Opponents found it tough to run up middle against Newton High’s Cardinals during the 2016 football campaign. One of the reasons came in the 6-foot-1 inch, 245-pound package named senior defensive lineman Caleb Kite.
Kite’s work as a defensive line in the nose guard and tackle spots earned him Class 4A All-District 4 First-Team honors on defense. He also found his work paid off to help push his life-long dream of playing college football.
Kite signed Friday to play football for Iowa Central Community College at Fort Dodge next year. He joins a Triton squad on which former NHS teammate Mason Bowes just finished a two-year stint on under head coach Kevin Twait.
“I’ve wanted to play college football since I started playing tackle football when I was 5,” Kite said. “I liked the feeling of the Iowa Central campus and the team atmosphere of the football program.”
Kite began playing tackle football at age 5 when his family lived in Florida. He has been on the Newton High team all four years.
Kite has seen duty on the offensive and defensive lines for the Cardinals, but as a senior he concentrated on defense.
“This past season we saw what a benefit is for players only have to play on one side of the football. Caleb had been called upon to help us on both sides of the ball the past two years,” Newton head coach Ed Ergenbright said. “We were able to keep Caleb on defense throughout the season, and he did an outstanding job clogging things up in the middle so teams had trouble running plays there.”
Ergenbright said the Iowa Central is a good situation for Kite, both athletically and academically. He said Kite is an avid weight lifter and is always working to improve his skills.
“Caleb was a handful for us to handle during practices and teams found out he was a handful during games. He is extremely strong,” Ergenbright said.
“One play comes back to me when Caleb brought through and caused a fumble against Burlington when it was in scoring position. That was a big play in that game, which went won.”
Newton notched a 6-3 overall mark in its first season back in Class 4A football.
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.
“My good work ethic and my willingness to get better are things I think I can bring to Iowa Central’s program,” Kite said. “I love playing defense.”
Kite, who plans to pursue a degree in athletic training, said he really liked the tutoring program the football team has at Iowa Central. He said he liked the idea of the football players studying together.
Kite is the son of Miranda Pollock of Newton.
Contact Jocelyn Sheets at
641-792-3121 ext. 6535 or jsheets@newtondailynews.com