Cardinals to challenge top-ranked Little Dutch

Newton High’s Cardinals are focusing on getting better. And one of the best ways to do that is to play against quality football teams.

The Cardinals, who climbed back into the Iowa Class 3A rankings this week at No. 9, are home Friday in a non-district game with the top-ranked 3A Pella Little Dutch. Newton is 5-1 and Pella is 6-0.

Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. at H.A. Lynn Stadium. The freshman game is at 4:45 p.m.

“It’s a big test for us, but the kids are excited about the opportunity to go up against Pella,” said Ed Ergenbright, Newton head coach. “We’ve been focused on getting better at what we do. We have had really productive practices this week.”

Pella presents a challenge for Newton in that the Little Dutch are bigger across the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. They have dual-threat quarterback junior Noah Clayberg, who leads them in rushing and passing. Nathan Henry and Quinton Murphy are strong running backs.

“They are athletic at every position on defense and run to the ball well. They are led by a (NCAA) Division I defensive tackle in Garret Jansen, who has committed to the University of Cincinnati. He also plays on the offensive line,” Ergenbright said. “They are not ranked No. 1 by accident.”

Ergenbright said the keys for success for the Cardinals on Friday night are not giving up big plays on defense, getting the defense off the field on third downs and moving the ball on offense. He said Newton made plays at critical times last week in the win at Ballard.

“But, we were on defense way too much of the time. Our offense must move the football against Pella’s defense and take advantage of every scoring opportunity,” he said. “Pella uses a lot of misdirection on offense in the backfield and have a big athletic offensive line. They find creases to hit big plays or just line up and knock you off the ball with the power running game.”

Pella’s Clayberg has rushed for 721 yards on 66 carries and completed 38-of-58 passes for 449 yards. He has thrown seven touchdown passes and one interception. Newton senior quarterback Tyler Wood leads the Cardinals with 454 yards on 87 rushes and has completed 39 of 72 passes for 659 yards, seven touchdowns and two interceptions.

Newton has six players who have rushed for more than 100 yards this season. Joseph Banfield has 332 yards and Deonne Harris has 303 yards. Pella’s Henry has piled up 427 yards on 66 carries and Murphy has 371 yards.

Wood’s top targets have been Nick Easley, who has 20 receptions for 362 yards, and Banfield, who had 114 yards on four catches. Pella’s leading receiver is Will Warner with 19 catches for 223 yards.

Jensen, who is 6-foot-1 inch tall and 250-pounds, has 20 solo tackles and 16 assisted tackles to lead the Little Dutch defense. Clayberg has 16 solo stops and 14 assisted tackles from his defensive back spot. Mason Van Gorp, who is 5-feet-11 and 200 pounds, is another defensive lineman with 10 solo tackles and 23 assisted tackles.

Newton’s defense is led by Travis, who is a senior defensive end, with 34 solo tackles and 14 assisted tackles. Travis also has four quarterback sacks. Senior linebacker Brett Wolf has racked up 30 solo stops and 11 assisted tackles and junior defensive back Bryce Tish had 27 solos and 14 assisted tackles.

Easley does all the kicking duties — kickoffs, placekicking and punting — for the Cardinals. Johnson is the placekicker for the Little Dutch and Clayberg punts. Easley has 16 touchbacks on kickoffs and Johnson has 12 touchbacks. Both Easley and Johnson had field goals in their respective team’s win a week ago.

Easley’s field goal gave the Cardinals a 17-14 win over Ballard. Pella defeated Carlisle, 17-6.

“We’re excited about this game. We’re expecting a great high school football game atmosphere on Friday night,” Ergenbright said.

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