Area Football: Newton hopes to get out of Ken Locke funk

Ken Locke Stadium has been a House of Horrors for Newton’s football team in recent years.

Cardinal head coach Andy Swedenhjelm says he’s never been on a Newton staff that has won in Knoxville’s historical stadium.

He hopes his team can get out of that funk Friday night when the Cardinals open the 2021 season against the Panthers. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

“Knoxville has been a team that has given us problems in the past. And for whatever reason we do not play well in Ken Locke Stadium,” Swedenhjelm said. “It’s a really cool stadium, but it’s been our kryptonite. That’s something we’ll emphasize to our kids.”

Newton and Knoxville combined to win just one game last year. The Panthers were 1-7 and the lone win was a 27-26 triumph over Keokuk.

The starting quarterback, most productive receiver and four of the top five tacklers from that squad are gone.

Last year’s Panther defense did not have an interception, recovered nine fumbles, tallied three sacks and collected 22 tackles for loss.

“We want to be extremely physical and establish the run right away,” Swedenhjelm said. “The key to winning games for us, regardless of opponent, but especially against Knoxville, is to make sure we can get the ball to our playmakers in space.”

For Newton, the playmakers are senior quarterback Zay Arguello, sophomore tailback Cody Klein and senior wide receivers Keith Moko and Tayvin Galanakis.

The Cardinals got off to a slow start offensively in their scrimmage against Pella Christian. Klein never did get much running room but Arguello was able to hit Moko for a touchdown pass and Galanakis also had a big gain through the air.

Knoxville’s top returner on defense is sophomore Dakota Ramsey, who had 33.5 tackles and one fumble recovery last season.

“We need to clean up some stuff up front,” Swedenhjelm said about the offense one day after the scrimmage. “Knoxville will probably run an odd front like Pella Christian did. We need to make sure we know where to go.”

Newton’s defense is led by senior linebacker Reese Hammons, but he missed the scrimmage with an injury last week. He finished with a team-best 57.5 tackles and added five tackles for a loss, a fumble recovery and a pick six last fall.

The Cardinal defense is made up mostly of seniors. Braydon Chance is back at linebacker after compiling 31 tackles in 2020 and Adam Mattes returns at safety after ranking third on the team with 27 tackles.

Newton’s defense will have to deal with Knoxville’s Wing T offense.

“You have to be fundamentally sound defensively because it’s all about misdirection,” Swedenhjelm said. “We need to read our keys and make sure we’re not getting caught up in all the backfield action.

“The guards don’t lie to you usually so we have to key on the guards.”

Knoxville’s top offensive returners are juniors Gavin Montalvo and Tristin DeJong. Montalvo rushed for 346 yards and four scores last year while DeJong gained 250 yards on the ground.

Knoxville downed Newton 41-14 at Ken Locke Stadium in 2019. The Cardinals hammered the Panthers 55-12 at home in 2018.

Newton and Knoxville also played every year from 2010 to 2015 with each team winning three times.

“We’ve played at Knoxville two or three times since I have been here and we’ve lost every time,” Swedenhjelm said. “We have never won a game over there since I have been at Newton.”

Lynnville-Sully at Pleasantville, 7 p.m.

Lynnville-Sully opened last season with a win but finished on a five-game losing streak. Pleasantville started 5-0 but ended the year with three straight defeats.

The two teams will try to snap those losing skids against each other on Friday night. The Trojans rushed for 364 yards against the Hawks in last year’s 56-29 win.

This year’s game will feature a new Pleasantville quarterback and the Trojans also lost their top two rushers and top two receivers but a lot of the defense that allowed 21.5 points per game is back.

Jake DeJoode rushed for 455 yards and nine scores last year and had 28.5 tackles and a defensive TD.

The other key returners on defense include Bristol Huyck (40 tackles), Michael McGriff (21 tackles) and Ben Wicks (19.5 tackles, 2 interceptions).

L-S will try to rebound from two subpar seasons after winning at least seven games in four straight campaigns. This year’s Hawks’ squad has a large senior class, talented underclassmen and several key returners. The roster goes 42 deep.

Davis County at PCM, 7:30 p.m.

In a battle of Mustangs, PCM hopes to get 2021 off to a strong start after another appearance in the Class 2A state semifinals in 2020.

Back are all-state tailback Aidan Anderson, junior quarterback August Stock and seniors Durant Van Dyke and Kaden Hale, who both started on defense last fall.

More than 20 seniors from last year’s 10-1 squad are gone though. That means a lot of new faces will carve out roles for a PCM program which has gone six straight seasons with at least seven wins.

The team’s roster goes 80 deep. Anderson rushed for 735 yards and averaged 10.5 yards per carry last year but suffered a season-ending injury midway through the season.

Van Dyke is the top returning tackler. He finished with 35.5 tackles and led the Mustangs with 12 tackles for loss and six sacks last fall.

PCM and Davis County have played six times since 2012. PCM won the last four by a combined score of 205-26.

Davis County finished 3-4 last season. Its last winning season was 2012 and the visiting Mustangs went .500 twice during that span.

Senior quarterback Carson Maeder is back after throwing for 1,100 yards and rushing for 310. He scored 18 combined TDs and tallied three sacks on defense.

Seniors Gavin McCall, Caeden Glosser, Easton White and Dawson Townsend also are back.

McCall rushed for 539 yards and five scores last year while collecting 20 tackles.

Glosser was the team’s top receiver with 29 catches for 631 yards and eight scores. He also had three interceptions on defense. White finished with 23 tackles and Townsend snatched four picks.

Colo-NESCO at Baxter, 7 p.m.

The first of six home games for Baxter in 2021 will be Friday night and the Bolts welcome Iowa Star Conference rival Colo-NESCO to town.

The Royals were 2-6 last year and ended the season with five straight losses. They’ve also had three straight losing seasons.

In those three seasons, Baxter defeated the Royals 74-61, 72-69 and 56-40 while rushing for 590, 404 and 351 yards.

Rory Heer ran for 324 yards and seven TDs last fall and Cody Damman added 266 yards and four scores. Both are back to lead the Bolts’ offense this season.

The Royals’ top three returners are seniors Kenny Cutler, Andrew Grover and Andrew Tschantz.

Cutler threw for 588 yards and 13 TDs last fall. Grover rushed for 1,133 yards and 15 TDs and gained 194 receiving yards and with three scores, too. Tschantz was the leading receiver with 265 yards and seven TDs.

Grover led the team in tackles with 58, while Cutler had 41.5 tackles and two picks and Tschantz added 39.5 tackles and two picks.

Baxter’s 8-man program has a ton of returners back from its 4-5 squad last year. The Bolts have a program-record 29 players out and this year’s team could be as talented as the one Baxter debuted with when it went 8-1 in 2017.

Colfax-Mingo at Panorama, 7 p.m.

The Tigerhawks seek their first win since 2019 and they’ll face a revamped Panorama program which went 6-3 last season.

The Panthers graduated their quarterback, top three rushers, four of their top five receivers and top four tacklers from that squad.

Senior Hunter Pauley is the top returner. He had 175 receiving yards and two scores on offense and 28 tackles and one pick on defense. Senior Brice Taylor (22 tackles) and Cooper Andersen (21 tackles) are both back, too.

The Tigerhawks will go 33 deep and have six seniors this fall. Senior quarterback Cole Bracewell returns along with fellow senior captains Justin Myers, Colton Lind and Grant Alexander.