March 28, 2024

Cardinals overpower Bobcats in district play

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Not since 2011 has Newton High’s football team been 4-0 to start a season. The Cardinals manhandled the visiting Benton Community Bobcats of Van Horne Friday night for a homecoming victory.

Nick Easley leaping in the air to snatch the football out of the air over a Benton defender, Jordan Travis blocking a punt and Bryce Tish recovering the football, Tish intercepting a pass, the running of Tristan Peters, Tyler Wood, Joseph Banfield and J.T. Thongvanh and 22 players in on at least one tackle apiece were all highlights for Newton Friday night.

Then there’s the big guys up front on the offense and defensive lines. It all came together in a 45-6 victory package for the Cardinals over the Bobcats. The Cardinals are 4-0, but more importantly is a 2-0 start in Class 3A District 6 play.

“It was our homecoming game and that’s was a big plus,” said Brett Wolf, senior linebacker, who led the Cardinal defense with six solo tackles and two assisted tackles. “(Benton) was a mostly run team and our coaches did a great job of preparing us for that.”

The Cardinal defense held the Bobcats to 158 yards on 45 carries in the game. Benton was 1-of-4 for four yards passing on the night.

“We came in with a good defensive set up and played hard,” said Michael Barr, senior linebacker. “Our offense was definitely clicking and defensively, we made a lot of third-down stops that helped.”

How well was the Newton offense “clicking?” Newton piled up 293 yards rushing on 37 carries. Wood, Cardinal senior quarterback, led the attack with 96 yards on 14 carries, plus completed 6-of-9 passes for 115 yards.

Banfield gained 92 yards on six carries while Peters and Thongvanh each rushed for more than 40 yards. Easley gathered in three passes for 77 yards and Peters had two catches for 33 yards.

“It was a game we expected to win, and I’m happy with the way our guys played tonight,” said Ed Ergenbright, Newton head coach. “We were solid on defense, lining up quick against the hurry-up. Offensively, we were effective.”

Newton was stopped deep in Bobcat territory on its first possession of the game. Its second possession began with 5:20 left in the first quarter and ended on the first play of the second period.

Wood converted on a fourth-and-goal at the 2-yard line, diving into the end zone for a touchdown. Easley’s kick made it 7-0. It was Easley’s high, leaping catch for 36 yards that sparked the drive.

Benton had a promise of a good drive that the Bobcats sabotaged with penalties, forcing a fourth down. Benton works on a hurry-up style and was penalized throughout the game for illegal procedure. Bobcat punter Tucker Schroeder took the snap, but Travis got there to block the football as it came off Schroeder’s foot. Tish recovered the football for Newton at Benton’s 19.

Four plays later, Peters bolted through traffic up the middle to the end zone from eight yards out. Easley’s kick made it 14-0 at the 5:49 mark of the second quarter.

“The line blocked really well, opening holes for us. We just had to hit the holes and make a move to gain yards,” Peters said. “It all starts with the line.”

Banfield scored his first touchdown of the night on a 4-yard run to cap a five-play, 56-yard march by the Cardinals. That was set up by a 32-yard catch and run by Easley from Woods.

Peters took a quick swing pass from Woods and went 26 yards on the Cardinals’ final possession of the first half. Easley kicked a 32-yard field goal with 6.5 seconds on the clock. Newton went into halftime with a 24-0 advantage.

The Bobcats worked three first downs in the opening possession of the second half. All the yardage came on the ground, then Bobcat quarterback Hunter Semelroth went to the air. Tish intercepted the pass for Newton at the Cardinal 37-yard line with 8:21 left in the third quarter.

Wood scrambled out of trouble behind the line of scrimmage and broke down the sideline for a 43-yard pickup for the Cardinals. Peters ran for 15 yards, then Thongvanh scored his first touchdown of the season on a 4-yard run.

“It’s amazing to be playing with my team again,” Thongvanh said. “I felt I was ready when I went out there, but didn’t feel I was on my A game. There’s room to get better. I’m ready to go out and play Gilbert next week.”

