Iowa High School Football Playoffs: Cedar Rapids Xavier Claims One For The Thumb

Saints roll past Pella behind big night by Carter Hoffmann

Xavier's Carter Hoffmann (1) celebrates after scoring his first touchdown of the game Nov. 20, 2025 during the Class 4A state football championship against the Pella Dutch at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa. / Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Before halftime hit, Carter Hoffmann had put Pella away and given Cedar Rapids Xavier complete control of the Class 4A Iowa high school football state championship game.

Hoffmann ran for 160 yards and three touchdowns in the opening 24 minutes of action as the Saints won their fifth state football title all-time Thursday night inside the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa, 31-6.

For the Dutch, it marked a second consecutive season finishing second in 4A, the state’s second-largest classification. Last year, they were runners-up to North Polk.

Carter Hoffmann With 207 Yards Rushing, Three Touchdowns

Hoffmann finished the night with 34 carries for 207 yards, averaging over six yards per rush. Cash Parks completed 11 of 16 for 143 yards and a touchdown, as Ryan Kelly ahd two receptions for 35 yards and the score. Kelly also added 43 yards rushing.

An extended opening quarter drive resulted in the first Hoffmann touchdown, as Cedar Rapids Xavier went 83 yards over 12 plays, chewing up almost six minutes of the action before Hoffmann punched it in from 5 yards out.

Extended Drives Early Resulted In Cedar Rapids Xavier Touchdowns

The second touchdown drive consisted of six plays and 65 yards, earring up two-plus minutes and ending with another Hoffmann score. He capped a seven-play, 56-yard drive later in the second quarter with his third touchdown.

Early in the third, Parks hit Kelly from 33 yards out, making it 28-0 after a fourth successful Ty Weiss extra-point. That drive covered six plays and 57 yards.

Weiss made a 22-yard field goal with just over four minutes to play in the game, as Parks led the Saints 75 yards on 11 plays, salting things away by taking up over seven minutes of the quarter.

Big Play Got Pella On The Scoreboard

Pella finally got on the scoreboard late when Michael Manning hit Logan VanDenBroek for 74 yards. Manning was 10 of 20 passing for 164 yards as Emmanuel Diers ran for 107 yards and caught four passes for 50 yards.

Xavier was 6 of 11 on third-down attempts while Pella converted just one of the nine they had. The Saints finished with 422 yards of total offense, holding the Dutch to 265.

Jack Schimberg and Brau Morio each had eight tackles as Caleb Loffswold picked off a pass. Austin Dostal had a sack.

For Pella, Gage Branderhorst recorded 13 tackles and David Garner had 12.

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