Cardinal football players receive Class 4A District 4 honors

Stepping back into Iowa high school’s Class 4A football competition, Newton High’s Cardinals had a strong season. No, they didn’t make the playoff — that was West Des Moines Valley and Southeast Polk out of the Class 4 District 4.

The Cardinals finished third in the district at 2-3. Newton notched a 6-3 overall mark in its first season back in Class 4A football.

Newton’s players were recognized by Class 4A District 4 coaches for their efforts, earning four first-team and four second-team spots among the All-District 4 selections. The Cardinals had eight players receive honorable mention honors from district coaches. All-district selections were recently released.

Cardinal seniors Brady Smith, Caden Manning, Reese Rosenquist and Caleb Kite were named All-District 4 First-Team. Seniors Jordan Norvell and Alex Miller and juniors Garrett Sturtz and Trevor Ergenbright were named to the All-District 4 Second Team.

Receiving honorable mention honors for Newton were seniors Lucas Montgomery and Josh Gulling, juniors Joe Busch, Grayson Graham, Blayden Rhone, Jaron Roush and Zach Combs and sophomore Jaise Gulling.

“We’re proud of these players who represent how hard our entire team worked this season,” Newton head coach Ed Ergenbright said. “It reflects the dedication our players have to the team, our program, our school and our community.”

Smith led the district in solo tackles with 44 as a 6-foot, 200-pound linebacker for Newton. Smith had eight assisted tackles, five tackles for loss and one forced fumble. He missed two games with an injury.

Rosenquist, who is 6-feet and 185 pounds, played on both sides of the football for Newton as a linebacker on defense and a running back on offense. He led the team in rushing — 102 carries for 640 yards and seven touchdowns, which was third in the district.

Rosenquist was second in solo tackles among district defensive players with 43 and added 12 assisted tackles. Rosenquist’s 22 tackles for loss tied him for the top spot in that category in Class 4A with Johnson Mator of Cedar Rapids Kennedy.

Rosenquist also had six quarterback sacks. He had a safety, a fumble recovery and an interception.

Working along the defensive line in the nose guard and tackle spots this season, Kite recorded 13 unassisted tackles and 17 assisted tackles. He had 3.5 tackles for loss and an assisted quarterback sack. Kite recovered a fumble for a touchdown and forced a fumble this season.

“Brady had a great season. He was the vocal leader on defense, setting us up each play. Caleb and Brady worked in tandem in the middle of our defense. Both worked very hard in the weight room and it paid off for them,” Ergenbright said.

“Reese was our spark plug on both sides of the ball. He had 22 tackles for loss on defense and was one short of our school career record,” Ergenbright said. “He was all over the field, pursuing the football on defense. Offensively, he ran hard and had some big runs for us in big situations.”

Manning has been a three-year starter on the Cardinal offensive line. The 6-foot-3-inch, 270-pound offensive tackle had earned Class 3A district honors as a junior.

Manning, Miller and Montgomery played key roles up front on the offensive line to help Newton lead District 4 in rushing — 2,472 yards on 429 rush attempts, which is a 5.8-yard per carry average. Valley rushed for 2,171 yards on 333 carries (6.5 average).

“Caden, Alex and Lucas were why we were able to run the ball effectively all season,” Ergrenbright said. “Caden was a strong leader by example on and off the field for our team. We moved him to pulling guard at the end of the season. Alex is Mr. Steady playing offense and defense. We asked Lucas to move to offensive tackle for us when we lost Trenton Brady. Lucas had been planning only playing defense and wasn’t too keen on moving. He did it for us, and did a fantastic job.”

Miller was a 5-foot-9-inch, 235-pound offensive guard and played some nose guard for the Cardinals’ defense. Montgomery became a steady force along the offensive line as a 6-foot-3-inch, 275-pound tackle.

Norvell was Newton’s second-leading rusher with 577 yards on 84 carries, averaging 6.9 yards a carry. The 5-foot-9-inch, 165-pound running back was fifth among District 4 rushers. He had five touchdowns.

“Jordan made tough runs for us all season. He had a tremendous final game, which we needed from him to be successful that night,” Ergenbright said. “We had three players rushed for more than 100 yards in that win over Indianola. That was great.”

Norvell, Rosenquist and Sturtz each had more than 100 yards rushing in the 45-28 win over Indianola to end the season.

Sturtz, 6-foot-3 inches and 160 pounds, directed the Newton offense as starting quarterback for the second straight season. Trevor Ergenbright was the team’s leading receiver. The 5-foot-9-inch, 150-pound junior was third in receptions in the district and eighth in kickoff returns.

Sturtz finished as Newton’s third-leading rusher with 475 yards on 88 carries and four rushing touchdowns. Sturtz and Ergenbright became the Cardinals’ top passing connection. Sturtz was 50-of-80 for 731 yards with five TD passes and four interceptions. Ergenbright caught 28 passes for 504 yards and three touchdowns.

Ergenbright returned 12 kickoffs for 277 yards. He had one kickoff return for a touchdown. Sturtz also punted for Newton — 19 punts for 711 yards, which was a 37-yard average.

“Garrett and Trevor formed a great connection in our passing game. Trevor did a great job of getting open and Garrett threw the ball on target. Garrett did an outstanding job running our offense. He had big passing plays and running plays for us. Trevor made critical catches for us throughout the season,” Ergenbright said.

Seven of the Newton players receiving District 4 honorable mention honors were on the defensive side of the football. Six of those players will return next season for the Cardinals.

Josh Gulling, a 6-foot-1-inch, 175-pound senior safety, was one of the defensive leaders for Newton. He had 18 solo tackles and 21 assisted tackles.

“Josh took control of our secondary from the start. He helped everyone understand the new defense we installed this season. He had a great senior season,” Ergenbright said. “We have a tremendous group of underclassmen to lead us next year.”

Junior linebackers Joe Busch (5-foot-9 inches, 170 pounds) and Blayden Rhone (6-foot-1inch, 175 pounds) put up top numbers defensively for the Cardinals.

Busch had 30 solo tackles, 18 assisted tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 quarterback sacks and two fumble recoveries. Rhone made 19 solo tackles, 14 assisted tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, three quarterback sacks, one interception and forced two fumbles. Rhone scored a TD on a blocked punt.

Graham, Roush and Combs were defensive backs. Combs, 6-foot-2 inches and 160 pounds, had 38 solo tackles, 17 assisted, one tackle for loss, one interception and one forced fumble as a safety. Graham, 5-foot-11 inches and 155 pounds, played cornerback and safety during the season with 18 solo tackles, nine assisted tackles, two interceptions, one fumble recovery and one blocked kick.

Roush had five unassisted tackles and two interceptions as a cornerback. The 5-foot-10-inch, 160-pound junior also was ninth in the district in kickoff returns — 11 returns for 248 yards and one touchdown — and as a running back for Newton, he rushed for 367 yards on 48 carries and three TDs.

Combs was Newton’s place-kicker, going 35-of-36 on extra-point kicks and 4-of-6 on field goal attempts. His longest field goal of the season was 37 yards. He was third in the district on kickoffs — 49 kickoffs for 2,650 yards and 11 touchbacks.

“Zach really kicked well all season for us,” Ergenbright said.

Jaise Gulling was Newton’s 5-foot-10-inch, 205-pound sophomore defensive end. He recorded 4.5 quarterback sacks and 6.5 tackles for loss. He had 15 solo tackles and 16 assisted tackles. He forced two fumbles, recovered one fumble and blocked a kick.

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