Cardinals beat District Champs Carlisle
10/22/10 - Eric Arnold - NewtonCardinalsFootball.comThe Newton Cardinals ended a disappointing season on a couple of high notes by beating Norwalk and Carlisle their last two games of the season. And to top it off Newton beat Carlisle with a dramatic touchdown by senior Ira Mitchell with 15 seconds remaining in the game to win 16-13. Although the last two wins were big to end the season on a high note, the Cardinals will miss the playoffs for the third year in a row.
In the first quarter the Cardinals offense only came up with one first down, punting on all three of their possessions in the quarter. Carlisle wasn't able to take advantage of their good field position as they missed two field goal attempts, but to start the second quarter the Wildcats were able to make a 31 yard attempt to go up 3-0 at the 8:29 mark. Newton answered with a long drive that ended with a Matt Easley 30 yard kick to tie the game 3-3 with 2:42 to play in the half. Both teams traded punts and Carlisle nearly returned a punt for a touchdown to end the half, being knocked out of bounds at the 10 yard line.
Carlisle took the opening drive of the second half down to the Newton five yard line, but coughed up the ball and Newton recovered. Newton went three and out, punt, and Carlisle was able to bring it down to score a touchdown on a 30 yard pass as their receivers ran criss-crossing patterns in the middle of the field to set up a pick play and the Wildcats were up 10-3. The Cardinal offense was able to counter with a touchdown of their own to tie it at 10-10 with 1:38 to play in the third.
In the fourth quarter Newton was able to recover a fumbled punt on the Carlisle 32 yard line, but went four downs and out to turn it over on downs missing a golden opportunity to score on a short field. Carlisle was able to kick a 39 yard field goal to take the lead 13-10 with only 1:48 to play in the game. Newton then put together the drive of the season as Brian Rose connected a 32 yard pass to senior Devin Hugen to get the Cardinals to the Wildcats 38 yard line. Hugen made the reception of his career having to dive to make a finger tip catch and rolled out of bounds to stop the clock. A complete pass to Alec Richtsmeier to the 29, Rose ran for a first down to the 20, a couple of draw plays and time outs and Newton sealed it with Ira Mitchell's 1 yard score.
My thoughts: This was a hard fought game on both sides of the field. Newton was finally able to win a close game coming from behind and that showed some heart and character. It was great to see the seniors go out with a couple of big wins after starting out the season 2-5, and only 1 win last season. Newton missed the playoffs for the third year in a row, a huge disappointment this season with being the largest school in Class 3A, where the last two previous seasons Newton was picked on as the smallest in 4A and plummeting declining enrollment numbers with the loss of Maytag. This marks the seventh season with Head Coach Ed Ergenbright as he now has a 34-29 career record and only 3 winning seasons to his credit. The impact of a new offensive scheme may have played a factor in the offensive inconsistency as shotgun formations and wide receivers have been unheard of at Newton until this year. Coach Bieghler deserves some credit for implementing a new system as that is not an easy thing to pull off. Hopefully next season we will see the fruits of a second year offensive system. I'm excited for the 2011 season as we have some talented juniors returning, including QB Brian Rose, RB Zach Roskilly, Reid McDermott, Kole Wilson, Trevor Jenner, Logan Bird, Ragan Brock, Joseph Brock, Nick Van Der Wilt, kicker Matt Easley, and sophomore Derrick Hurt
Cardinals end season with dramatic upset
10/25/10 By Mike Hockett NDN Sports Writer
The Newton football team didn’t make the playoffs. It didn’t have a winning season in 2010. It didn’t matter Friday night at H.A. Lynn Field, as Cardinal fans had nothing but cheers and smiles for what their team did in the season finale. For the second week in a row, Newton (4-5, 4-3) earned an upset, this time over 10th-ranked Carlisle in an unforgettable game for 20 Cardinal seniors playing the final game of their prep careers. Ira Mitchell plowed in from a yard out with 15 seconds left in the game to give Newton a dramatic 16-13 win over the 7-2 (5-2) Wildcats. It capped-off a 71-yard drive that began with 1 minute and 43 seconds remaining with the Cardinals trailing by three.Having lost four games this season by seven points or less, Newton finally returned the favor. “It was a fitting end for the things