This Friday marks the start of August. August means heat, sticky humidity, and high school football camps and practice. Friday will also be only four weeks away from the start of the high school football season (and college football, too!).
On August 29 Xavier goes on the road to West Des Moines to take on defending state 4A champion Dowling. It will be a rematch of last year's championship game, which Xavier lost rather convincingly 44-13. It will also be the westernmost football game ever played by the Saints ... they've never been west of Cedar Falls in their entire 17-year history (thanks, Spencer!).
Every Saints football game since 1998 has been carried by KMRY radio in Cedar Rapids, with yours truly providing the play-by-play since 2010 (Well, actually, there was one game that didn't make it to air due to an equipment fiasco, but we don't talk about that. Even if it was the 2012 state championship. But I digress). In recent years, the early-season Saints games were often tape-delayed, as KMRY carries the Cedar Rapids Kernels minor-league baseball games. The Midwest League regular season overlaps with the start of high school football, and the league playoffs can conflict up to the third week or so. Naturally, I have been prepping for the Xavier-Dowling game to be broadcast following Kernels baseball on August 29.
But! News may be leaking from staff at KMRY. I have heard a rumor that the station may decide to carry the Kernels game that night only on their internet stream - and carry Xavier football live.
Now, I did discover that KMRY had chosen to do that with Kernels weekday afternoon games this year: all the night games and weekend day games were broadcast on the air, but the once-a-month-or-so weekday day games were streamed online only, with normal KMRY programming over the air. So it sounds like they might do that same thing with the Kernels vs. Xavier-Dowling.
This is pretty big news for me, so I'm excited! On the other hand, it does put the pressure on for me to hit it right out of the box.
Xavier's second game, on Thursday September 4 against Davenport Assumption, does conflict with the Midwest League playoffs, so if the Kernels make the playoffs there might be another decision to make there. However, that's the last baseball-football conflict on the schedule (Friday September 12 is an open date for the Midwest League championship series), so I know we'll be live for the Solon game and the rest of the season.
But week one, Dowling, live from West Des Moines? That would be an awesome surprise.
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
I Got Him!
The mole, I mean. At least I think I got him. I was surprised there seemed to be just one rather busy and industrious mole ... in the back yard, anyway. That becomes important later.
Anyway, my spike trap was tripped the second day I had it out there. I moved it and reset it. It hasn't been tripped again, and there had been no more tunneling activity in the back yard. Was that it? One set of spikes shooting into the earth and I'm done?
Yesterday I noticed fresh molehills in my side yard, plus a couple of new dirt piles along some edging near my deck. So, the battle continues. Spikes, do your thing!
Anyway, my spike trap was tripped the second day I had it out there. I moved it and reset it. It hasn't been tripped again, and there had been no more tunneling activity in the back yard. Was that it? One set of spikes shooting into the earth and I'm done?
Yesterday I noticed fresh molehills in my side yard, plus a couple of new dirt piles along some edging near my deck. So, the battle continues. Spikes, do your thing!
Thursday, July 24, 2014
Whack a Mole
We are having some odd summer weather in this neck of the woods. Odd in that, instead of the usual "air soup" and triple-digit heat indices Iowans suffer through, we have had some downright pleasant temperatures over the past couple of weeks.
Living in Iowa, we know what to expect. We get brain-melting heat every July and August, and we endure soul-crushing cold every December and January. The years where that doesn't happen are, well, noteworthy to say the least. So far, this has been one of those summers. A week ago we encountered record morning low temps on a couple of days; even after some pretty daunting heat and humidity at the start of this week, the last couple of days have been fantastic; and the weather folks are calling for another cold front to come through the beginning of next week. Highs in the 70s are unheard of for such long stretches of July, let alone lows down into the 50s with dew points to match. It just seems so, un-Midwestern.
Not to mention, what do we have to complain about when the weather is so nice? The official state pastime is usually whining about what the weather is doing, whether it be too hot, too cold, too wet, or too dry. When we have such nice, comfortable weather, what we usually do is think, "We are going to pay for this later..."
After last winter, though - the winter we thought might never end - maybe this is the payoff for living through that? Nah. We're Iowans; there's always worse weather to come.
That said, my latest outdoor endeavor is battling our backyard moles. We have had them on and off ever since we moved into this house in 2002. They don't cause a lot of trouble, just make some tunnels and an occasional pile of dirt; but if you leave them unencumbered, you get brown paths in the grass and an uneven yard. Not that my yard is any neighborhood showcase, mind you - my usual crabgrass and clover explosion is at least green, though, which is better than a sea of dandelions in the spring.
