The Newton Cardinal Football team opened up the season on the road last night against the 6th ranked team in class 4A and lost to the ADM Tigers 13 to 8. The Cardinals had the ball and a chance to win at the end of the game, but a late drive into Tiger territory ended with an interception with 11 seconds left. The Cardinals trailed 13-0 heading into the 4th quarter but capped a 16 play 80 yard drive with a one yard Caden Klein touchdown with 7:55 left in the game. The two point conversion failed. Newton then blocked a punt for a safety with 6:25 left for the game’s final score. Both teams moved the ball well at times, but Newton and ADM were also plagued by penalties. The Cardinals had 8 and the Tigers 9. Newton picked off one Tiger pass and ADM intercepted 3 Cardinal passes. After the game, Newton Coach Andy Swedenhjelm was proud of his team’s fight.

“Nothing to be ashamed of by our kids. They gave great effort, they had great fight. This is kind of a younger team and I thought one of the best steps we took this year is we didn’t quit at all. We played really hard and were in a position to win in the end. That’s all you can ask for.”

The Cardinals and Tigers both had over 300 yards of total offense. Newton Quarterback Caden Klein had 23 carries for 114 yards and had Newton’s only touchdown on a one-yard run. He was 15 of 30 passing for 227 yards. Five passes went to Sophomore tight end Finn Martin for 83 yards. Newton will be at home next Friday night hosting Dallas Center-Grimes. The pre-game on kniakrls.com KRLS3 stream will begin at 6:30 p.m. with the kick-off at 7 p.m.