Cardinals ready for first home playoff game in nearly two decades

The average price for a gallon of gas in 1994 was $1.11. And consumers could purchase a dozen eggs for 86 cents.

That’s the last time the Fort Dodge football team won a playoff game.

Fans of the Newton Cardinals could purchase a dozen eggs for $2.02 in 2014. Minimum wage was $7.25 that year, too.

Both programs look to end long playoff droughts when the Cardinals and Dodgers collide for the opening round of the Class 4A playoffs at H.A. Lynn Stadium on Friday. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

“Every team you play at this point is a good team. There’s no easy roads to the Dome,” Newton head football coach Andy Swedenhjelm said. “I’m really happy with our draw and really excited to play here.”

It’s Newton’s first home playoff game since the Cardinals defeated Marshalltown, 42-28, in 2007. That team went 9-2.

The 2025 Cardinals are currently 8-1, which is the best record since 2007.

Newton finished 7-4 in 2014, which was the last time it won a playoff game. That team downed Clear Creek-Amana, 23-21, in the postseason.

“We don’t need to make this one too big,” senior quarterback and two-way starter Caden Klein said. “Some of us have played in three of these games so we have more experience than we’ve had in the past. We need to play like we’ve played the last six weeks.”

The Cardinals will take a seven-game win streak into the playoffs. Their two most recent losses against North Polk in Week 2 and versus Decorah in last year’s playoffs came after their opponent scored a touchdown in the final minute of the game.

They’ve been close. This year’s Cardinals know they have what it takes to get over the hump though.

“We’ve been taking steps this year. Winning the district championship was a big step,” Newton senior two-way starter Koltt Ahn said. “It’s another step for us in the program. If we have championship-level aspirations, then we need to win these games. If we trust our preparation and play confident we should have a good night.”

The Cardinals were placed in Pod B of the 4A playoffs. The winner between the No. 4 Cardinals and No. 9 Dodgers faces either No. 2 Gilbert (9-0) or Council Bluffs Lewis Central (5-4) next week.

Newton and Fort Dodge will renew their old Big Eight rivalry. The two teams are 2-2 against each other since 2008. The Cardinals won a 71-70 shootout in 2017, but Fort Dodge won 43-21 in 2016 and edged Newton, 23-20, in 2009.

Before that, the Cardinals claimed 12 straight wins in the series. Two of those were double overtime victories, too.

“We’ve had some exciting games with Fort Dodge,” Swedenhjelm said. “They’re a school a lot like us. It’s a good matchup. They have good athletes and are tough.”

Fort Dodge, which ended the season No. 10 in the 4A RPI standings, was the runner-up in District 1. The Dodgers’ lone loss was a 38-0 setback to No. 3 and district champion Sergeant Bluff-Luton.

Their best win was a 35-14 triumph over Waterloo West, which made the playoffs in 5A. But Fort Dodge’s only other win against an above .500 team was a 9-3 victory over LeMars, which also made the 4A playoffs.

Junior quarterback Tru McBride has thrown for 1,145 yards, eight touchdowns and five interceptions. He also has nine rushing TDs and nine different Dodgers have at least three catches.

Fort Dodge’s offense comes and goes through the run game though. Junior William McElroy leads the Dodgers (8-1) with 873 rushing yards and four TDs and senior Dreshaun Ross has compiled 737 yards and nine scores.

“They run some formations that are new to us so we’ve been focused in on those this week,” said junior linebacker Nick Milburn, who leads 4A with 97 tackles. “I feel really good about it. When we’ve had all of our dudes out there, we’ve played really good football. I feel confident about being able to slow some of that stuff down.”

The Dodgers rank 19th in 4A with 32 touchdowns, sit 11th with 3,213 total yards and rank ninth with 2,067 rushing yards.

The Fort Dodge defense ranks second in 4A with 82.5 tackles for loss and 22.5 sacks.

The Dodgers produced 12.5 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks against 2-7 Storm Lake. They also totaled five sacks in the low-scoring win over LeMars.

The Dodgers have six interceptions and eight fumble recoveries but have no field goals on offense, no defensive touchdowns and have not returned a punt or a kickoff for a touchdown.

“We have to play with an edge. We were super close last year,” Newton senior two-way starter Zach Felten said. “The most important thing is to play calm and not over do it. You make 10 times more mistakes when you over do it. I feel like if we just play calm and play our football we’ll come out on top.”

The No. 1 priority for the Newton offense is finding a way to block Ross, who has 49.5 tackles and leads 4A with 33 tackles for loss and 13 sacks.

Junior Sam Moser leads the Dodgers with 55.5 tackles and has 6.5 tackles for loss, while sophomore Jayce Skow has 49.5 tackles, nine tackles for loss and three sacks.

Ross is an Oklahoma State wrestling commit but has Division I football offers from Iowa, Iowa State, Michigan, Missouri, Kansas, Kansas State, Purdue, Minnesota and Wisconsin, according to Eric Pratt of the Fort Dodge Messenger.