When I first decided to fight those blind digging creatures, I "borrowed" a mole trap from one of our neighbors. He actually gave it to me, I think. I mean, what would you do with a shared mole trap? It was one of those twin-loop kinds, where you press the two loops into the ground in line with the tunnel and the spring trigger is in between.. The mole comes traipsing along his regular tunnel, trips the spring, and the loops snap together, squishing the mole and ending his digging days for good. Well, it worked pretty well. It would trip without catching anything about a third of the time, but the other two-thirds found a dead mole inside the loops.
And then someone stole it. Right out of my back yard. I had it set up along a mole tunnel, and when I went to check on it one day ... gone. Vanished. Come on, who steals a mole trap? So for a few years I would simply stomp down the tunnels and push the dirt hills back down. This actually did coincide with a lessening of mole activity in my yard. I don't know if it was the weather, or lunar cycles, or luck, or what, but for the past several years there hadn't been a lot going on under my backyard.
Just last week, though, an explosion of digging has erupted back there. Big piles of dirty molehills (that I'm not making mountains out of, mind you), and tunnels to and fro. Time to re-energize the campaign. This time I bought myself one of those spike traps - still spring loaded with the trigger on the tunnel, but these traps shoot spikes down into the tunnel when the trigger is tripped. I figure, at least this way the mole is already buried once it goes off, instead of pulling the bugger out of the ground in the loops and figuring out how to dispose of him.
So, my trap has gone off once in three or four days. I don't know if it actually got anybody. I just pulled it back out of the tunnel and moved it to another spot. No action there yet, so either I got the one single mole that was in my yard, or I just haven't been lucky enough to nab another. We will wait and see.
Meanwhile, I have got a big moving job coming up in a couple of weeks, perhaps immediately followed by our usual trip to the Iowa State Fair. Both those things almost guarantee a return to typical Iowa sweltering heat and oppressive humidity. Because that's how we pay for the nice weather we've had the past two weeks, dontcha know?
Living in Iowa, we know what to expect. We get brain-melting heat every July and August, and we endure soul-crushing cold every December and January. The years where that doesn't happen are, well, noteworthy to say the least. So far, this has been one of those summers. A week ago we encountered record morning low temps on a couple of days; even after some pretty daunting heat and humidity at the start of this week, the last couple of days have been fantastic; and the weather folks are calling for another cold front to come through the beginning of next week. Highs in the 70s are unheard of for such long stretches of July, let alone lows down into the 50s with dew points to match. It just seems so, un-Midwestern.
Not to mention, what do we have to complain about when the weather is so nice? The official state pastime is usually whining about what the weather is doing, whether it be too hot, too cold, too wet, or too dry. When we have such nice, comfortable weather, what we usually do is think, "We are going to pay for this later..."
After last winter, though - the winter we thought might never end - maybe this is the payoff for living through that? Nah. We're Iowans; there's always worse weather to come.
That said, my latest outdoor endeavor is battling our backyard moles. We have had them on and off ever since we moved into this house in 2002. They don't cause a lot of trouble, just make some tunnels and an occasional pile of dirt; but if you leave them unencumbered, you get brown paths in the grass and an uneven yard. Not that my yard is any neighborhood showcase, mind you - my usual crabgrass and clover explosion is at least green, though, which is better than a sea of dandelions in the spring.
When I first decided to fight those blind digging creatures, I "borrowed" a mole trap from one of our neighbors. He actually gave it to me, I think. I mean, what would you do with a shared mole trap? It was one of those twin-loop kinds, where you press the two loops into the ground in line with the tunnel and the spring trigger is in between.. The mole comes traipsing along his regular tunnel, trips the spring, and the loops snap together, squishing the mole and ending his digging days for good. Well, it worked pretty well. It would trip without catching anything about a third of the time, but the other two-thirds found a dead mole inside the loops.
And then someone stole it. Right out of my back yard. I had it set up along a mole tunnel, and when I went to check on it one day ... gone. Vanished. Come on, who steals a mole trap? So for a few years I would simply stomp down the tunnels and push the dirt hills back down. This actually did coincide with a lessening of mole activity in my yard. I don't know if it was the weather, or lunar cycles, or luck, or what, but for the past several years there hadn't been a lot going on under my backyard.
Just last week, though, an explosion of digging has erupted back there. Big piles of dirty molehills (that I'm not making mountains out of, mind you), and tunnels to and fro. Time to re-energize the campaign. This time I bought myself one of those spike traps - still spring loaded with the trigger on the tunnel, but these traps shoot spikes down into the tunnel when the trigger is tripped. I figure, at least this way the mole is already buried once it goes off, instead of pulling the bugger out of the ground in the loops and figuring out how to dispose of him.