we’ve been through,” Cardinals coach Ed Ergenbright said. “It was time for us to win one like that. I can’t tell you how tough it is to lose one like that. To get it in the end zone and have it end the way it did was just perfect.” Carlisle, which was undefeated just two weeks ago before a loss to Dallas-Center Grimes, kicked a field goal to go up 13-10 with 1:48 remaining. Newton took over on its own 29, and after a short pass and a sack, faced a third-and-9 on its 30 with 1:08 left. Quarterback Brian Rose then connected with senior Devin Hugen for a 32-yard completion to the Wildcats’ 38. Rose completed a nine-yard pass to Alec Richtsmeier to the 29 and then ran for a first down to the 20 with 41 seconds remaining. Mitchell then finished off his Cardinals career by carrying his team to victory. He ran for 10 yards to the 10, then caught a pass down to the 1-yard line before Newton called its last time out. Mitchell took a hand-off, went left and into the end zone, setting off a celebration on the Newton sideline and in the stands. "That’s what we came into the game to do, to beat a ranked team,” said Mitchell, who carried xx times for xx yards. “We’ve worked on the two-minute drill every Thursday in practice and we ran it to perfection tonight.” “That was epic,” senior tight end/defensive end Colton Hoffmann added about the drive.
The Cardinals played right with Carlisle from the start despite being the underdog. Two Wildcats’ missed field goals left the game scoreless after one quarter while the Newton offense struggled to get going. Carlisle broke the tie with a 34-yard field goal with 8:49 left in the first half to take a 3-0 lead. The Cardinals responded by picking up five first downs on a 60-yard drive, including a key fourth-down conversion. The drive ended with junior Matt Easley kicking a 29-yard field goal to tie the game again with 2:42 left. Easley’s field goal was the eighth of his career, making him the school’s all-time leading in field goals made. The teams traded possessions the remainder of the half, which ended with the Wildcats nearly returning a punt for a touchdown as the returner was tackled inside the Newton 10 as time expired.
It was quite a defensive effort from the Cardinals, as Carlsile’s first three possessions started at Newton’s 40, 41 and 44. The Wildcats looked to take control on their first possession of the second half, methodically moving the ball down to the Cardinal 15. But on first-and-10, Newton forced a fumble and Dakota Hills recovered on the 4 for the Cardinals. Carlisle came right back on its next possession, this time finding the endzone as Brady Roland caught a pass at Newton’s 10, broke a tackle and went into the endzone for a 10-3 lead with 6:31 left in the third quarter. The Cardinals answered with a 75-yard drive of their own. Rose ran for a 25-yard gain, and Newton gained three more first downs to the Wildcats’ 14. On first down, Rose faked a handoff, bootlegged left and took off into the endzone for a score to tie the game at 10 with 1:58 left in the quarter. Newton stopped Carlisle on its next two possessions, and appeared to be in prime position to take the lead after Andrew Clements returned a punt inside the Wildcat 10. However, the play was called back for a block in the back, and the Cardinals went three-and-out. The game had been penalty-free up until that point, but Carlisle was aided by two big ones on its next drive. A questionable pass interference call and then a horsecollar penalty on a sack gave the Wildcats with a first down at Newton’s 11. The Cardinal defense rose up again, pushing Carlisle back to the 22, where it took a 16-13 lead on a 39-yard field goal. It set up Newtons’ dramatic finish.
With the win, the Cardinals ended the 2010 season at 4-5 overall, and 4-3 in District 8. Despite the losing season, Newton finished very strong, knocking off the top two teams in the district in its last two games. The Cardinals also beat Norwalk (7-2, 5-2) on Oct. 15. “This was for the seniors,” said offensive linemen Logan Bird. “We were proving a point these past two weeks, that we could beat any team in our conference.” In the minutes following the victory, most of the Newton seniors couldn’t be found in the locker room. Instead, the majority stayed at midfield, trying to savor every last moment they could before taking off their pads for the last time. “We’ve been playing football together since the seventh grade,” Mitchell said. “We’re just sad to leave each other. I’ve had so much fun with them the last six years and I wish I could have another six with them. I’d do anything for them and I love them like family.”