North Polk stops Cedar Rapids Xavier in Class 4A state football quarterfinal rematch

ALLEMAN — Second verse. Similar to the first.

For the second straight season, North Polk hosted Cedar Rapids Xavier with a state semifinal berth on the line. Just like last year, the Comets will be chartering back to the UNI-Dome and ending the Saints’ season.

But this time wasn’t as close. Top-ranked North Polk rushed for more than 300 yards and forced four turnovers, beating No. 10 Xavier, 35-14, in a Class 4A state football quarterfinal Friday night at Comet Field. The Saints close the season at 7-4.

Xavier Coach Duane Schulte said the game was indicative of the season. The Saints demonstrated resilience, battling to score two touchdowns in the final minutes.

“Everybody stuck with it,” Schulte said. “Battled until the end. They never gave up.

“Give credit to North Polk. That’s a really good football. Well coached and tough.”

North Polk (11-0) will face No. 7 North Scott (9-2) Thursday at 7 p.m. The Comets earned their second straight semifinal trip and third overall, finishing second in 2010.

“It feels great,” North Polk Coach Tim TeBrink said. “We’re not done yet. I think last year we celebrated pretty hard. Our guys were still ready to play but weren’t quite ready for what the Dome means. This year we have a better feel for what it’s going to take to get a win up there because it gets even harder next week.”

Miscues foiled the Saints’ first two drives. Xavier marched down the field, reaching the Comets’ 34. A swing pass was dropped and ruled a lateral. North Polk pounced on it at its 38. The next possession resulted in an interception by the Comets’ Nathan Feldmann on the first play from scrimmage.

The Comets converted turnovers into 21 points.

“That first drive, the momentum kind of got taken away,” Schulte said. “Our kids never gave up and fought until the end.”

After the first Xavier turnover, North Polk’s vaunted rush offense accounted for seven of the nine plays that covered 62 yards. B.J. Tate pounded the ball in from 3 yards out and added a conversion run for an 8-0 lead with 1:44 to go in the first quarter.

Resilient defense helped keep the Saints in the game before the break. North Polk’s worst starting field position was the 38 that started its scoring drive. Xavier held firm and even turned the Comets away on a fourth-and-goal from the 6 after taking over at Xavier’s 35.

“They’re big and have a good offensive line,” Schulte said. “They are physical. At this time of the year, you’re going to see good teams like that.”

The advantage held until the first half. Then, North Polk pulled away after the break. Feldmann landed the first haymaker with a 58-yard TD run on the third play of the third quarter.

On the next possession, Feldmann hit Ben Glasgow for a 14-yard TD pass on third-and-goal for a 22-0 advantage with 1:30 left in the third. North Polk added a TD pass from Jakob Phillips to Jake Hout and a 75-yard TD run for Henry Christensen.

Feldmann and Tate are a strong and effective tandem out of the backfield. Feldmann rushed for 146 yards on 17 carries and passed for 52 more yards. Tate rumbled for 83 yards on 20 totes.

“Guys like Nate are hard to find and B.J., too,” TeBrink said. “When you put those two together, they are pretty electric in the backfield. You can’t just focus on one or the other. It was really special to have those two guys. They’ve been doing it since their freshman year. It’s fun to see them as seniors, making plays and going to the Dome.”

Xavier didn’t fold its tents and kept fighting to crack its goose egg on the scoreboard. Ryan Kelly scooped up a kickoff and returned it 75 yards for the Saints’ first score.

“We didn't want to leave the zero on the board,” Kelly said. “I saw everybody blocking as I was going up the field and I didn't even get touched.”

The Saints recovered an onside kick. Quarterback Cash Parks scored on an 8-yard keeper to put the offense in the end zone for the first time.

“It just meant that we didn't give up,” Parks said. “We kept fighting. The (offensive) line kept pushing hard. Maybe deep down we thought it was over, but we weren't going to play like that. We were going to keep going to that clock was at zero.”

The young Saints have ended the season in the quarterfinals for the second straight season, but return a lot of experienced players.

Preparation for next season begins immediately for the Saints.

“Monday for a lot of guys getting in the weight room,” Parks said. “Make sure you’re here every single day, pushing weight, getting on the program, eating right and just making sure we come back bigger, better, stronger. Get the job done and not have to stop here again.”

North Polk 35, Cedar Rapids Xavier 14

AT ALLEMAN

CRX NP

First Downs 12 16

Rushes-yards 23-57 41-304

Passing yards 121 59

Comp-att-int 13-26-3 6-8-0

Total yards 178 363

Fumbles-lost 1-1 0-0

Punts-avg. 3-30.3 2-26.5

Penalties-yards 3-30 6-38

C.R. Xavier 0 0 0 14 -- 14

North Polk 8 0 14 13 -- 35

NP – B.J. Tate 3 run (Tate rush)

NP – Nathan Feldmann 58 run (Liam Triplett kick)

NP – Ben Glasgow 14 pass from Feldmann (Triplett kick)

NP – Jake Hout 7 pass from Jakob Phillips (Triplett kick)

NP – Henry Christensen 75 run (kick blocked)

CRX – Ryan Kelly kickoff return (Owen Vasquez kickoff)

CRX – Cash Parks 8 run (Vasquez kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING – C.R. Xavier: Carter Hoffmann 13-53, Kelly 1-6, Parks 8-2, Team 1-(minus 4). North Polk: Feldmann 17-146, Tate 20-83, Christensen 3-85, Team 2-(minus 10).

PASSING – C.R. Xavier: Parks 13-26-3-121. North Polk: Feldmann 5-7-0-52, Phillips 1-1-0-7.

RECEIVING – C.R. Xavier: Hoffmann 4-35, Dustin Cook 3-28, Jack Downey 2-23, Kelly 2-11, Aiden Miller 1-20, Team 1-4. North Polk: Glasgow 2-23, Phillips 2-19, Logan Frelund 1-10, Hout 1-7.

Comments: kj.pilcher@thegazette.com