Tigers out run Cardinals in district game

GRINNELL — Trying something different to get the Newton High Cardinal offense up and running, the Cardinals capped off a nine-play, 70-yard drive with a pass play. They had finally established a little bit of traction on a muddy, wet natural-grass football field with eight running plays.

Senior quarterback Kyle Long threw a dart over the middle to senior receiver Julian Hotchkin. The play covered the final 31 yards for a touchdown. Newton junior placekicker Josh Meyer added the extra point which put visiting Newton back in the game against hosting Grinnell, 14-7.

Unfortunately, the Tigers proved to be better mudders than the Cardinals. On a frigid Iowa Friday night, the Tigers managed the less-than-par footing on their home football field to beat the Cardinals 35-14 in Class 3A District 7 play.

Newton was the top rushing team in the district going into the game while Grinnell boasted the top passing offense. But Grinnell has the top individual rusher in the district in junior Wyatt Hunter. The Cardinals handled the constant strong northern wind better.

The Cardinals had held Hunter in check, limiting him to 100 yards and one touchdown — a 31-yard run with 7:26 left in the second quarter — in the first half. Newton trailed 7-0 at halftime.

“We just couldn’t get our footing on this field tonight. It’s condition with standing water and mud caused us problems,” Newton head coach Ed Ergenbright said. “We had to try some different things out there.”

With 2:07 remaining in the third quarter, the Cardinals had finished its first scoring drive of the night and was back in the district contest. But Hunter was hard to bring down for the Cardinals as he finished with 321 yards on 35 carries and scored five touchdowns.

In the windy conditions, Newton’s defense gave up just nine yards on a 3-of-14 passing night by Grinnell’s Dallas Sauser. The Tigers put the football and game in the hands of Hunter and he delivered in the second half.

After the Cardinals’ scored, Hunter had four runs in a five-play march to the end zone by the Tigers. He had a 31-yard dash on a fourth-and-one to the Newton 20-yard line. Hunter took the next handoff and scored from 20 yards out. With the extra-point kick by Mads Knudsen, the Tigers were up 21-7 with 10 seconds left in the third period.

Although the Cardinals had some success running the ball in their scoring drive with seniors Dylan Farver, William Cheng and Cody Satterfield along with Long, it wasn’t as effective as in previous games. Newton finished with 130 yards rushing on 41 attempts for the game.

“They did a good job defending us,” Ergenbright said. “We were frustrated defensively. They ran the ball inside but I’m not sure what was going on in there. I’ll have to watch the film to find that answer.”

Newton moved out of the shadow of its own goal post on a drive starting at the Cardinals’ 7-yard line. The Cardinals picked up three first downs on the ground but stalled and punted at the 9:35 mark of the fourth quarter.

Hunter scored the first of his two fourth-quarter touchdowns on a 65-yard run to the end zone on the first play of the possession. A minute later, he went 45 yards to give the Tigers a 35-7 lead.

Long connected with Hotchkin for a pass play covering 60 yards to flip the field position for the Cardinals. At the Grinnell 26, Long rushed for five yards then the two hooked up for a third-down pass play to put the ball at the 10-yard line.

With 3:38 remaining in the game, Long found Hotchkin in the end zone for a 10-yard scoring strike. Meyer added the extra point.

Long led the Newton offense by going 7-of-21 passing for 117 yards and rushing for 46 yards on seven carries. Hotchkin caught five passes for 114 yards.

Newton turned the ball over twice in the first half — an interception and a fumble — which both came in Grinnell territory. The Cardinals also handcuffed themselves with 10 penalties for 77 yards.

After a scoreless first quarter, Grinnell got on the scoreboard with 7:26 left in the second quarter. It was a 31-yard TD run by Hunter as he broke two tackles on a fourth-and-two play. The Tigers had the 7-0 lead and got the second-half kickoff.

Two pass interference penalties assessed against the Cardinals on the Tigers’ third-quarter opening drive set Hunter up for a short dash to the end zone. He went in from four yards out at the 6:38 mark of the third quarter for a 14-0 lead.

Senior linebacker Canaan Terpstra had seven solo tackles and three assisted tackles as the Newton defensive leader Friday. He had five tackles for loss. Destin Schroder, another senior linebacker, had five solo stops and three assisted tackles with one tackle for loss.

“These guys won’t give up. They’re fun kids to coach and we’ll have to go back to the drawing board,” Ergenbright said. “It’s going to be nice to be back home on the turf this next week.”

Newton is 3-4 overall and 1-2 in district play. They host 3A District 7 leader Pella on Senior Night this Friday at H.A. Lynn Stadium.

In the two other district games on Friday, Pella won the battle of district-unbeatens decking Oskaloosa 35-7 and Knoxville defeated South Tama 22-6.

Newton 0-0-7-7—14

Grinnell 0-7-14-14—35

Grinnell — Hunter 31 yd run (Knudsen kick)

Grinnell — Hunter 4 yd run (Knudsen kick)

Newton — Hotchkin 31 yd pass from Long (Meyer kick)

Grinnell — Hunter 20 yd run (Knudsen kick)

Grinnell — Hunter 65 yd run (Knudsen kick)

Grinnell — Hunter 45 yd run (Knudsen kick)

Newton — Hotchkin 10 yd pass from Long (Meyer kick)

Newton Grinnell

13 First Downs 11

41-130 Rushes-Yds 40-331

117 Passing Yds 9

247 Total Offense 340

7-21-1 Passing 3-14-0

2-1 Fumbles/lost 1-0

10-77 Penalties-Yds 5-15

5-35.2 Punts/Avg. 5-27.8

Individual Leaders

Rushing: Newton-Long 7-46, Satterfield 9-35, Cheng 8-16, Maki 5-12, Cummins 4-11, Arguello 4-6, Farver 4-4. Grinnell-Hunter 35-321, Osborne 3-9, Toe 1-1.

Passing: Newton-Long 7-21-117-1. Grinnell-Sauser 3-14-9-0.

Receiving: Newton-Hotchkin 5-114, Cheng 2-3. Grinnell-Johnson 1-4, Wilkins 1-4, McGriff 1-1.

Punting: Newton-Lawson 5-176 (35.2 yd avg.). Grinnell-McGriff 5-139 (27.8 yd avg.).

Newton Defense

Tackles (solos/assisted): Terpstra 7/3, Schroder 5/3, Arguello 4/2, Altemeier 3/3, Mattes 4/0, Urias 3/0, Kohlmeyer 3/0, Winther 2/1, Conner 1/2, Hotchkin 1/0.

Quarterback sacks: none.

Fumbles (forced/recovered): none.

Interceptions: none.

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