Cedar Rapids Xavier heads to Class 4A playoffs after bounce-back win over Burlington

CEDAR RAPIDS — It was an opportunity for Cedar Rapids Xavier to get right.

The Saints made the most of it.

Class 4A No. 10 Xavier (6-3, 4-1) put the throttle down Friday, defeating District 3 foe Burlington, 49-6, at Saints Field in a regular-season finale.

The win clinched a postseason berth for the Saints.

Junior running back Carter Hoffmann led the way for Xavier with 72 rushing yards and two touchdowns on eight carries.

“It just feels good to win on the home turf,” Hoffmann said. “Everyone played their heart out tonight. Everyone was working hard all week at practice preparing for this game.”

After dropping a close one against Clear Creek Amana last week, the Saints knew they needed to win Friday and have a strong showing to build some positive momentum heading into the first round of the playoffs next Friday.

“My message right after the Rosary was for 27 years here, we’ve had teams do their job,” Xavier Coach Duane Schulte said. “And if they do their job, they get what they earn. So if you want to earn a playoff berth, you better do your job.”

Message received.

Xavier’s defense forced Burlington to fumble on the second play of its opening drive. Jaden De Heus recovered the ball at the Grayhounds’ 46.

Sophomore quarterback Cash Parks then ran it 46 yards to the end zone on Xavier’s first offensive snap.

Dustin Cook was next to score, punching in a 2-yarder on the Saints’ next drive.

On Xavier’s third possession, Parks pitched it to Hoffmann, who ran it in from 4 yards out.

“I’m happy that we (Parks) still have more years to play together,” Hoffmann said. “I feel like we think the same thing a lot of the time.”

Hoffmann found paydirt on the first play of the second quarter, this one a 24-yard TD.

“Everyone was doing their job,” Hoffmann said. “Blocking, getting off the ball … just doing everything right.”

Parks connected with AJ Evans for a 17-yard touchdown to give the Saints a 35-0 with 1:33 remaining in the first half and put the continuous clock rule into effect.

Jack Downey picked off a Burlington pass and sprinted in for six, giving Xavier a 42-0 at intermission.

Caden Zaugg connected with Kohl Lair early in the third for Burlington’s lone touchdown.

“Burlington has some dangerous athletes; we watched film,” Schulte said. “But I thought our kids came out and played hard.”

Late in the fourth, Sam Lueck ran it in from 17 yards to round out the scoring.

The Saints, Clippers and North Scott Lancers each finish the season 6-3 overall and 4-1 in 4A-3. By the rules of the IHSAA playoff point system, North Scott takes the 1-seed.

Pairings will be released Saturday morning.

“You want to go into the playoffs on a little bit of a roll,” Schulte said. “Having a win tonight, hopefully it propels us to get the job done wherever we play.”

Cedar Rapids Xavier 49, Burlington 6

AT SAINTS FIELD

TEAM STATISTICS

First downs: BUR 7, CRX 14

Passing yards: BUR 20, CRX 57

Rushing yards: BUR 119, CRX 194

Comp-att-int: BUR 5-15-20-1, CRX 6-11-57-0

Fumbles-lost: BUR 1, CRX 1

Total yards: BUR 139, CRX 251

Punts-average: BUR 2-19, CRX 1-31

Penalties-yards: BUR 4-40, CRX 2-15

SCORING SUMMARY

Burlington 0 0 0 6 — 6

Cedar Rapids Xavier 21 21 0 7— 49

Xavier — Cash Parks 46 run (Owen Vasquez kick)

Xavier — Dustin Cook 2 run (Owen Vasquez kick)

Xavier — Carter Hoffman 4 run (Owen Vasquez kick)

Xavier — Carter Hoffman 24 run (Owen Vasquez kick)

Xavier — AJ Evans 17 pass from Cash Parks (Owen Vasquez kick)

Xavier — Jack Downey interception 17 run (Owen Vasquez kick)

Burlington — Kohl Lair 6 pass from Caden Zaugg (2-pt. conversion no good)

Xavier — Sam Lueck 17 run (Theodore Andronache kick)

Individual Statistics

Rushing – Burlington: Darius Shealey 11-47, John Phillips 2-23, Adrian Perez-Hall 4-16, Caden Zaugg 9-27, Dave Robinson 1-5, Kohl Liar 2-1. Cedar Rapids Xavier: Carter Hoffmann 8-72, Dustin Cook 1-2, Cash Parks 4-74, Will Forman 3-7, Oliver Behmer 2-3, James Corio Garcia 2-7, Sam Lueck 3-24, Kelso Brueck 3-(minus 2), Dane Melchior 3-12, Misc. 1-(minus 2).

Passing – Burlington: Caden Zaugg 5-14-20-2. Cedar Rapids Xavier: Cash Parks 4-9-40-0, Sam Lueck 2-2-17-0.

Receiving – Burlington: Buxton Carlson 1-13, Kohl Lair 1-6, Darius Shealey 1-3, Adrian Perez-Hall 1-4. Cedar Rapids Xavier: Ryan Kelly 2-16, AJ Evans 1-17, Brady O’Donnell 2-17.