Newton football seeks first state semifinal since 1990

When the Newton football team faces the Gilbert Tigers on Friday night, things will look relatively similar to the past two seasons when they squared off in district play.

But the players carrying the ball for No. 2 and undefeated Gilbert will look a lot different.

“I believe they are a little more balanced this year in regard to who carries the ball and how they try to attack, which makes it more important that we stick to our roles and read our keys,” Newton head football coach Andy Swedenhjelm said. “Playing tough, disciplined and fast will help us play well.”

The Tigers ran the ball 567 times last season and Will Hawthorne accounted for 328 of them.

Hawthorne took his talents to Iowa State University, and this year’s Tiger squad has handed the ball off to 14 different players and seven have ran the ball at least 10 times.

That could make Gilbert’s unusual Wing-T offense tougher to defend. The Tigers come into the game ranked first in 4A with 3,248 rushing yards. And they’ve only thrown the ball 34 times.

“They try to run a system-based attack where they will do different things based on the defensive alignments they are given,” Swedenhjelm said. “It can create a few challenges, but at the end of the day winning defense is about reading your keys and tackling well. I feel good about how our defense has played the last few weeks, and our defensive staff will have them well prepared.”

Gilbert is one of two undefeated teams remaining in 4A. The Tigers are 10-0 for the first time in school history after surviving a first-round matchup with Council Bluffs Lewis Central (5-5) last week.

Class 4A No. 4 Newton is coming off its most complete performance of the season in a 51-7 win over state-ranked Fort Dodge.

Kickoff for the quarterfinal matchup will be 7 p.m. on Friday inside Tiger Stadium in Gilbert.

Newton has not been to the state semifinals since losing in the 1990 championship game.

The Cardinals did play Cedar Falls inside the UNI-Dome during their first-round playoff matchup in 1999.

The Tigers are 3-1 against Newton since 2014. Gilbert won, 30-7, last season, but the Cardinals downed the Tigers, 21-2, in 2023.

Newton has won 12 straight home games but also is 16-6 on the road since 2021.

Gilbert was 9-2 last year. Their best win this season was a 49-18 victory over No. 8 North Polk in Week 9.

Gilbert also downed Carroll by five in Week 1 and edged Lewis Central, 27-24, last week. The Carroll Tigers finished 6-4 and were eliminated by Nevada in the 3A playoffs last week.

North Polk joins Newton and Gilbert in this week’s quarterfinal round.

Senior Cameron Cantonwine leads Gilbert with 1,113 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns this fall.

But senior Ean Eldred has 708 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns, senior Gabe Fierce adds 467 rushing yards and six TDs and junior Tayton Worg chips in 383 yards and three scores. Gilbert is averaging 7.6 yards per carry.

“Our defense needs to play assignment-sound,” Swedenhjelm said. “When you play a team that has complementary looks and option looks, it’s extremely important to make sure you have someone assigned to each phase of the option game, and they stay with their assignment. The minute someone tries to do something they’re not supposed to do you end up giving up a big play.”

Senior Ethan Rash is 16-of-27 through the air for 327 yards and three touchdowns. Eldred leads the receivers with 12 catches for 236 yards and four scores.

The Tigers’ defense is allowing 16.4 points per game but gave up 26 to 4-5 Mason City and surrendered 29 to 2-7 Ballard. Gilbert also allowed 21 to Webster City, which finished 3-6 in 3A.

Gilbert has snagged 12 interceptions, which rank tied for fifth in 4A. The Tigers also have seven sacks, 37 tackles for loss and five fumble recoveries.

“They are a base 4-3 defense that likes to run a mixture of cover 3 and cover 4,” Swedenhjelm said. “They are well coached and flow to the ball well.

“They have good athletes in their back half. You want to make sure you’re making good decisions with the ball and eliminating turnovers. Part of their game plan is to shorten the game so you have to be efficient and get them out of their clock-control tendencies.”

Senior Easton Van Cleave leads the Gilbert defense with 39.5 tackles, 12 tackles for loss and two sacks. Cantonwine has totaled 49.5 tackles and two interceptions, Eldred has two interceptions and one pick 6 and Fierce has snagged three interceptions.

“Last year they did some unique stuff against us in regard to trying to force more of our give, setting their overhangs more to the field and trying to keep the ball out of (Klein’s) hands,” Swedenhjelm said. “Quite frankly, this is the game that really laser focused our offseason improvement plan so we hopefully have some good answers in place this year.”

An area where Newton may have a significant advantage is special teams. The Tigers have not returned a kickoff or a punt for a TD this season and junior kicker Miles Manatt has missed five extra points and has only 19 touchbacks.

On the flip side, Newton junior Jackson Price set a school record last week with his 39th touchback of the season. His 46 career touchbacks also are a school record.

Price is 3-of-5 in field goals and 51-of-53 in PATs. He booted a career-best 42-yard field goal in last week’s win over Fort Dodge.

“(Price) is an awesome weapon for us,” Swedenhjelm said. “He’s extremely reliable and does a great job. It’s pretty special to be able to consistently count on our opponents starting with the ball on the 20-yard line.”

It’s been a record-setting season for the Cardinals. The offensive line has yet to allow a sack this fall and the passing game has set school records of 17 touchdowns, 1,522 yards and 152.2 passing yards per game.

Senior quarterback Caden Klein’s 1,522 passing yards is a new school record. So are his 17 passing TDs.

Klein also has rushed for 649 yards and scored 18 rushing touchdowns.

Senior Finn Martin leads the receivers with 39 catches for a school-record 933 yards and a school-record 12 TDs. His 18 career TD catches also are a record and he’s three catches away from setting a school record for career receptions.

Junior Nick Milburn’s 103.5 tackles bettered his school record of 102 set last season. His 205.5 career tackles and 192 career solo tackles also are school records.

Senior Coleby Revell has three fumble recoveries this season. That’s tied for a school record.