SAN JOSE — Exactly one year ago, Cardinal Newman got leveled by Valley Christian, a 34-0 beating on the Cardinals’ home turf in Santa Rosa. It was painful, but coach Paul Cronin insisted it had value.

“We got experience playing in those games against teams like that,” Cronin said after Friday’s rematch at Valley Christian’s panoramic hilltop field. “The WCL (West Catholic League) is one of the best conferences in California. They go out in those games week in and week out. But we had a young group last year, and we got put in a meat grinder a little bit because we weren’t ready for the primetime.”

The Cardinals were more than ready for the bright lights this time. They left with a hard-earned and highly entertaining 35-28 victory that improved their non-league record to 3-0. Valley Christian, which lost to Palo Alto in the Central Coast Section Open Division championship game last year, fell to 1-1.

Cronin’s team won despite being minus-3 in the turnover department and yielding three rushing touchdowns of more than 40 yards. It was a classic tortoise-and-hare game, and Newman’s patient approach paid off.

Steven Tomasin rushed for 113 yards and three touchdowns for Cardinal Newman, and quarterback Matt Sullivan rushed for 144 and added 189 yards on 11-of-15 passing.

The Cardinals controlled the line of scrimmage for much of the game, but hurt themselves with occasional defensive lapses and turnovers. Sullivan threw two interceptions, both by Valley Christian’s Dillion Saldivar (one caromed off a receiver’s hands), and he and Tomasin lost a fumble after misconnecting on a handoff. It was tied at 7-7, at 14-14 and at 21-21 before the visitors opened a two-touchdown gap with 5:58 left in the game on a 1-yard plunge by Sullivan.

The Warriors weren’t done even after that, though. Facing a fourth-and-7 from the Newman 28-yard line with two minutes left, sophomore quarterback Jay MacIntyre hooked up with receiver Bryce Novak on a stunning touchdown throw down the right sideline. It was just MacIntyre’s third completion of the game.

Nursing a precarious seven-point lead, Newman didn’t breathe easier until Thomas Robles grabbed the ensuing onside kick attempt at the 1:54 mark.

Valley Christian originally went up 7-0 on a 43-yard burst around left end by Jarrod Lawson, the Warriors’ stellar running back. But the Cardinals came right back to knot it on Tomasin’s 6-yard run up the middle. In the second quarter, Newman scored when Sullivan hit Robles in stride for a 62-yard scoring pass; Lawson broke a tackle in the backfield and raced for a 63-yard touchdown run for Valley Christian; and the Cardinals pulled in front 21-14 on a 2-yard run by Tomasin.

Lawson, compact and hard to bring down, would finish with 222 yards on 20 carries, much of it on sweeps. Valley Christian’s other elite runner, Byron Marshall (who led his team with 101 yards in a season-opening 28-14 victory over Bullard of Fresno), got hurt on a hard tackle by Newman’s Alex Roberts in the second quarter and finished with just 3 yards on five carries.

The Warriors drew even again when big Ryan Severson found room on a run up the middle and showed some speed on a 42-yard score in the third quarter. But Newman took the lead on the second play of the fourth on Tomasin’s 17-yard run to the right flag before padding the score on Sullivan’s plunge, which was set up by his 32-yard strike to Jacob Webb on a third-and-7 play.

Now comes another shot at redemption for the Cardinals. A week after falling to Valley Christian last year, they were undone by powerful Palma, 31-7. Newman will travel to Salinas for that rematch on Friday, and is beginning to take on the look of a team that can compete for not only a North Coast Section title, but perhaps a state championship.

“I can’t wait to get home and watch Palma and get started with this thing,” Cronin said. “I’m fired up, and I’m sure our kids are fired up.”