Cardinals take a second go at top-ranked Pella

How do you stop the juggernaut known as Pella Little Dutch?

“I don’t know, but we’re going to give it a good try,” said Ed Ergenbright, Newton High head football coach. “I do know, and am confident, we will do a far better job against Pella than the first time this season.”

The Cardinals decked the Clear Creek-Amana Clippers, 23-21, in the first round of the Iowa Class 3A playoffs at Tiffin Wednesday night. Newton earned a second-round berth on Monday.

Four weeks ago, the No. 1 Class 3A football team in Iowa came to H.A. Lynn Stadium to take on the ninth-ranked NHS Cardinals. On that night, the first 11 plays were all Newton — an opening scoring drive, and had a good stop by the defense on Pella’s first offensive play.

Then the flood gates opened as the Little Dutch flexed its muscles and scored 62 unanswered points in the first half. Newton lost to Pella, 69-14.

“We have a second opportunity to go against this season’s best team in Class 3A. As competitors, our kids and our coaches did not like being embarrassed in that game by our play against Pella. Pella didn’t run up the score. We couldn’t stop them,” Ergenbright said.

So, Monday, the Cardinals travel to Pella Community High School to play the Little Dutch on their turf. Kickoff is 7 p.m.

Newton drove right down the field and scored a touchdown against Pella in the Oct. 10 game.

“We know we can do some things offensively against Pella. We have to find ways to keep their offense off the field, which means sustaining drives and finishing with points,” Ergenbright said. “We cannot give the short fields and allow them to score in rapid-fire fashion like they did in that first game.”

Newton’s rushing attack has rolled up 2,528 yards on 433 carries as the Cardinals average 5.8 yards a carry. They have scored 33 touchdowns. The Little Dutch have 2,865 yards on 325 carries, averaging 8.8 yards per carry and scoring 46 touchdowns.

The Cardinals are led by senior quarterback Tyler Wood with 731 yards rushing on 149 carries. Wood has completed 64 of 125 passes for 945 yards for eight touchdowns and two interceptions.

Pella comes in with junior quarterback Noah Clayberg leading the way with 1,105 rushing yards, ranking 12th in Class 3A. Clayberg has Nathan Henry and Quinton Murphy in the backfield, each have piled up more than 600 yards on the ground.

Newton has senior running back Deonne Harris with 562 yards on 60 carries and junior Joseph Banfield with 491 yards rushing. Seniors Tristan Peters and J.T. Thongvanh have gained 301 yards and 251 yards, respectively.

The Cardinals’ senior wide receiver Nick Easley is 10th in receiving yards in 3A with 31 catches for 532 yards and seven touchdowns. Pella’s Will Warner has 29 receptions for 415 yards and five touchdowns as Clayberg is 61-of-87 passing for 831 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Pella features strong line of the scrimmage play on both sides of the football. The Little Dutch, which is bigger up front than Newton, are led by senior Garret Jansen. Jansen plays on the offensive line, but has made his mark as defensive tackle with 28 sole tackles and 24 assisted tackles. Jansen has 10 solo tackles for loss and three quarterback sacks.

“Our kids are preparing for Monday’s game in the right way. They want to show they are a better team than what they showed the first game against Pella,” Ergenbright said. “I’m confident they’ll give a great effort and we’ll see what happens.”

Contact Jocelyn Sheets at 641-792-3121 ext. 6535 or jsheets@newtondailynews.com.