“Our focus is on him. I’m confident in our linemen,” Felten said about Ross. “We have to get off the ball quick because he’s a quick guy. And when he locks in on a target, he goes straight for it. We have to get off the ball and get under his pads.”

Fort Dodge was held to 83 rushing yards and 75 passing yards in its loss to SB-L.

The Dodgers ran for 322 yards in the win over 5A Waterloo West and gained 333 rushing yards against Storm Lake.

“They want to be physical and control the ball on offense,” Swedenhjelm said. “The quarterback can do some good stuff, but it really goes through their ground game. They try to lean into (McElroy) and (Ross).

“We need to make sure we have good tackling angles and keep the backs in the box and don’t let them get on the edge. We have guys with good size and good tackling ability. We want to swarm to the ball really well, tackle with good technique and make sure we stick to our fundamentals.”

Newton’s offense will face a 3-3 stack defense from the Dodgers. The Cardinals rank sixth in 4A with 2,248 rushing yards and are fourth with a yards per carry average of 7.6.

Klein’s 1,405 passing yards rank ninth in 4A, his 1,926 total yards are fifth and his 28 total touchdowns rank second.

Junior tailback Isaiah Hansen ranks sixth in 4A with 1,107 rushing yards. He’s tied for second with 16 rushing TDs and fourth with 1,312 all-purpose yards.

Senior Finn Martin provides a big punch in the passing game. His 35 catches rank tied for ninth in 4A, but he’s second in the class with 833 receiving yards and tied for second with 10 receiving TDs.

Junior running back Qhjuan Coley has 258 rushing yards, 267 receiving yards and three touchdowns, too.

“(Ross) is a really good athlete, but we have some things in place to lock him up a little bit,” Ahn said. “If we do our jobs, execute and stay disciplined, we shouldn’t have any trouble.”

Milburn’s 97 tackles leads the class, and he’s fourth in 4A with 16 tackles for loss. His season also includes two sacks and one interception.

Senior Dawson Maki ranks tied for fourth in 4A with four interceptions and also has 38 tackles. Senior Colton Northcutt has contributed 37 tackles, senior Ali Yahia is tied for second in 4A with five interceptions and junior kicker Jackson Price ranks tied for third in the class with 35 touchbacks.

The Cardinal defense ranks sixth in 4A with 55 tackles for loss and their 10 interceptions are 11th in the class.

Milburn faced Ross last year on the wrestling mat, and while the Dodgers are more than just Ross on the gridiron, Milburn is looking forward to facing the standout in another sport.

“They have a whole bunch of dudes,” Milburn said. “It’s more than just one guy, but I’m excited to face him. I need to some payback from wrestling. It’s a whole different sport though. We’ll see how it goes.

“It’s a playoff game, and I’m excited for it but I feel like it’s just another game a little bit. I don’t think any of us are coming in nervous and feeling a lot of pressure. This year, we’re ready to go and ready to win.”

Last year’s Newton football team was 1-3 in games decided by eight points or less. The Cardinals are 2-1 in those contests this fall.

Newton has scored at least 30 points in all eight wins, and put 40 or more on the scoreboard five times.

“We’ll have to execute our stuff and not worry about who they have out there,” Klein said. “I think we’ll be fine if we do that.”

The Cardinals are in the playoffs for the fourth straight season. They lost 48-28 to Carlisle in 2022, fell 41-2 to Western Dubuque in 2023 and lost 15-14 to Decorah last season.

The Vikings scored their go-ahead touchdown with 58 seconds to play. Newton turned the ball over three times and did not score on two drives that reached 12 or more plays.

Carlisle and Western Dubuque both reached the state semifinals in the season they eliminated Newton. Both teams also fell to Lewis Central inside the UNI-Dome.

The Cardinals could face the Titans in the quarterfinals. Lewis Central is 5-4 but all four losses were by three points to four playoff teams.

Gilbert ended its undefeated regular season with a 49-18 home win over North Polk. The Tigers also were in Newton’s district in 2023 and 2024.

“We don’t do a lot of in-person scouting anymore,” Swedenhjelm said. “It’s all on Hudl. We’re in a nice situation because we’ve seen Lewis Central a bunch this year just playing teams we also played. We pulled a bunch of teams last week who we thought we might play this week so we’ve done a little bit of advanced scouting, too.

“For us, we’re more worried about what we do. We need to execute at a high level, get off the ball and go into our assignments. We have a playoff game at home. That’s what we wanted.”

The Cardinals are definitely happy they don’t have to make a 3-hour drive to Decorah or a 2.5-hour trek to Epworth this fall.

It will be the first home playoff game since 2007. Newton is 240-127-8 all-time at H.A. Lynn Stadium. All eight ties came before 1970.

Swedenhjelm is 16-11 at home as Newton’s head coach. But the Cardinals are 9-0 the last two seasons.

