March 29, 2024

Newton football players compete on Team Iowa

Eight young football players from Newton were on the 2017 Team Iowa Select Football squad which placed second in the Hall of Fame Classic football in December in Canton, Ohio.

On the 28-member Team Iowa eighth-grade team roster from Newton were Chance Froesh, Zayvier Arguello, Reese Hammons, Austin Brady, Cole Conner, Keith Moko, Caleb Lawson and Evan Grimm. Two Newton High School coaches — defensive back coach Ryan Arguello and offensive line coach Brad Kahler — lead Team Iowa.

Team Iowa is a post-season tournament team. Top players from all around the state of Iowa tried out several times throughout the year for the chance to compete against the nation’s best middle school football players.

After two weeks of practice, Team Iowa qualified for the regional tournament in Kansas City, Mo., by beating teams from Illinois, Nebraska and Minnesota.

Team Iowa lost to South Dakota in the qualifying championship game, 40-6. Team Iowa avenged that loss at the Regional in Kansas City, Mo., defeating South Dakota 28-20. Team Iowa faced Missouri in the regional championship.

Team Iowa fell short in a hard-fought battle with Missouri, which went down to the final seconds. The top two teams from the regional tournaments advance to the 2017 HOFACC National Championships on Dec. 14-17 in Canton.

Team Iowa earned the second-place trophy and the sportsmanship award for players helping other players up from the other teams and a referee-friendly sideline. Arguello, Brady and Grimm were named to the All-tournament team.

Coach Arguello said Kansas City Chiefs’ Hall of Famer Will Shields called him to express how impressed Shields was with the character and “fight” the players and coaches had. Shields expressed he had never witnessed a team request a group picture with the opposing team at the end of the game, Coach Arguello said.

“You represented your state extremely well”, Shields told Arguello.

“The Newton Cardinal football staff has a lot to look forward to as this group of players, who have played against the best teams in the nation over the past three years, continue to progress and will be aiming to help the varsity team in their quest for a state championship in the near future,” Coach Arguello said.

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