MASON CITY - The Newman Catholic football team was clicking on all cylinders Friday.

The eighth-ranked Knights ran for 353 yards and recorded seven sacks, avenging their only loss of the season with a 35-7 victory over No. 4 NU High of Cedar Falls in a Class A high school football quarterfinal at Newman Field.

"We did a nice job of not letting them get into that zone," said Newman coach Mike Dirksen, whose team will take on top-ranked North Tama (12-0) at 10:30 a.m. next Friday in a Class A semifinal at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls. "Our kids did a nice job getting off the ball. We were able to keep them a little off-balance."

NU High coach Kody Asmus credited the Knights.

"Newman played an outstanding football game," Asmus said. "I thought our guys were prepared, but we just didn't make the plays like we did the first time we played them."

Newman capitalized on an early miscue by NU High, starting from the Panther 23-yard line after blocking a punt.

Ben Buffington scored from a yard out and added a 25-yard run with 10 minutes, 15 seconds remaining in the second quarter, capping an 85-yard drive for a 13-0 lead. Buffington finished with 146 yards on 22 carries for the Knights (11-1).

Robbie Quintero added to the Newman lead with 59 seconds left in the first half with a 9-yard touchdown run. Andrew Burgmeier caught the two-point conversion from Josh Luecht for a 21-0 halftime lead.

"We've been ahead 21-0 nothing before and ended up in a dogfight," Dirksen said. "At halftime we had nothing to adjust."

The Knights started the second half the same way they ended the first, with Quintero putting the finishing touches on an 84-yard drive with a 19-yard touchdown run with 6:15 remaining in the third quarter. Quintero ran for 141 yards on 10 carries.

Meanwhile, Alan Julius was wreaking havoc on the defensive side of the ball for the Knights.

Julius, who sat out Newman's 22-21 loss to the Panthers with a stress fracture in his foot, sacked Denning four times.

"He's just unblockable," Dirksen said of the 6-foot-1, 195-pound defensive end. "You can't consistently block him. He seems to be healthy now."

Denning threw for 207 yards, but the Knights held the Panthers (11-1) to minus-20 rushing yards.

"That defense they had was very difficult for us," Asmus said. "Coach Dirksen is a great coach, and he was ready for us.

"I'm really happy for coach Dirksen because he's a great coach with great players that do things right. You get what you deserve, and unfortunately we didn't deserve to win this football game."

Andrew Stone ended the Knights' bid for their sixth shutout of the season with a 47-yard touchdown grab from Denning with 4:32 to play.

Stone and Denning, both juniors, return next season for the Panthers, who lose 12 seniors.

"I'm very proud of our kids," Asmus said. "I wouldn't want to coach anyone else. They're great kids. I kept telling them to believe in themselves and that this is a lifetime experience.

"My heart goes out to our seniors. I'm trying to get these guys through this moment but hopefully down the line they will see that it was a successful season."

NU High 0 0 0 7- 7

Newman 7 14 7 7 - 35

New - Ben Buffington 1 run (Dillon Stradt kick), 7:54.

New - Buffington 25 run (Stradt kick failed), 10:15.

New - Robbie Quintero 6 run (Andrew Burgmeier pass from Josh Luecht), :59.

New - Quintero 19 run (Stradt kick), 6:15.

New - Burgmeier 5 run (Stradt kick), 9:53.

NU - Andrew Stone 47 pass from Kyle Denning (James Kapanka kick), 4:32.

TEAM STATISTICS

NU Newman

First downs 10 18

Rushes-yards 19-(-20) 54-353

Comp-Att-Int. 18-32-0 3-5-0

Passing yards 207 32

Total yards 187 385

Fumbles-lost 1-1 1-0

Penalties-yards 0-0 3-25

Punts-Avg. 3-33.0 1-40.0

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing

NU HIGH - Jalen Barnes 2-10, Alex Quinones 4-2, Tommy Amlie 1-2, Ta'Mone Williams 2-1, Kyle Denning 8-(-28), Will Rector 2-(-7)

NEWMAN - Ben Buffington 22-146, Robbie Quintero 10-141, Andrew Burgmeier 14-44, Kane Louscher 3-10, Connor O'Brien-Green 2-5, Josh Luecht 1-5, Tevin Brinson 1-3, Gabe Dunn 1-(-1).

Passing

NU HIGH - Denning 18-32-0, 207 yards.

NEWMAN - Luecht 3-4-0, 32 yards; Burgmeier 0-1-0.

Receiving

NU HIGH - Andrew Stone 6-86, Dominique Fagan 4-44, Quinones 4-31, Amlie 2-23, Barnes 2-13

NEWMAN - Quintero 2-23, Drew Verstegen 1-9.