“I wanted a home playoff game last year and we weren’t able to get it done,” Ahn said. “This has been a big motivator for me. I want to experience that. We have an awesome home crowd, and I’m super excited to see what it’s like.”

Pella Christian (3-6) at PCM (8-1)

A pair of familiar foes will face off against each other in the second round of the playoffs.

The 2A No. 2 Mustangs defeated the Eagles 58-27 in the district opener back on Sept. 19. They also downed their highway rivals 59-7 in 2024, but Pella Christian leads the series 10-8 since 2008.

The latest matchup was set up after the Eagles upset No. 1 seed Clarinda, 27-24, in last week’s opening round. Pella Christian trailed the Cardinals 21-0 at halftime.

The Mustangs have won seven straight games since losing to 3A No. 7 Nevada on a last-second touchdown in Week 2.

PCM has scored 40 or more points in seven games this fall and has accomplished that feat in six straight contests.

Eagle quarterback Brecken Ritzert leads the squad with 1,090 passing yards, a team-best 765 rushing yards and 20 total touchdowns. He’s thrown 10 interceptions and has a defensive TD.

Caleb Volk headlines the receivers with 554 yards and nine touchdowns on 36 catches.

Garrett Wielard has a team-best 60 tackles. Pella Christian has returned three kickoffs for scores, took back one punt for a touchdown and has two defensive TDs.

PCM quarterback Chase Wagaman ranks sixth in 2A with 26 offensive TDs. He’s thrown for 1,327 yards and rushed for 225.

The Mustangs rank second in 2A with 2,279 rushing yards. Lewis Daye Jr. leads the way with 878 yards and nine touchdowns but missed last week’s game with an injury.

Gavin Steenhoek has been Wagaman’s favorite receiver. He has 30 catches but ranks seventh in 2A with 688 receiving yards and is tied for fourth with 11 receiving TDs.

Steenhoek also has returned two kickoffs for TDs and has four interceptions and a pick 6 on defense. Wagaman’s six interceptions rank tied for first in 2A, and he’s also got a pick 6.

The PCM defense is headlined by Keegan Fenton. He leads the Mustangs with 51 tackles and ranks first in 2A with nine sacks and fifth with 18 tackles for loss.

Dominic Witt has been one of the best kickers in the state in 2025. His 57 touchbacks lead 2A and he’s booted three field goals and is 44-of-45 in PATs.

PCM ranks second in 2A with 55 touchdowns and fifth with 3,648 total yards.

Defensively, the Mustangs are tied for fourth with 21 sacks, rank sixth with 13 interceptions and rank second with three pick 6s.

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. on Friday in Monroe. The PCM-Pella Christian winner faces either Wilton (7-2) or West Branch (7-2) the following week in the 2A quarterfinals.

BGM (7-2) at Lynnville-Sully (8-1)

The Hawks and Bears also played earlier this season on Sept. 19. That game was won by Lynnville-Sully, 41-20, on Homecoming.

Lynnville-Sully takes an eight-game win streak into the second-round contest.

The Class A No. 10 Hawks scored 36 points in their only loss of the season to 1A No. 6 Pleasantville. L-S put up 39 points or more in six of its eight wins.

Lynnville-Sully’s top priority will be BGM quarterback Beau Burns, who ranks second in Class A with 2,052 rushing yards and leads the class with 34 rushing touchdowns. He’s also thrown for 1,165 yards and 10 scores and his 44 total touchdowns lead the class.

Landon Hassett ranks third in Class A with 46 catches and 712 receiving yards. He also has two fumble recoveries and a pick 6 on defense and returned a punt for a TD.

The Bears’ defense is led Landon Cooling, who ranks third in Class A with 19 tackles for loss.

Burns threw for 209 yards and three scores in the loss to the Hawks earlier this season, but L-S held him to 83 rushing yards on 25 carries.

BGM has played three teams with a winning record so far this season. The Bears are 1-2 in those games with the victory coming in a 35-30 first round playoff win over Riverside last week.

BGM was held to fewer than 30 points in both losses and has scored 35 or more in six of its seven wins. The Bears also have a forfeit win against New London.

The Hawks are have been led by Dawson James, Gavin Fisk and Jack Bowlin.

James leads the defense with 61 tackles, four sacks and a pick 6 and ranks second in Class A with 19.5 tackles for loss. He also has 392 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns.

Fisk leads the Hawks with 672 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns and he has 53.5 tackles, nine tackles for loss, three fumble recoveries and is one of eight players in Class A with two defensive TDs.

Bowlin ranks 10th in Class A with 583 receiving yards. He has 38 catches and six TDs.

Wyatt Mathis has produced 11 tackles for loss and four sacks as a two-way starter on the line.

Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. on Friday in Sully. The winner faces either No. 5 Wapsie Valley (9-0) or Maquoketa Valley (7-2) in next week’s quarterfinals.