Newton freshman football comes up short at Waterloo

WATERLOO — One play from scrimmage and Newton High’s freshmen had the lead on Friday against host Waterloo East. The Cardinals had to fight from behind the rest of the way, down 18-16 at halftime.

Newton was down 24-16 and tied it up in the fourth quarter. Waterloo East pushed back into the lead 32-24. On the final drive of the game, the Cardinals scored a touchdown and went for the 2-point conversion to forge a tie.

The Trojans denied the Cardinals the tying 2-point conversion and Newton’s freshmen lost for the first time this season, 32-30.

“We faced a lot of adversity, but in the end we made too many mistakes to win the game,” Newton head coach Trent Powers. “We are proud of the effort the boys displayed to keep battling no matter what was happening. We had a chance in the end, and that’s all we can ask for.”

Both teams were littered with injuries during the game. Newton’s Keith Moko broke his arm in the first quarter. The Cardinals had players playing out of position on defense.

Reese Hammons rushed for 146 yards on nine carries to lead Newton’s offense. He scored on runs of 40 and 78 yards. Nate Maki and Adam Mattes each had a 2-yard TD run. Maki had 50 yards on seven carries and Mattes had 21 yards on six carries.

Mattes and Caleb Lawson, who had 31 yards on nine carries, had a 2-point conversion apiece. Tyson Elliott put two points on the board for Newton when he tackled a Trojan player in the end zone for a safety.

Mattes went 5-for-9 passing for 61 yards and threw an interception. Maki caught three passes for 39 yards. Quentin Anderson hauled in one pass for 18 yards and Breyton Schwenker had a four-yard reception.

Defensively, Braydon Chance had eight tackles, a quarterback sack and a forced fumble for Newton. Mattes had seven tackles while Elliott had four tackles.

With three tackles each were Tay Galanakis, Lawson, Schwenker and Brennan Amos. Maki forced a fumble. Galanakis and Anderson each had a fumble recovery.

Newton (3-1) hosts South Tama at 4:45 p.m. on Friday at Newton’s H.A. Lynn Stadium.

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