Second-half rally helps top-ranked Xavier sneak past Newton football in 4A thriller

CEDAR FALLS — The Newton football team got over the playoff hump, posted one of the best seasons in school history and set a bunch of school records.

But the 2025 journey ended on Thursday night, and it was a little similar to the way 2024 was finalized.

It felt like the Cardinals should have won the game they were eliminated in.

“The guys played their hearts out,” Newton senior Dawson Maki said. “We tried our hardest, and we have no regrets but sometimes it doesn’t go your way.”

Fourth-ranked Newton led 10-3 at halftime and extended that margin to 17-3 in the third quarter, but top-ranked Cedar Rapids Xavier remained unbeaten following a 31-24 come-from-behind victory in a Class 4A semifinal matchup inside the UNI-Dome.

Newton forced two turnovers, rushed for 243 yards and senior quarterback Caden Klein accounted for all three of the Cardinals’ touchdowns, but Xavier’s rally included a dominant run game in the second half and the Saints were 5-of-6 inside the red zone.

“They started executing a little better, and we had a couple breakdowns on offense and defense,” Klein said. “It sucks. We just made some mistakes, and that’s what football is. Sometimes the ball bounces the wrong way.”

The win pushes Xavier (12-0) to next week’s 4A state championship game where it will face sixth-ranked Pella (11-1) at 7 p.m. on Thursday in Cedar Falls.

The Saints led 3-0 after one quarter, but Newton scored 10 points in the second and 17 unanswered total to grab momentum.

Xavier began its comeback after stopping Newton on fourth and 4 from inside its own 25-yard line.

Newton head football coach Andy Swedenhjelm liked the play call. It’s something they’ve worked on a lot in practice, but the Saints’ look on defense changed when a player entered the field late and went right to where the ball was going.

“That’s one maybe I want back,” Swedenhjelm said. “We probably could have snapped it a little faster when they had 14 dudes on the field. Part of that was trying to get them off guard a bit or force them to call a timeout.

“Sometimes crazy things happen. They ran a dude in late and he ran all the way to the right position. Our quarterback made a call based on the numbers they had originally, and the guy ran in late to change the numbers in the box and we were stuck with it. You can’t be afraid to go win games though.”

The two teams traded punts on each of their first two possessions. Xavier took advantage of a short field and got on the board late in the first quarter.

Cash Parks completed a 14-yard pass on 3rd and 2 to put the Saints in field goal range and Ty Weiss booted a 30-yarder four plays later.

A long drive by Newton on its next possession stalled out inside the red zone, too.

Klein went for 11 yards on the ground on the first play from scrimmage and a Nick Thomason 12-yard run on third and 9 moved the chains again.

Klein then went for 32 yards before a 6-yard run netted another first down. The second false start penalty on the drive put the Cardinals (10-2) behind the sticks though, and Jackson Price’s 24-yard field goal with 8:52 to play in the half tied the game at 3-all.

Josh Lampe delivered a pair of tackles for loss on Xavier’s next possession to force another punt.

Newton needed just one play to take the lead as Klein scored on a 58-yard run to the left side of the formation. He out-ran the Saints’ defense and shook a tackler from behind 25 yards downfield before sprinting the rest of the way to paydirt.

“I’ve told you all year that I think he’s one of the best skill players in the state, and I don’t think he did anything that disproves that tonight,” Swedenhjelm said about Klein.

Both defenses forced three and outs on the teams’ next two possessions.

Xavier though got another short field after a low snap on a Cardinal punt led to a short punt.

The Saints started the drive on its own 48-yard line and got 48 yards on the first play from scrimmage. Parks’ long pass to Dustin Cook set the Saints up inside the 5-yard line, but Maki snagged a pick at the goal line on the next play to halt the Saints’ momentum.

It was Maki’s sixth pick of the season, which is tied for the 4A lead.

“That wasn’t even my guy. I just read the quarterback and wanted to make a play,” Maki said. “I’m going to tell me kids about that moment. That’s probably going to be a highlight of my life.”

Neither team scored the rest of the half, and the Cardinals took a touchdown lead into the locker room.

Xavier started the second half with the ball. After picking up a first down in two plays, the Saints fumbled away the ball and Koltt Ahn jumped on it to set the Cardinals up at the Xavier 34-yard line.

Runs of 9 and 4 yards by Thomason and Isaiah Hansen, respectively, moved the chains, but Hansen lost 8 yards on the next play.

A 7-yard completion from Klein to Finn Martin shortened the third-down distance, but it didn’t matter because Klein avoided pressure in the pocket and hooked up with Martin for a 22-yard toe-tapping touchdown in the back of the end zone.

Price’s PAT pushed the lead to 17-3 with 9:10 to play in the third.

“It was a great high school football game. It was back and forth with lots of momentum swings,” Swedenhjelm said. “If you’re making a movie about it, it was perfect.

“It was a great representation of our team and a great representation of our community.”

The Saints came right back though and cut their margin to seven. They went 50 yards in four plays, and AJ Evans cashed in on a 20-yard TD pass from Parks. Evans caught a 15-yard pass earlier in the drive, too.

Then Newton turned the ball over on downs inside its own 25-yard line. It was four straight running plays that netted 8 yards.

Klein, who finished with 171 rushing yards and two scores on 20 carries, appreciated Swedenhjelm’s confidence to go for it in that situation.

“I love that he trusts us, but we just couldn’t get it done on that play,” Klein said. “I probably should have had a different check. I went with the one I called, and it didn’t work out.”

