Column: ICYMI - Newton alum Tyler Wood had a good season too

While Nick Easley was making a splash catching passes for the Iowa Hawkeyes this fall, the guy who helped him break Newton High School receiving records was making waves at William Penn in Oskaloosa.

Tyler Wood, a red-shirt sophomore, stepped into the starting role as the William Penn Statesmen quarterback early in the season. Wood moved from defensive back for the Statesmen to quarterback when the WP’s Eric Cooper was injured in the team’s season opener.

Wood guided William Penn to a 7-4 record, highlighted by a season-ending win over then-No. 6 Grand View. The 33-14 upset win over Grand View in Heart of America Athletic Conference North Division play returned the Rock and Ladder Trophy to Oskaloosa for the first time since 2012.

So, Wood was helping win Trophy Games for William Penn just like Easley helped the Hawkeyes claim hardware in the 2017 football season. In that game, Wood had a 3-yard touchdown run and finished with a team-high 143 yards on the ground.

Wood received first-team all-Heart of America Athletic Conference honors in the athlete category. He won his first college award after posting 612 passing yards (28-for-59) with eight touchdowns and 500 rushing yards (128 rushes) and four TDs. He ranked 10th in the conference with both 50.0 rushing yards and 61.2 passing yards per game.

During his freshman season, Wood punted for William Penn — eight for 267 yards (33.4-yard average) and had a 51-yard punt.

Wood is a two-sport athlete for William Penn this season. He has joined the WP basketball team as a 6-foot-1-inch guard. He has played in eight games scoring 40 points. He has gone 12-of-33 from 3-point range. He has 12 rebounds, three assists and three steals.

Another NHS classmate of Wood and Easley made an impact on the college football field in 2017. Jordan Travis, a 6-foot-6, 220-pound junior, has played as a receiver for Buena Vista University in Storm Lake the past three seasons.

During the 2017 season, Travis hauled in a 14-yard TD catch for BVU in overtime against Central College. Central had already scored for a 38-31 lead. Travis’ touchdown put the Beavers in position to tie it up to force another OT period or win it on a 2-point conversion. The Beavers won the game on a 2-point run, 39-38.

It was Travis’ second touchdown catch of the season. He caught a 69-yard TD pass in the season opener — a 31-27 win over Mayville State. For his career at BVU, Travis has 19 receptions for 269 yards and three touchdown catches.

Playing on that Central College football team is an area product — sophomore tight end Zach Samson of Baxter. For the season, he had three catches for 19 yards for the Dutch.

Jasper County had two other players on the William Penn football roster in freshman offensive lineman Lucas Montgomery of Newton and sophomore Sage Ehresman of Sully. Ehresman stepped away from football before the season began because of concussions. He still competes for the Statemen track and field team.

At Simpson College in Indianola, sophomore Victoria Jordan of Newton finished her second season on the women’s soccer team. Her golden goal lifted Simpson to a 2-1 win over Buena Vista in double overtime on Oct. 7. She had two goals and two assists in 18 games this season, starting nine of those contest.

We’ve had quite a few area athletes find success at Central College in Pella. Newton High alum Holly Vander Pol lettered three times as a member of the Dutch women’s tennis team. Newton’s Tristan Peters played as a wide receiver as a walk-on.

Central freshmen Justin Fischer and Jonah Keeton of Newton are on the men’s soccer and tennis teams, respectively.

Fischer played in three soccer games this fall as a midfielder. On the track teams are Prairie City-Monroe’s Rachel Peter, who also runs cross country, and freshman KC Huffman on the men’s track team.

Right now, former area wrestling standouts Duncan Lee of Newton and Tristan Clark of PCM are impacting the Central wrestling squad. Both are on the varsity squad and are winning big matches for the Dutch. Lee, a sophomore, is the starting 197-pounder and Clark, a junior, wrestles at 141.

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Contact Jocelyn Sheets
at jsheets@newtondailynews.com