Ergenbright leads Newton
transition into Class 3A
8/25/10 - Newton
Daily News
By Ben Frotscher
As
Newton's team makes the transition from Class 4A to Class 3A this season,
head coach Ed Ergenbright can't help but go back to his playing days for
the Cardinals. This is probably one of the biggest transitions the
Cardinals have made on the field since the team went from playing a Class
4A independent to the Central Iowa Conference. Ergenbright was playing
back then. "The move down to 3A kind of reminds me of my junior year
when Newton was in independent in 4A and playing schools all over the
state of Iowa," Ergenbright said. "When I was a junior, we would
go to Cedar Rapids Regis, Waterloo Columbus, Iowa Coty High. We were doing
a lot of traveling. My senior year (1980) we got back into the CIC."
It's
a very similar move. Last year in Class 4A, Newton went as far as Sioux
City for games as the team played as an independent.
"Moving
into District 8 in 3A, our kids get a chance to play for something, have
an opportunity to win a district championship, and we get to play some
local teams without all the travel across Iowa," Ergenbright said.
"We fully understand there are a lot of good athletes in 3A. They all
have capable athletes. More than anything it gives us more of a level
playing field." This year the Cardinals will be playing in Class 3A
for the first time as the team opens the season Friday night at home
against Pella. "We're excited about it," Ergenbright said.
"The kids are excited about it and we'll develop some rivalries
against schools we used to play. It's a win, win across the board."
The
schedule won't be the only thing changing this season. The roster is going
to look a lot different as well. The Cardinals lost their top three
defensive tacklers from last season to graduation (Chase Eggers, Eric
Lepley, and Ryan Van Maanen) along with Ben Schober, who ran for 354 yards
and seven touchdowns. "A lot of our offensive line is gone,"
Ergenbright said. "We graduated pretty much tackle to tackle, pretty
much our whole offensive line will be new this year. We had some key
defensive guys that graduated as well. Most of those guys were defensive
backs, and a couple of linebackers that we're going to have to replace
this year." But Newton returns a large group of it's skill players
coming off a 1-8 season, where the lone victory of the year came at Sioux
City West. Eight of nine opponents last season were playoff qualifiers in
Class 4A.
The
Cardinals return Ira Mitchell, a senior who lead the Cardinals with 681
yards rushing and six touchdowns last season. Senior Devin Hugen returns
this season after starting last year at quarterback, but this season he
will strap up at wide receiver. "We're going to add some things to
our offense that we feel highlight our skill guys," Ergenbright said.
"There will be a lot of things that look the same, some that
won't." Senior Dustin Schelling, after a broken ankle midway through
last season, will play again at defensive back and wide receiver. Other
players who saw significant time last season were senior Colton Hoffman on
the line, junior Reid McDermott and Nock VanderWilt at defensive end,
senior Evan Rethmeier at nose guard, and senior Sam Coen at free safety
and senior Brandon Henning at linebacker. "A
lot of our skills players last year were underclassmen," Ergenbright
said. "With the exception of just a couple, most of those guys are
returning. Our senior class, there are a lot of solid leaders in there. We
look for the experience in the skill players to be an asset to our
team."
While
the Cardinals return a host of skill players, the quarterback position is
still up for grabs between juniors Brian Rose and Kole Wilson. "Both
split time on JV last year quarterbacking," Ergenbright said.
"It's one of those situations where Kole is capable of playing some
tight end and defense for us.. Right now the competition has been really
good between those two. We'll make a determination which way we're headed.
Both of those guys you'll see on the field." Other players to watch
for this season include junior Ragan Brock at offensive tackle, junior Joe
Brock at tackle, sophomore Derrick Hurt at offensive guard, senior Michael
Bell at corner, and sophomore Dakota Hills on both sides of the ball.
Newton
brings a total of 72 players, sophomores through seniors, into the season
opener against Pella, and more than 100 when counting the freshmen class.
The Little Dutch made the Class 3A state final last season. After a second
non-district game with Oskaloosa, the Cardinals open district play at home
against Dallas Center-Grimes, one of three post season qualifiers in the
district. ADM and Carlisle also made the playoffs last year. Perry, after
going 4-5 last season, returns a lot of experienced players, while
Knoxville, who went 2-7 last season, has a new coach at the helm.
After
going 1-8 last season in Class 4A, Ergenbright wants his team to shoot for
one of those four playoff spots this season. "That's our goal, to
make it to postseason play," said Ergenbright. "Right now we're
going to start underclassmen on offense, and maybe five or six on defense.
We're going to be really young this year. Our coaching staff feels like
before we get too far into October, we have a chance to have a pretty good
team." To gain one of those four playoff spots, Ergenbright said
staying healthy be a key to a successful season. "Certainly we got a
lot of young kids playing and we have a lot of young kids backing them
up," Ergenbright said. "We need to keep the offense and
defensive lines healthy, and not get key guys injured. A couple of
injuries here and there could certainly change that. Developing depth and
getting them ready to play in case they need to get in there and go is
always something you have to work toward."
Cardinals begin new era of
Class 3A in 2010
8/21/10 - Eric
Arnold
The 2010 season is upon us and after a 1-8 season last year the Cardinals
are headed to Class 3A to face some new and unfamiliar competition. We
will be the largest school in 3A so we have numbers at our advantage for
the first time. But it’s also the start of a new era and I think it’s
all going to be positive for Newton Cardinals players and fans. Returning
starters this year are seniors Devin Hugen, Ira Mitchell, and juniors Reid
McDermott and place kicker Matt Easley.
