The Newton Cardinal football team plays their season opener at home tonight against Carlisle in a game that can be heard live on kniakrls.com KRLS3. 

Newton defeated Carlisle at H.A. Lynn Stadium last October 45-11. The Cardinals had 555 yards of total offense while the Wildcats had 350 yards. Newton returns a number of key players from last year’s 6-4 team, which made a third straight play-off appearance. Quarterback Caden Klein is back after throwing for 1,445 yards and 8 touchdowns last season. He also ran for 1,126 yards and 14 touchdowns, earning him a spot on the Class 4A District 4 All-District First Team Offense. Klein was also selected to the Iowa Football Coaches Association’s All-State Second Team Offense. Joining Klein in the backfield this season is junior Isaiah Hansen, who has a football scholarship offer to Iowa State. Last year’s leading receiver, Finn Martin, has moved from tight end to wide receiver. He caught 35 passes last season for 637 yards and four touchdowns. 

The Cardinal defense will be led by last year’s leading tackler, linebacker Nick Milburn. The junior accumulated 102 total tackles, 95 solo tackles, and 9.5 tackles for loss. Milburn was named to the Iowa Football Coaches Association’s All-State First Team Defense, and was also selected to the Class 4A District 4 All-District team.

Carlisle was 2-7 last season. Those two wins were the last games of the season at Hoover and at home against Bondurant-Farrar. Kick-off for tonight’s game is 7:00 p.m. with pregame coverage on KRLS3 beginning at 6:30 p.m.