Fast start, dominant finish powers Newton football to win over Bluejays

BONDURANT — A fast start from the Newton football team on Friday night was countered by Bondurant-Farrar.

But the host Bluejays had no answer for the Cardinals’ second blow as Newton dominated the second half during a 48-13 non-district road win.

“We jumped out to a big start and then kind of let up on the intensity aspect,” Newton head football coach Andy Swedenhjelm said. “Most of the halftime adjustments are about focus and cleaning up mistakes. We just needed to refocus and continue to play our style of football, which is tough, fast and physical.”

Caden Klein threw for 167 yards and three touchdowns and added 120 rushing yards and one more score to lead Newton.

Isaiah Hansen also rushed for 139 yards as the Cardinals gained 278 yards on the ground and averaged 11.6 yards per carry.

Hansen put Newton in front 14-0 in the first quarter after scoring on touchdown runs of 3 and 54 yards in the first 5 minutes of the game.

Bondurant-Farrar trimmed its margin to 20-13 at halftime, but Newton outscored the Bluejays 28-0 in the second half.

Finn Martin’s first TD catch of the game came on a 6-yard pass from Klein early in the second quarter.

Klein and Hansen hooked up on a 5-yard TD pass play early in the third and then Klein sprinted 42 yards for a touchdown later in the period.

“Our offense is extremely dangerous when (Klein) gets involved more in the run game,” Swedenhjelm said. “We have been spending a bunch of this non-district schedule working on some other aspects of his development, but as we move closer to district play we will start opening up his involvement a little more in the run game.”

The 21-0 third-quarter dominance also included a 27-yard TD pass from Klein to Martin. Hansen capped the scoring with a 20-yard TD run early in the fourth.

The Cardinals (2-1) out-gained the Bluejays 445-219 in the win but only had a 17-13 advantage in first downs. Bondurant-Farrar had the ball for 13 more minutes, too.

After three weeks, Newton ranks first in Class 4A in offensive yards (1,392), second in yards per carry (8.0), tied for third in touchdowns (16) and fifth in rushing yards (746).

Klein’s 120 rushing yards came on only six carries and he was 11-of-20 through the air. He leads 4A with 786 offensive yards, ranks tied for second with eight touchdown passes and sits third with 646 passing yards.

Hansen gained his 139 yards on 10 carries and added the 5-yard TD catch. His 445 rushing yards rank second in 4A, and Hansen is third in yards per carry at 8.9 and tied for third in rushing touchdowns with six.

Martin grabbed four passes for 73 yards and two scores and returned a punt 20 yards, Qhjuan Coley gained 69 yards on his four catches and Gabe Otto had two catches for 20 yards.

Martin’s 15 catches rank tied for second in 4A, and he’s tied for the class lead with five receiving TDs. His 22.9 yards per catch is tops in 4A, too.

Henry Allen, the backup quarterback, rushed for 18 yards on his only carry but also threw an interception for Newton’s only turnover.

The Cardinal defense forced three turnovers the other way, allowed only 13 points and surrendered fewer than 225 total yards.

“The defense has been doing a nice job the past few weeks,” Swedenhjelm said. “Coach Richardson has done a great job working with that group and having high expectations for that unit. Our kids have been getting more and more experience on that side week after week, and it’s nice to see their confidence growing.”

Nick Milburn led the defense with 14 tackles and three tackles for loss. Colton Northcutt added eight tackles and Dawson Maki totaled 7.5 tackles and snagged two interceptions.

Milburn’s 47.5 tackles and 44 solo tackles lead 4A, and Maki’s three interceptions are tied for first in the class.

“(Milburn) is fantastic,” Swedenhjelm said. “A great player, leader and representative of our program. He’s all over the field. He seems like he’s involved with just about every play out there, he has great instincts and his reads are even better than they were last year.

“(Maki) is an intelligent and hard-working player. He has worked extremely hard in the offseason and spends a ton of time honing his craft. He learned a ton from our defensive backs last year and has done a great job of stepping in and being a leader in our secondary.”

Allen finished with five tackles, Asher Rhoads had 4.5 tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss and Alameen Shanto, Koltt Ahn and Coleby Revell all registered four tackles. Revell also recovered a fumble.

Four of Jackson Price’s kickoffs went for touchbacks, and his 10 touchbacks on the season ranks third in 4A.

Gavin Vroegh led Bondurant-Farrar (0-3) with 93 rushing yards and two TDs on 19 carries. He also had a 16-yard catch and Andrew Kurtz finished with two catches for 35 yards.

Riley VanderLinden was 3-of-10 through the air for 51 yards and two picks and he gained 46 yards on 12 carries.

It was Newton’s second straight win over Bondurant-Farrar. The Cardinals defeated the Bluejays 49-28 last season.

Next up for the Cardinals is unbeaten Indianola for Homecoming. The 5A Indians are coming off a 31-11 win over Cedar Rapids Jefferson. They also defeated Carlisle, 13-3, in Week 2.

“I like where we are right now,” Swedenhjelm said. “We are continuing to grow every week. As we learn to maintain our consistency, we will continue to get better every week.”