North Polk stops defending 4A state football champion Cedar Rapids Xavier in quarterfinals, 17-14

ALLEMAN — Grant Helmle knew the game’s outcome had likely been sealed, but the Cedar Rapids Xavier senior linebacker/fullback dug in for one last goal-line stand, anyway.

Too little time and too few timeouts remained for the defending Class 4A state champion Saints to prevent a narrow 17-14 loss to host North Polk in Friday’s state football quarterfinals. Yet Helmle and the Xavier defense could still keep the Comets from scoring a final touchdown to punctuate their triumph — and that mattered for a variety of reasons.

“(Our) coaches just talk about grit,” Helmle said. “You’ve got to sink your teeth back, bow your neck. That’s what Xavier football’s all about.”

The fourth-ranked Saints (8-3) saw a seven-game win streak snapped and played from behind the entire game. A muffed punt gave No. 2 North Polk (9-2) a short field and placekicker Noah Bloomquist converted on a 34-yard field goal to make the score 3-0 late in the first quarter. A blocked punt deep in Xavier territory set up North Polk’s first touchdown — a 6-yard run by Nathan Feldman midway through the second quarter — and the Saints were suddenly down two scores.

Xavier senior quarterback Ronan Thomas then engineered an 80-play touchdown drive that ended in Carter Hoffman’s leaping 8-yard touchdown grab with less than a minute remaining in the first half, but there would ultimately be no stirring comeback for the Saints for a second straight week.

“I think the difference tonight was a couple of plays on special teams where we gave them a short field and they got 10 points off of it,” said veteran Xavier head coach Duane Schulte, who has guided his team to four state titles and three runner-up finishes since 2006. “If that didn’t occur, maybe it’s a different ballgame, but that’s football.”

North Polk ran the ball successfully throughout the second half and took a 17-7 lead on Feldman’s second rushing touchdown midway through the third quarter. Thomas made a number of plays with his legs to help Xavier pull within three, at 17-14, in Adam Cook’s 3-yard touchdown run with 10:47 remaining, but the Comets were able to get a stop and then control the clock for nearly seven minutes to ice the win. They didn’t, however, put icing on the cake with an extra touchdown late despite being first and goal at the 1-yard line with just under two minutes left.

“All of our guys went hard the whole time,” said Thomas, who completed 18 of 29 passes for 147 yards and a touchdown. “Everyone worked hard and it didn’t happen the way we wanted it to. It’s been a great career. I love playing with all these guys. I’ve been playing with them since fourth grade and they’re just my guys.”

Fellow senior Coleton Beasler-Weber led all receivers with 10 catches for 106 yards. North Polk’s B.J. Tate led all rushers with 125 yards on 24 carries. In the end, the Comets’ ability to run the ball effectively — coupled with the Saints’ early miscues — proved to be enough to punch their ticket to the UNI-Dome, but they still couldn’t punch it in on first-and-goal from the 1 late.

“We just try to grind,” Helmle said. “It was just about getting a stop and 17-14 looks better than 24-14. That’s what it was all about.”

North Polk 17, Cedar Rapids Xavier 14

Cedar Rapids Xavier0707 - 14

North Polk3770 - 17

Statistical leaders

Rushing

Xavier: Thomas 12-35; Cook 3-10; North Polk: Tate 24-125.

Passing

Xavier: Thomas 18-29-147-1-0; North Polk: Postel 3-15-36-0-1.

Receiving

Xavier: Beasler-Weber 10-106; Cook 3-22; Hoffman 3-21; North Polk: Figgins 1-22; Miller 1-8.

Scoring summary

First quarter

NP: 34 field goal N. Bloomquist 1:06

Second quarter

NP: 6 run N. Feldman 5:07

X: 8 catch C. Hoffman from R. Thomas 41.9

Third quarter

NP: 1 run N. Feldman 5:09

Fourth quarter

X: 3 run Cook 3 10:47

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