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Thriller: Newton 71, FDSH 70

NEWTON — Time after time.

Play after play.

Conversion after conversion.

Point after point.

In Iowa’s second-highest scoring Class 4A regulation game ever, the Fort Dodge football team came up with an answer every time Newton tried to hit the Dodgers hard enough to keep them on the canvas here on Friday.

And then, with 16 seconds left — at 11:13 p.m. — head coach Matt Miller’s squad begrudgingly surrendered.

The final: Cardinals 71, Dodgers 70.

History was being made in real time at H.A. Lynn Field last night. Newton (6-0 overall, 2-0 Class 4A, District 4) couldn’t contain Fort Dodge’s offense. And the short-handed Dodgers (3-3, 0-2) simply weren’t able to stop the Cardinals. As a result, the two teams simply kept trading blows in the middle of the ring — merciless, defenseless shots landing over and over again — until one side finally went down.

And unfortunately for Miller’s squad, they were a split second short.

After scoring one final touchdown to pull within a point, Fort Dodge went for the win on a two-point conversion try with 16 seconds left. Drake Miller’s pass attempt to Trey Mosley — two of the playmakers who helped pull the Dodgers out of a deficit that appeared to be certain defeat — fell just incomplete in the back corner of the end zone.

The Cardinals then recovered the on-side kick, went into their victory formation, and limped off the field — many players crying — as FDSH’s huddle sat in stunned disbelief just a few feet away from the celebration.

“How do we give up 71 points and have a chance in the end?” Miller asked almost rhetorically. “That doesn’t even seem possible. This score doesn’t seem possible. I joked (on Thursday) that the first team to 70 might win.”

Miller wasn’t laughing afterward about what he thought was a hyperbolic proclamation. Instead, he was left balancing his emotions between pride, confusion and frustration.

Newton led 63-49 with just over five minutes remaining and looked to be salting away the victory, given its relentless rushing attack. Instead the Dodgers mounted an improbable rally, scoring twice to actually go ahead 64-63 on a Tyrnan Lara touchdown reception and a leaping Mosley conversion run.

A fumble recovery by FDSH junior Bryer Nelson — the only turnover of the contest — set up the dramatic score. Junior Ben Nebel had converted eight consecutive PATs, but Miller decided to roll the dice and go for two, and it worked.

For the time being.

The beleaguered Dodger defense — which lost two more starting linebackers to injury on Friday — nearly finished the game with a stop on the ensuing possession. Instead, senior quarterback Garrett Sturtz found classmate Trevor Ergenbright to keep the drive alive on a clutch 4th-and-12 throw.

Newton hit paydirt three plays later, went for two, converted, and found itself back up by a touchdown.

Fort Dodge wasn’t quite done, though.

Joe Artis recovered a short kickoff and rumbled his way into Cardinal territory at the 46. Miller connected with Tysen Kershaw for 18 yards, Lara for 11, then found freshman tailback Dayson Clayton for an 18-yard TD with the clock winding down and the pressure on.

Coach Miller went to the well one last time and tried for the two-point conversion and the win. The Dodgers got their signals crossed on the play, though; Miller looked for Mosley while being pressured up the middle, scrambling back 10 yards and throwing off his back foot. Mosley couldn’t quite come up with the ball, which was batted away at the last second.

“I just couldn’t ask our defense to go to overtime at that point,” Coach Miller said. “We had made the decision long before that — we were going to go for it. It was there, but we didn’t execute.”

Miller, the junior quarterback, exploded following a relatively quiet first half. He had 317 of his 359 passing yards after halftime, as well as four of his five touchdowns. Miller also scrambled for 95 yards on the ground for good measure, mostly after being flushed out of the pocket by Newton blitzes.

“Drake had a hell of a second half,” said Coach Miller, his father. “We made some huge 3rd- and 4th-down plays to stay alive. Dayson was outstanding. Tyrnan and Tysen had big catches. And if there’s a better overall playmaker than Trey Mosley in the state, I’d like to see him.”

Mosley was at his electric best, returning the opening kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown and hauling in an 87-yard pass from Miller on the first FDSH snap of the second half. The school’s all-time leading receiver finished with seven catches for 166 yards and a pair of scores.

Clayton was unstoppable in the first half, ripping off huge chunks of yardage and finishing with 11 carries, 159 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Newton keyed on him after that, but that loosened things up for Miller and the aerial attack. Clayton did accumulate 219 yards from scrimmage and three scores in all.