Leading 31-0 with 6:18 on the third-quarter clock, the Cardinals shut down the Bobcats on three plays forcing another punt. Peters returned the punt to the Benton 40-yard line. The Cardinals stayed on the ground with runs by Banfield, Peters and Thongvanh. Peters finished the drive with a 17-yard touchdown run.

Newton went into the fourth quarter leading 38-0, triggering a running clock.

The Cardinals went to their reserves when they took offensive possession with 9:13 on the clock. But a Newton fumble put the Bobcats’ offense in business at the Newton 37-yard line.

“Joseph Banfield is an unselfish player. He has played as our No. 2 back this season, but that is where J.T. played last year. Joseph moved to a wing spot and did a solid job tonight after a couple of missteps early in the game,” Ergenbright said.

Benton’s lone pass completion was a 4-yard touchdown pass from Semelroth to Brady Kraus with 2:57 left in the game. Newton blocked the extra-point kick attempt, leaving it 38-6.

It took 40 seconds for the Cardinals to answer. Banfield had two long runs to put the football at the Bobcat 10-yard line. Reese Rosenquist scored from there and Josh Gulling kicked the extra point.

“It was great out to a lead and hold it. We were able to get the younger guys in the game,” Ergenbright said. “We still need to clean up some breakdowns. We’re not going to have the luxury of having someone like Tyler scramble out of trouble in the backfield and turn it into a huge gain against the teams we go up against the next few weeks.

“We have to improve our pass blocking so Tyler can get the ball out quicker. We just have to get ready for Gilbert and go and play.”

Newton travels to Gilbert, ranked No. 5 in Class 3A and lost 33-28 to ninth-ranked Ballard in district action Friday, for a Class 3A District 6 showdown.

Contact Sports Editor Jocelyn Sheets at (641) 792-3121 Ext. 6535 or jsheets@newtondailynews.com.

Benton   0-0-0-6—6

Newton   0-24-14-7—45

Newton — Wood 2 yd run (Easley kick)

Newton — Peters 8 yd run (Easley kick)

Newton — Banfield 4 yd run (Easley kick)

Newton — Easley 32 yd field goal

Newton — Thongvanh 4 yd run (Easley kick)

Newton — Banfield 17 yd run (Easley kick)

Benton — Kraus 4 yd pass from Semelroth (kick blocked)

Newton — Rosenquist 10 yd run (Gulling kick)

Newton   Benton

17   First Downs   7

37-293   Rushes-yds   46-158

115   Passing yds   4

408   Total Offense   162

6-9-0   Passing   1-4-1

3-1   Fumbles/lost   0-0

1-5   Penalties/yds   6-40

0-0   Punts/Avg.   6-33.5

Individual Leaders

Rushing: Newton-Wood 14-96, Banfield 6-92, Peters 5-44, Thongvanh 8-40, Easley 1-20, Rosenquist 1-10, Schuster 1-(-3). Benton-Semelroth 13-59, Maresh 12-47, Jurgens 14-38, Cooper 4-10, Hartl 3-4.

Passing: Newton-Wood 6-9-115-0. Benton-Semelroth 1-3-4-1, Tellin 0-1-0-0.

Receiving: Newton-Easley 3-77, Peters 2-33, Travis 1-5. Benton-Kraus 1-4.

Punting: Newton-none. Benton-Schroeder 6-201 (33.5 avg.).

Newton Defense

Tackles (solo/assist): Wolf 6/2; Travis 3/4; Miller 3/1; Bowes 3/1; Lee 3/0; Tish 3/0; Thongvanh 2/3; Jacobsen 2/1; Smith 2/1; Stanton 2/0; James 1/1' Wood 1/1; Murphy 1/0; C. Peters 1/0; Nevels 1/0; Laferman 1/0; Rosenquist 0/2; T. Peters 0/1; Geerlings 0/1; Gulling 0/1; Barr 0/1; Daniels 0/1.

Quarterback sacks: none

Blocked punts: Travis 1.

Fumble recoveries: none

Interception: Tish 1