Milburn leads 14 Cardinals on all-district football squad

Sophomore Nick Milburn collected a career-high 21.5 tackles against state-ranked Gilbert this past season.

He also finished with nine tackles and one sack against Class 4A state runner-up Pella and posted 14 tackles each in wins over Bondurant-Farrar and Carlisle.

Those statistics were good enough for Milburn to be named co-defensive MVP in 4A District 4 but apparently not strong enough to earn unanimous first team all-district honors.

Milburn highlighted seven Cardinals on the all-district first team, which was released after Pella lost in the 4A state championship last week.

Seniors Jose Benitez and Lincoln Peterson and juniors Koltt Ahn and Finn Martin all earned unanimous first team recognition, while senior Peyton Rozendaal, junior Caden Klein and Milburn also were first team selections.

The Cardinals’ second-team picks were seniors Skyler Milheiser, Derek Wermager, Trey Davidson, Kaiden Rogers and Damien Smith and juniors Coleby Revell and Zach Felten.

All-district recognition is based on statistics in district games only. Newton finished third in the district with a 3-2 record.

Milburn shared co-Defensive MVP honors with Pella junior Nate Warner. Milburn finished with 62.5 tackles, 2.5 sacks and 4.5 tackles for loss in the team’s five district games.

Peterson and Rozendaal joined Milburn on the first-team defense. Peterson was a unanimous choice on the defensive line after producing 19 tackles and two tackles for loss. Rozendaal registered 26 tackles and snagged one interception.

Martin was a unanimous selection as a pass catcher. He had 15 catches for 307 receiving yards and three touchdowns. He averaged 20.5 yards per reception.

Benitez and Ahn both were unanimous first team choices on the offensive line. They were joined by second-teamer Felten and helped the Newton offense rush for 1,171 yards in district play. The Cardinals also averaged 8 yards per carry and scored 17 rushing touchdowns. Newton passed for 713 yards and six touchdowns.

Klein had a big first season as Newton’s starting quarterback. He was a first-team choice at utility after finishing with 650 rushing yards and 655 passing yards. He added 13 offensive touchdowns, 1,305 offensive yards and averaged 12.2 yards per carry. Klein also rushed for eight touchdowns and threw for five more.

Milheiser and Felten were second-team picks on offense. Milheiser had four catches for 36 yards and eight carries for 82 yards and one touchdown as Newton’s tight end/fullback/H-back.

Revell, Wermager, Davidson, Smith and Rogers all were second team picks on defense.

Revell finished with 10 tackles, two fumble recoveries and five tackles for loss as a defensive lineman.

Wermager had 18.5 tackles and three tackles for loss, Davidson finished with 10 tackles and one interception and Smith produced 21.5 tackles, three tackles for loss and one sack. Rogers chipped in 15.5 tackles and two tackles for loss.

Class 4A District 4

Final Standings

Team    District    Overall

Gilbert 4-1  9-1

Pella  4-1  9-1

Newton  3-2  6-4

Carlisle 2-3 2-7

Bondurant-Farrar 2-3  2-7

Des Moines Hoover 0-5  0-9

Coach of the Year

Jay McKinstrey, Pella

Offensive MVP

Will Hawthorne, sr., Gilbert

Defensive MVPs

Nick Milburn, so., Newton

Nate Warner, jr., Pella

All-District

First Team Offense

Quarterback: Colin Kerndt, sr., Pella.

Running Backs: *Hawthorne, sr., Gilbert; Caleb Nordhagen, sr., Carlisle.

Wide Receivers: *Finn Martin, jr., Newton; *Tyson Barnes, sr., Pella; *Riley Vanderlinden, fr., Bondurant-Farrar.

Tight End/Fullback/H-Back: *Gabe Fierce, jr., Gilbert.

Offensive Line: *Jose Benitez, sr., Newton; *Koltt Ahn, jr., Newton; *Palmer Henning, jr., Pella; *Kyler Gooters, jr., Gilbert; *Mason Griffin, jr., Gilbert.

Utility: Caden Klein, jr., Newton; *Jordan Rial, sr., Bondurant-Farrar.

First Team Defense

Defensive Line: *Lincoln Peterson, sr., Newton; *Ben Wilcox, sr., Pella; *Tayshawn Gillen, jr., Gilbert; *Daniel Buss, sr., Gilbert.

Linebackers: Milburn, so., Newton; *Warner, jr., Pella; *Noah Noland, sr., Carlisle; Bowen Kruse, sr., Gilbert.

Defensive Backs: Peyton Rozendaal, sr., Newton; *Landon Cory, sr., Bondurant-Farrar; *Bailey Shetterly, sr., Pella; Alden Short, sr., Gilbert; Emmanuel Diers, jr., Pella.

Utility: Blake Bell, jr., Gilbert

Kicker: Owen Mattson, sr., Gilbert.

*denotes unanimous selection

Second Team Offense

Skyler Milheiser, sr., Newton; Zach Felten, jr., Newton; Austin Hanson, sr., Bondurant-Farrar; Joey George, sr., Bondurant-Farrar; TJ Peck, sr., Bondurant-Farrar; Justice Parkey, sr., Hoover; Tresean Phillips, sr., Hoover; Tahj Williams, sr., Hoover; Benjamin Dothager, jr., Pella; Harrison Mullens, jr., Pella; Garrett O’Halloran, sr., Pella; Trent Wesselmann, so., Gilbert; Zach Noe, sr., Gilbert; Wyatt Pink, sr., Gilbert.

Second Team Defense

Coleby Revell, jr., Newton; Derek Wermager, sr., Newton; Trey Davidson, sr., Newton; Damien Smith, sr., Newton; Kaiden Rogers, sr., Newton; Ryder Miller, sr., Bondurant-Farrar; Parker Ernst, sr., Bondurant-Farrar; Nolan Fellers, jr., Bondurant-Farrar; Niyo Francois, sr., Hoover; Hushindi Abwe, jr., Hoover; Calvin Frey, sr., Carlisle; Ben Glawe, sr., Carlisle; Dawson Van Zante, jr., Carlisle; Chase Cline, jr., Carlisle; Lake Cowman, sr., Pella; Rex Rhamy, jr., Pella; Kyler VanMaanen, so., Pella; Ty VanVliet, jr., Pella; Jace Peterson, jr., Pella; Easton Van Cleave, jr., Gilbert; Ethan Wilcox, sr., Gilbert; Braeden Nees, sr., Gilbert.