It didn’t take long for Xavier to cash in after the fourth-down stop. The Saints went 25 yards in three plays. Carter Hoffman ran for 18 yards on the first play and Cook got into the end zone after back-to-back runs.

Newton picked up a pair of first downs on its next drive but was forced to punt after another penalty put them behind the sticks.

Xavier then took its first lead since 3-0 in the first following a 65-yard, 11-play drive that included a 23-yard run by Hoffman. The Saints did most of their damage on the ground and Parks capped the possession with a 1-yard TD run.

The Cardinals responded though. A 44-yard pass from Klein to Martin was the explosive play on their 7-play, 76-yard drive.

Hansen ran for 18 yards on the drive and Klein completed an 8-yard pass to Martin before eventually scoring on a 1-yard TD run.

“I’m proud of our kids for the fight,” Swedenhjelm said. “There were so many opportunities when playing a great program with deep tradition to just lay down for them. But our kids gave everything they had, and I couldn’t be more proud of the guys.”

Newton forced a 3 and out on Xavier’s next possession and had the ball with about 5 minutes left with a chance to score the potential winning touchdown.

The Cardinals started on Xavier’s 49-yard line, but two incomplete passes and a run that went for 0 yards forced them to punt the ball back to the Saints.

“I was super confident. I trust Swede’s play calling,” Klein said. “I thought we were going to score. We just didn’t get it done.”

Like championship teams often do, the Saints drove 88 yards in six plays. A 58-yard gain by Cook was the big one, and Parks capped the possession with his second 1-yard TD of the game.

Newton’s final possession started at its own 20-yard line. The Cardinals got 28 yards on a Klein to Hansen pass to open the drive and Klein’s 6-yard run on fourth down and 4 moved the sticks. He also had a 12-yard run and Martin grabbed a 9-yard pass.

But on second and 1, an option pitch to Thomason went for negative yardage and two straight incompletions turned the ball over on downs.

“That’s a big-time play from a big-time player. The game is on the line, I want the ball in his hands,” said Swedenhjelm about Klein’s impressive 6-yard run on fourth down in which he broke a tackle to extend the play. “At the end of the day, I will lay my head down in bed tonight and know that our kids gave their best effort and they came to win.

“You can always do better, always do things differently and always learn from these moments, but I feel good about how we prepared and feel good about how our kids played. Sometimes things don’t go our way.”

The statistics show a pretty even game across the board. Xavier had a 21-19 advantage in first downs, ran for 257 to Newton’s 243 and had a 388-378 advantage in total yards.

Newton was 2-of-12 on third down though and 1-of-3 on fourth down and committed six penalties for 35 yards. Xavier’s three penalties resulted in 30 yards.

Klein finished 9-of-19 through the air for 135 yards and one TD. Hansen ran for 66 yards on 16 carries and had two catches for 40 yards and Martin grabbed seven passes for 95 yards and one TD.

Thomason ran for 20 yards on five carries. Martin’s seven catches brings his season total to 49, which ties a school record for catches in a season.

Klein had nine tackles, Nick Milburn posted eight tackles and Colton Northcutt finished with six tackles.

Lampe totaled 4.5 tackles, one sack and two tackles for loss, Ahn contributed three tackles and one fumble recovery, Coleby Revell collected 3.5 tackles, Ali Yahia tallied three tackles and Maki added the red zone interception.

“(Martin) played really well, (Klein) played really well, (Maki) played well,” Swedenhjelm said. “Now how do we develop from that, and those guys are going to be tough to replace, but I think the culture is in place to be successful moving forward.”

One player the Cardinals will not have to replace on defense is Lampe, who had his best game of the season on the state’s biggest stage.

“They were just read and react plays, and I stayed disciplined to the assignment,” Lampe said. “I’ve been a quarterback so I kind of know what’s going on there.

“It sucks to lose for sure, but I’m so glad to do it with the guys on this team. It’s been an amazing journey.”

Swedenhjelm hinted that Lampe may very well play both sides of the ball next fall.

“He’s a very good football player, and that’s a very underrated statement,” Swedenhjelm said. “He got banged up during the year but made a huge difference for our defense. The sky’s the limit for that kid. He can do things on offense, too, so we’ll see where he fits.”

Parks was 7-of-18 through the air for 131 yards, one TD and one interception. It was only his second pick of the season.

Hoffman ran for 130 yards on 20 carries, Cook had 67 yards on four carries and 73 yards on three catches, and the Saints got 13 tackles each from Carson Mahoney and Beau Morio.

Xavier posted seven tackles for loss in the win and registered a sack against Newton for the first time this season.

Notes: Price finished the game with three touchbacks, kicked one field and was 3-of-3 in extra points. He ended his junior season with a 4A-best and school-record 47 touchbacks, was 4-of-6 on field goals and his 60 PATs currently leads the class and set a new school record. Price’s 72 points is the single-season scoring record for a kicker, too. ... Klein finished his final season with a school-record 1,835 passing yards and a school-record 21 passing touchdowns. He also had 940 rushing yards and led 4A with 21 rushing TDs. His 42 total touchdowns also leads the class. ... Hansen’s 1,337 rushing yards rank fourth in 4A and his 18 rushing TDs is second only to Klein. ... Martin capped his career with a school-record 49 catches for a school-record 1,173 yards and a school-record 15 touchdowns. The receiving yardage ranks fifth in Iowa and the receiving TDs are currently seventh in the state. ... Milburn finished with a school-record 120 tackles, which currently leads all of Iowa. Northcutt ranks second on the team with 57 tackles.