Fall was here last Friday for a great evening to play football, but summer returned to Iowa this week. I was glad to have two Newton High volleyball dates while the heat and humidity ruled outside.
The Cardinal volleyball team battled a good Dallas Center-Grimes team Tuesday in Little Hawkeye Conference play. The match went five sets with the Fillies leaving the NHS gym with the win, and leaving the Cardinals close but with no conference win yet.
On Thursday, Newton hosted a triangular volleyball meet with Class 3A 15th-ranked North Polk and South Tama coming to play in the Cardinal gym. The Cardinals were close again to pulling out a victory against North Polk’s Comets, but couldn’t not get over the hump.
Newton had lost six matches in a row after starting the season with two victories. All seven of the Cardinals’ matches have been played at home. They finally gave their fans another victory Thursday night, beating South Tama.
Most of us think football in the fall, but there are several other sports going on. Newton’s volleyball team, NCMP’s Aquagirls and the Newton High cross country teams are finding their identities right now. All of the teams have experienced seniors and juniors to lead the way, but also strong younger athletes making marks.
The Newton High boys opened the Class 4A golf season Tuesday. Again, it’s all a work in progress — as a Cardinal volleyball player told me earlier this week.
Witnessing the growth of the student-athletes as individuals and as teams is tremendous. Young people never cease to amaze me even after all these years of working as a sports journalist.
Turning back to football, Sept. 23 is a big date for Newton High School football. It’s homecoming. The Cardinals will be back off a two-week road game stint.
Another reason Sept. 23 is big — Newton will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Cardinals winning the Central Iowa Conference championship in 1966. Members of the 1966 football team will be recognized between the freshman and varsity football games at H.A. Lynn Stadium.
What team is Newton facing that night? Marshalltown. In 1966, Newton clinched a share of the CIC title with a 32-13 win at Marshalltown. The Cardinals wrapped up the title the next week, beating Ames 13-0, for a 7-1 mark.
I’ve been gathering information for a feature on the 1966 Cardinals. Several of the team members have given phone interviews to me and several have shared memories in emails.
The 2016 Cardinals open Class 4A District 4 action Sept. 23 against Marshalltown. Yes, it will be a big night at H.A. Lynn Stadium, so don’t miss it.
Four area high school football teams open district play Friday night. Class 3A and below begin the drive to the playoffs.
Around here all week, the college football talk has been about the Cy-Hawk game Saturday between Iowa and Iowa State at Iowa City. I’m neutral on the subject. My K-State Wildcats lost to Stanford last Friday. It is a loss I can live with because the Wildcats played pretty well and had opportunities to win at Stanford.
I’ll get plenty of football this weekend — high school on Friday, college on Saturday and NFL on Sunday. Big Kansas City Chiefs fan here. The Chiefs open at home against AFC West foe San Diego.
I’m ready for it all.
Contact Jocelyn Sheets at
jsheets@newtondailynews.com