Newton Nite Hawks up for challenge of MFL title game

Late in the 2019 regular season, the Newton Nite Hawks and the Missouri Ravens, who is out of Kansas City, Mo., played and the two semi-professional football teams battled through double overtime to determine the winner.

The Nite Hawks came out on top 20-14 in that July 13 game, which is a good indication what Saturday’s Midwest Football League conference championship game is going to be like. The two teams kickoff at 5 p.m. at the Rails Football Club Field, 2301 SW 30th, in Des Moines.

Newton (11-1) and the Ravens (7-3) face off in the 2019 MFL title game. Admission is $10 per person with children 12-and-under free.

“We’re excited to be in the championship game,” Nite Hawks’ co-owner and player Mark Mackerman II said. “We had a double overtime win when we met before so this should be a good one to watch.”

The Nite Hawks have won 11 straight games after dropping their season opener 26-16 to Midwest Titans.

In their two playoff games, the Nite Hawks have outscored their opponents 74-14.

Mackerman said the Ravens really have only lost one game this season, which was to Newton. He said the Missouri team plays in a spring football conference and had to take two forfeits in MFL play in May while finishing their spring season. The Ravens have outscored their two playoff opponents 40-28.

“It’s going to be a tough game but we’re ready for the challenge on Saturday,” Mackerman said.

No individual or team statistics were available for either team. Mackerman said the Nite Hawks were short staffed and didn’t have statistics accumulated from the season.

According to the MFL team defensive statistics on its website, the Nite Hawks and Ravens are two of the top defensive teams in the conference.

The Nite Hawks have six players from Newton in Mackerman, co-owner Gordon Head, Austin Smith, Aaron Troupe, Skyler Wedeking and Zachary Powell. The team has 20 players from Des Moines, three from Waterloo and one each from Ankeny, Bedford, Dallas Center, Iowa City and Polk City.

There also are three players from Louisiana and one each from Tennessee, Florida, California and Kansas City, Mo. There are two players each from Chicago, Ill., and Detroit, Mich.

The MFL has teams from Iowa, Nebraska and Missouri. There were 12 teams in 2019 in four divisions. The MFL is part of the America Football Association, which is a semi-professional football organization.

The sixth annual MFL East-West All-Star game is 1 p.m. Sunday at the Rails Football Club Field.

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