Area Football: 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,” 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 of 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 in the loss 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 seven tackles to lead the defense, while senior Josh Meyer had 5.5 tackles to lead the Newton defense.

Pleasantville 56, Lynnville-Sully 29

SULLY — Pleasantville rushed for 364 yards on offense and the defense had four interceptions and scored two touchdowns during a 56-29 road win over Lynnville-Sully on Friday night.

L-S sophomore Kyle Squires rushed for 122 yards and two scores, but it wasn't enough to get the Hawks to 2-0.

Pleasantville improved to 2-0 behind 216 rushing yards and three TDs from junior Jake DeJoode and 109 rushing yards and a score from senior Isaac Mann.

Senior Colby Sandholt had two of the Trojans' four interceptions and returned them both for TDs.

Freshman C.J. Nikkel had a rushing TD and junior Ryan Annee caught a 15-yard TD from sophomore Conner Maston for the Hawks. Maston threw for 56 yards but had three interceptions.

The Hawks were held to 222 total yards. Senior Dakota Seastrom led the receivers with 24 yards on two catches and freshman Maxwell Mintle rushed for 22 yards on five carries.

Senior Payton Van Wyk led the Hawk defense with nine tackles, while sophomore Lane Fisk had six tackles and two tackles for loss. Maston also finished with six tackles and junior Gage Elscott had a sack.

Pleasantville senior lineman Matthew Kauffman led the Trojan defense with 7.5 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and one sack.

Other Area Scores

Class 2A No. 1 PCM 42, Pella Christian 7

Collins-Maxwell 39, Baxter 22

North Mahaska 48, Colfax-Mingo 12