Fort Dodge had 659 yards of total offense, breaking a school record that had lasted for just two weeks. The Dodgers finished with 613 yards in a 62-52 home win over Ames on Sept. 15.

The defense, though, was overwhelmed by the Cardinals’ No. 1-ranked rushing and scoring assault. Newton rushed 58 times for 554 yards and nine TDs.

Already severely depleted by injury and attrition, Fort Dodge’s struggles continued when linebackers Mason Bodholdt and Mitch Glass — two of the squad’s leading tacklers — both went down as well.

“We have guys out there giving their all, but they simply aren’t ready for this kind of ballgame physically,” Miller said. “I really wish we could’ve gotten that stop (on Newton’s 4th down pass), because that would’ve been a great way to end it. One more play…

“I can’t fault the effort. These kids played their hearts out. The fight they showed in those last five minutes especially — it just would’ve been nice to finish it.”

The game was delayed for nearly 20 minutes in the first quarter when the lights went out on the visitor’s side of the stadium. And with all the scoring, the final play didn’t come until well after 11 o’clock.

West Des Moines Dowling and Southeast Polk set the 4A regulation scoring record by combining for 143 points in 2002. But it wasn’t an instant classic like this one.

And it didn’t have the instant heartbreak the Dodgers felt.

“It’s pretty crushing,” Miller admitted. “We put it all on the line. We made a lot of mistakes and could’ve done so many things better as coaches and as players, but we showed the heart that somehow gave us a chance.”

Miller then peered one last time at the scoreboard, right as the “Home 71, Visitors 70” clicked off for the night.

“We’ll bounce back for Homecoming,” Miller said of this Friday’s game against Marshalltown. “This is going to hurt for a little while, but we have to move past it and keep pushing forward.”

FD N

First Downs 25 29

Rushes-Yards 31-300 58-554

Passing 19-36-0 5-9-0

Passing Yards 359 113

Total Offense 659 667

Punts-Avg. 1-42.0 2-19.0

Fumbles-Lost 0-0 1-1

Penalties-Yards 12-68 5-66

Fort Dodge 21 7 14 28 — 70

Newton 21 14 14 22– 71

Scoring Summary

Fort Dodge — Trey Mosley (89-yard kickoff return), 11:47 left first quarter. Ben Nebel kick.

Newton — Jaron Roush (15-yard run), 10:08 left first. Zachary Combs kick.

Newton — Sturtz (6-yard run), 8:57 left first. Combs kick.

Fort Dodge — Mosley (29-yard pass from Drake Miller), 7:06 left first. Nebel kick.

Fort Dodge — Dayson Clayton (38-yard run), 5:43 left first. Nebel kick.

Newton — Roush (7-yard run), 0:35 left first. Combs kick.

Newton — Joshua Miravalles (45-yard run), 8:38 left second. Combs kick.

Fort Dodge — Clayton (30-yard run), 6:26 left second. Nebel kick.

Newton — Miravalles (1-yard run), 0:34 left second. Combs kick.

Fort Dodge — Mosley (87-yard pass from Miller), 9:36 left third. Nebel kick.

Newton — Roush (63-yard run), 9:21 left third. Combs kick.

Newton — Roush (28-yard run), 5:19 left third. Combs kick.

Fort Dodge — Miller (1-yard run), 0:46 left third. Nebel kick.

Newton — Sturtz (1-yard run), 11:54 left fourth. Combs kick.

Fort Dodge — Miller (13-yard run), 10:35 left fourth. Nebel kick.

Newton — Joshua Miller (8-yard run), 7:22 left fourth. Combs kick.

Fort Dodge — Tysen Kershaw (8-yard pass from Miller), 5:14 left fourth, Nebel kick.

Fort Dodge — Tyrnan Lara (6-yard pass from Miller), 2:05 left fourth. Mosley run.

Newton — Roush (23-yard pass from Sturtz), 0:44 left fourth. Trevor Ergenbright reception.

Fort Dodge — Clayton (18-yard pass from Miller), 0:16 left fourth. Pass failed.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing — Fort Dodge: Dayson Clayton 19-183, Drake Miller 12-117. Newton: Jaron Roush 14-258, Garrett Sturtz 18-126, Joshua Miravalles 13-98, Joshua Miller 13-72.

Passing — Fort Dodge: Drake Miller 19-36-0-359. Newton: Garrett Sturtz 5-9-0-113.

Receiving — Fort Dodge: Trey Mosley 7-166, Tysen Kershaw 6-92, Dayson Clayton 2-36, Brycen Bell 1-35, Tyrnan Lara 3-25.

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