The Newton Cardinals stayed unbeaten in district play Friday night by defeating Clear Creek Amana in Tiffin, 31-19, in a game that was broadcast live on the KRLS3 stream. 

The Clippers scored first, just three plays into the game, on a 77-yard touchdown pass. Newton answered that touchdown on their second possession, when quarterback Caden Klein connected with Gabe Otto on a 26-yard touchdown pass with 7:31 left in the first quarter. Clear Creek Amana took the lead back four minutes before halftime, with a 30-yard field goal. The Cardinals then went 71-yards in eleven plays and scored four seconds before halftime, as Klein ran into the end zone from two yards out for a 14-10 lead. The Clippers pulled to within one point on a 25-yard field goal with 4:30 to go in the third quarter. But with just over two minutes left in the third quarter, Newton’s Nick Thomason scored a touchdown on a 10-yard run. That was followed by a 22-yard field goal by Jackson Price, giving the Cardinals their biggest lead at 24-13. Clear Creek Amana would score one more touchdown with 3:58 left in the game, to get within five points. Newton then went on an eight-play, 68-yard drive to end the scoring with an Isaiah Hansen 18-yard run with 1:04 left on the game clock. Newton head coach Andy Swedenhjelm was proud to see the Cardinals score, each time the Clippers got to within one touchdown.

“That’s what good teams do. So I am really proud of our guys for how they responded in key situations. We just have to have that tough man motto that nothing bothers you, and you just have to keep going.”

Newton had over 360-yards of total offense. Hansen had 21carries for 125 yards and Finn Martin caught five passes for 94 yards. Clear Creek Amana accumulated just under 300 yards of offense with 34 carries for 97 yards and 194 receiving yards on 14 completions.

The Newton Cardinals are now 6-1 overall and 3-0 in the District, and will host Grinnell next Friday.