break.
Sturtz rushed for 29 yards on four carries and went 3-for-5 passing for 10 yards. Jace Lukefahr had 19 yards on five carries and Josh Miravalles had 15 yards on three carries. Miravalles had one catch for four yards and Carson Cazett caught one pass for six yards.
Alex Morris, Cazett, Isaiah Breeden and Reid Umbarger each had six tackles. Zach Combs made three tackles and intercepted a pass.
“The boys played their hearts out in a tough, physical football game. We just did not make enough plays to come out on top,” said Trent Powers, NHS assistant coach. “The windy conditions impacted us more than we were hoping, but I thought we handled it mentally as good as we could.
“We only had six offensive plays in the second half, Ballard did a great job controlling the ball. Its tough to win on only six plays a half.”
Newton’s freshmen are 5-1 and play at home Friday against Pella.
Contact Sports Editor Jocelyn Sheets at (641) 792-3121 Ext. 6535 or jsheets@newtondailynews.com.