Bobcats too much for short-handed Cardinals

With 13 starters out for the week, several players in Newton’s sophomore class got a baptism by fire during the Cardinals’ football game with Class 4A Marshalltown on Friday night.

Unfortunately, it was a tough night for Newton as the Cardinals lost 42-8 in the team’s home opener at H.A. Lynn Stadium.

“Our sophomores got a fantastic learning experience. They got to play a varsity game against varsity competition,” Newton head coach Andy Swedenhjelm said. “And to be honest, they did pretty well. They’re just small right now. They need to continue to grow and get better.

“They did what we asked them to do. They competed. They were just in a tough situation.”

The Cardinals were missing a large number of starters for the game.

Junior Keith Moko and sophomore Brendon West were injured and in street clothes. The rest of the players were out for undisclosed reasons.

Junior running back Nate Maki was limited and left the game early with an injury. Junior Braydon Chance ended the game in street clothes and crutches and senior Gavin Urias was helped off the field in the second half with an apparent injury.

It was a tough night for the Cardinals as they fell to 0-2 on the field and still have a lot of uncertainty off it.

“We were put in a tough situation,” Swedenhjelm said. “We were dealt a hand we weren’t used to, but that just means the experienced guys have to be even better with their execution.”

The Bobcats controlled the game from the opening kickoff. They led 21-0 at halftime and scored the first 42 points in the game.

The only points for Newton came late in the fourth quarter when junior quarterback Zay Arguello zig zagged his way to a 77-yard touchdown run. His two-point conversion run made it 42-8 with 2:48 to play in the game.

Arguello finished with 97 rushing yards and had 30 yards passing on 6-of-14 through the air.

“We don’t want to stop fighting and teach our kids to quit so it was important to get some nice momentum late in the game,” Swedenhjelm said.

Marshalltown out-gained Newton 476-173. The Bobcats rushed for 346 yards on 44 carries, led by senior Malik Haynes’ 178 yards on 16 carries and Patrick Landeros’ 125 yards on 14 carries.

Brendan Bates also threw for 130 yards and three scores.

One of those TD passes came on fourth and 12 from the 17-yard line in the first quarter. The other was a short pass to Landeros on fourth and five that resulted in a 9-yard touchdown.

“There were still mistakes made by our upperclassmen,” Swedenhjelm said. “We still have things to fix. It was a tough situation to be in for everyone.”

Maki did finish with 23 rushing yards on three carries. Urias gained 18 yards on the ground and had a 14-yard catch before leaving the game.

Junior Reese Hammons had eight tackles to lead the defense, while senior Josh Meyer had 5.5 tackles.

Notes: Marshalltown assistant coach Dan Cibula is a Newton High School graduate. … Marshalltown Athletic Director Ryan Isgrig also is an alum of Newton High School . … The Bobcats had a 25-9 advantage in first downs. … It was the 88th all-time meeting between Newton and Marshalltown. ... Newton opens Class 3A District 6 play against Grinnell at 7:30 p.m. Friday at H.A. Lynn Stadium.