Newman put together one of its most complete performances of the season to open the playoffs Saturday afternoon.

Renner Rosengren, Asher Ernst and Riley Mason had interceptions as the Comets beat visiting Ridgeview/Lexington 43-8 in Class 2A action. The seventh-seeded Comets (8-2) advance to face either No. 2 El Paso-Gridley or No. 15 Chicago Marshall next Saturday.

After forcing a three-and-out to start the game, Newman’s offense went 78 yards, capped by a Matthew Blackert touchdown run and Rylan Alvarado two-point conversion to make it 8-0. The Comets never looked back.

“I think that we played to our ability today, and we played fast and well,” Rosengren said. “I think that we’re ready to really show what we’re going to do this year.”

Blackert finished with three TDs, and Alvarado scored two more, but it was the passing game that accounted for a majority of Newman’s yardage.

Bushman finished with 198 yards through the air, including 107 to John Rowzee on five catches. Danny Welte, who had just two catches for the season entering the game, matched that on the opening drive alone. Welte had four catches for 54 yards and 10 yards rushing.

“We knew they were a good team,” said Rowzee, who caught a 36-yard TD. “We came in confident, though. We had a really good week of practice, and I think we were ready for what they were going to try and do.”

Alternating between two quarterbacks, the Mustangs (7-3) couldn’t find much success with either. The Mustangs’ lone score was a Joe Cheever TD with 1:14 until halftime. He led the team with 75 yards rushing on 14 carries.

Newman’s defensive line continued to put the pressure on in the second half. Jacob Payne and Matthew Murray had back-to-back sacks at one point.

The defensive pressure led to turnovers.

“It’s huge when we have three takeaways from picks,” Rowzee said. “And when our D-line gets home, it helps the back end from letting up deep passes.”

Newman played complementary football throughout the near-shutout. The only other blemishes were an interception, a turnover on downs and a missed field goal.

“We have a dominant passing game, but we also have a run game that complements that perfectly, and I think it’s hard to cover both or prepare for both,” Rowzee said. “I think everybody played a great game tonight, and there’s nothing else we could have done differently.”

Alvarado had 110 yards on the ground, and Blackert had 38 on seven carries. Newman scored a touchdown in every quarter.

“We always talk about playing complete,” Murray said. “There are a lot of games where we kind of get up, and then we taper it off, especially at home for some reason. But I think we played pretty complete that whole game.”

Murray said Newman’s height up top on defense is a strength. Rosengren is listed at 6-foot-3 ,with Asher Ernst at 6-foot-5.

“It’s really nice when you’ve got some giants in the back end,” he said. “Renner and Asher both had picks, and Riley had that deflection.

“It’s really easy to play defense, especially as a D-line, when you trust the back end to hold up. Especially when our pressure wasn’t really getting there at first.”

With the biggest game yet to come, the Comets will have to be at their best.

Rowzee said that starts in practice. Newman has not reached the third round of the playoffs since winning the 2A state title in 2019.

“You know, we’ve had some bad weeks of practices, and it shows on the field,” he said. “But this was first game we kind of strung all four quarters together, and I think it was the practice and our walkthroughs that really helped us.”

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Newman’s Tyson Williams wraps up Ridgeview-Lexington’s Joe Cheever Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025, in round one of the Class 2A football playoffs. (Alex T. Paschal)