Cardinals oust Mustangs from 2A substate action

Possessing the ball was a focal point of Newton High’s game plan Tuesday as the Cardinal boys opened Class 2A Substate 7 play at home against Prairie City-Monroe.

The Cardinals had rolled past the Mustangs on May 14, 17-1, but were taking nothing for granted in postseason play. Newton has had a couple of games in which passing and possessing the ball have not gone as planned.

Newton did what it needed to do, even in a downpour during the first half, as the Cardinals knocked the Mustangs out of contention with a 7-0 win. The Cardinals held a big margin in possession time of the ball over the Mustangs.

“”We came out flat in the first half. In this game, we wanted to possess the ball and establish some rhythm with our passing game,” said Sackda Viravong, Newton head coach. “There we’re some good moments in the way we played and some average/poor moments in areas that need to be improved.”

Eighteen minutes into the game, Dalton Nevels used a pass from Josh Ventling to put Newton up 1-0. The Mustangs did not give up another goal to the Cardinals in the first half, and trailed 1-0 at the break.

“No one wants to lose, so we’re disappointed in that, but we played hard,” said Darrin Telfer, PCM head coach. “We played much better tonight than the last time we played Newton.”

Ventling delivered a corner kick to the right spot and Garrett Sturtz headed the ball into the net past PCM goalkeeper Zac Van Waardhuizen. Newton was up 2-0 at the 38:57 mark of the second half.

Five minutes later, Sturtz got an assist on a goal by Zach Combs. With 19:14 remaining in the game, Duncan Lee booted in the fourth goal of the night for Newton. Mike McCormick with an assist from Lee made it 5-0 with 13:18 on the clock.

Ventling scored with 7:17 left in the game, and as time was winding down, Justin Fisher scored the final goal with 12 seconds remaining.

“It was a good win and everyone on the roster got a chance to play in the game,” Viravong said. “Greg Mettler, a freshman, made his first varsity game start on defense and did a great job controlling and moving the ball.”

The Mustangs put just four shots on goal in the game. Grant Davidson played 60 minutes in goal for the Cardinals and Reagan Maple took over for the final 20 minutes. Neither Newton goalkeeper was challenged and did not have a save.

Not so for Van Waardhuizen, who allowed seven goals on 12 shots by the Cardinals. Newton had 11 corner-kick opportunities in the game.

“We’re still young,” Telfer said. “As I told the kids, our skill level is not on the same level as Newton’s. We gave it a shot tonight, and the kids gave it all they had out there.”

Newton (9-9) move into the Class 2A Substate 7 semifinals Thursday. The Cardinals take on Knoxville at 6 p.m. at Knoxville.

In the other quarterfinal Tuesday, Winterset beat Carlisle, 3-1. Winterset plays at Norwalk Thursday. The substate championship game is at noon Saturday at Norwalk.

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