Since we’re playing a whole new set
of teams in 3A in District 8, I thought I would go through the 2010
schedule and introduce our competitors and give a bit of a background and
scouting report so you (might) know what to expect to see on the field.
Aug. 27 versus Pella Little Dutch:
We open the season at home against the 2009 state runner-up Pella Little
Dutch. Although Pella had a 6-3 regular season last year they had a good
run through the playoffs beating four top ten ranked team before losing to
3A powerhouse Harlan 35-14 in the title game. Pella won playoff games at
Williamsburg, at Grinnell, beat undefeated Centerville at home, and beat
New Hampton in the semi finals. Their head coach is Jay McKinstrey who is
beginning his 14th season at the helm. In 2009 the
Little Dutch passed 263 times for 1,843 yards and rushed 459 times for
2,049 for a pass to run ratio of 36%. Watching the 2009 title game you can
see Pella run some conventional formations and some shotgun spread option
on offense.
September 3 at Oskaloosa Indians:
The Indians record in 2009 was 2-7, but don’t let that record fool you
that they are a bad football team. Oskaloosa football coach Darrell
Schumacher received the prestigious Walt Fiegel Coaching with Character
Award at halftime of the Class 4A championship game at the UNI Dome.
Schumacher is Iowa’s only active coach to take four different schools to
the playoffs. He coached Garner-Hayfield to the 1991 State Championship,
Spencer to the 1999 semifinals, and Vinton-Shellsburg to their first
playoff appearance in 2000. In 26 years of coaching, his teams have won
150 games with nine playoff appearances. Last year the Indians passed 131
times for 915 yards and rushed 362 for 1139 yards, passing the ball 27% of
their snaps.
September 10
versus Dallas Center-Grimes Mustangs:
The Mustangs had a 4-5 record in 2009 and lost their first round playoff
game to Clear Lake. 2010 brings the
7th season with Head Coach Scott Heitland. In 2009, the Mustangs reached
the state playoffs for the third straight year. They return six
starters on offense, and four on defense. They passed 156 times for 992
yards with 391 rushing attempts for 1,995 yards passing 40% of their
offensive plays.
September 17 at Saydel Eagles:
The Eagles 2009 Record was 1-8. Head Coach Craig
Wederquist was a two time All-American at Drake and an All
State Offensive Tackle for Urbandale in 1978. He was also the 82nd
pick in the 1983 USFL draft to the league champion Michigan Panthers,
although he spent the whole season on injured reserve. He has been an
assistant coach at UNI, Southeast Missouri, UNLV, Pacific, and the head
coach at Tarlton State from 1997-1999. Looking at their 2009 stats Saydel
will feature a running game with only a few passes per game, 145 pass
attempts for 528 yards, and rushing 264 times for 1,134, passing the ball
35% of their plays.
September 24 versus Perry Bluejays:
I wasn’t able to find much information about this team. Their 2009
Record was 4-5. Their Head Coach is Jeff Mayes. The run the ball 83% of
their snaps, passing 74 times for 358 yards and rushing 363 times for
1,815 yards.
October 1 at Knoxville Panthers:
The first thing I think of about Knoxville is their historic Ken Locke
Stadium right on highway 14. A few years ago there was a lot of
renovations done and the city continues to raise funds privately to
restore and improve this gem of a football field. The Panthers were 2-7
last year and bring in first year Head Coach Troy Rider, who was an
assistant at Dowling Catholic the last two seasons. Last year Knoxville
passed 132 times for 800 yards, and rushing 300 times for 1,401 yards, but
with a Rider coming in as their coach with the influence of Tom Wilson I
would look for the Panthers to show signs of a new style of offense and
bring a new attitude to a program that hasn’t had much to cheer about
for a long time.
October 8 versus ADM-Adel Tigers:
The Tigers will pass often as they were second in the state in 2009 for
pass attempts only to Marshalltown. Their 2009 record was 6-3 and they won
their first round playoff game against LeMars, while losing to Harlan in
second round. Head Coach Michael Whisner is in his 19th season
at ADM and was the conference coach of the year in 2009. ADM will be
throwing the ball 55% of their plays with 321 attempts for 2,900 yards
last season while rushing 263 times for 556 yards.
October 15 at Norwalk Warriors:
The Warriors 2009 record was 3-6. Their Head Coach is Paul Patterson. Last
year they
passed 144 times for 771 yards and rushed 381 times for 1,526 yards for a
passing percentage of 27%.
October 22 versus Carlisle Wildcats:
The Wildcats 2009 record was 6-3. Their Head Coach is Mark Hoekstra. They
had 129 pass attempts for 1,052 yards and rushed 389 times for 1,805 yards
in 2009, passing 25% of their plays.
At first glance
it’s easy to pound your chest and think with numbers being an advantage
for Newton, we should do well. I think we will find that the competition
in class 3A is tougher than we realize. Just ask Sioux City Bishop Heelan
who dropped to 3A a few years back, they didn’t make the playoffs their
first season. I think the Cardinals will make the playoffs and I see a
minimum of five wins on our schedule, hopefully more. But be assured we
will have a target on our backs all season as the smaller schools we will
face would love to get their shots in on the largest school in 3A. Newton
still has roughly 50 more students per class compared to Norwalk,
Oskaloosa, and Pella who are toward the top of the enrollment list in 3A.
And with the retirement of Coach Jenkins we may see some new twists on
offense with our new offensive staff. It will be an interesting season for
sure. Good luck to our Cardinals in 2010!