So, my trap has gone off once in three or four days. I don't know if it actually got anybody. I just pulled it back out of the tunnel and moved it to another spot. No action there yet, so either I got the one single mole that was in my yard, or I just haven't been lucky enough to nab another. We will wait and see.
Meanwhile, I have got a big moving job coming up in a couple of weeks, perhaps immediately followed by our usual trip to the Iowa State Fair. Both those things almost guarantee a return to typical Iowa sweltering heat and oppressive humidity. Because that's how we pay for the nice weather we've had the past two weeks, dontcha know?
Sunday, July 6, 2014
A Weird New World
Now that I've talked a little about the rest of the (former) MVC and the changes they face on the football field this fall, let's dive a bit in-depth with the Xavier Saints. Not only are they dropping from 4A to 3A ... not only are they facing a different kind of season with district play ... but they're seeing some new challenges. Like scheduling.
The Saints' drop to 3A directly resulted in an almost-complete loss of metro-area opponents. The other former MVC members basically told Xavier, "You guys want to play a 3A schedule? Great. Suit yourself. We want to play other 4A teams, so good luck with your schedule." Kennedy, Jefferson, Prairie, Linn-Mar, Washington: none of them sought to add Xavier for a non-district game. Cedar Falls, Iowa City High, Iowa City West: nope, no thank you, Saints. It's not a hard question to crack - what would any area 4A team have to gain by playing a 3A Xavier? No school from the MVC (save one) had been able to defeat the Saints in the past two seasons. If you beat Xavier, well, they're 3A. You were supposed to win. If you lose, hey, you guys lost to a 3A school! Haw haw! Even the notion of increased gates for in-city games wasn't enough to spur interest.
We'll see if things change once the hard feelings from Xavier and Wahlert leaving the MVC fade. But this season is what it is, and Xavier ended up with a pretty darn challenging schedule on their own. Admittedly, their district opponents by and large shouldn't strike a lot of fear into the Saints (although with only four starters coming back, Xavier is going to have some growing pains of their own this fall), but the non-district games are not only all-parochial, they are certainly a stout challenge for Coach Duane Schulte and his squad.
Start with the opener: A rematch of last year's state 4A championship game, with Xavier taking on Dowling Catholic of West Des Moines. Not only are the Maroons the defending state 4A champions, not only did they easily handle the Saints 44-13 last November, but they see All-Everything QB Ryan Boyle returning. Boyle led Dowling in both passing and rushing last season, with 1833 yards and 21 touchdowns through the air and 1332 yards and 24 touchdowns rushing. The Maroons also see some experience coming back on the defensive side, including Nick Wilson and Max Morris (10 sacks in 2013). It's an incredibly tough game for Xavier to start the season, plus it's on the road.
Following that game, it's a short week to a Thursday contest with Davenport Assumption the next week. The Knights and the Saints have never played, despite being parochial schools only about 80 miles apart. The Knights are also making the move to Class 3A, after a long history of a 4A schedule in the Mississippi Athletic Conference. Assumption has finished in the top 3 in the MAC every year but one since 2007, and has only missed the playoffs 3 times since 1989. This season, they do face a challenge of replacing most of the statistical leaders from their offense ... they'll come into 2014 with only two varsity pass attempts on the roster. A lot of the defensive side returns, including leading tackler Jake Poster as well as Joe Argo (9 sacks) and Chase Hager.
District play starts Week 3 with the Solon Spartans, so it doesn't get much easier for the Saints. Solon went 54-1 between 2007 and 2010 with four straight state championships. The Spartans are 28-7 over the past three seasons, including a loss in the state 3A semifinals last fall and playoff losses to the eventual state champion in both 2011 and 2012. Jacob Black returns as the team's leading passer and rusher, with 23 touchdowns on the ground and over 2500 yards combined passing and rushing. Brandon Kramer ran for nearly 1200 yards last year, and defenders Connor Ham and Logan Linderbaum return for a defense that allowed less than 150 yards rushing per game in 2013.
Week 4 the Saints go back on the road to face Central Clinton in DeWitt. The Sabers are coming off a 4-6 season in 2013, but featured a tremendous ground game averaging 284 yards per game. Unfortunately, a lot of those players have graduated.
The next district game sees the Maquoketa Cardinals coming to Saints Field. Maquoketa has made the playoffs five straight seasons, with playoff losses to the eventual state champion in both 2011 and 2012. The Cardinals finished 7-4 last year with an offense that threw the ball an amazing 209 times, averaging over 156 yards passing per game. Back for Maquoketa, however, is not their quarterback but running back Jacob Kloft, who ran for nearly 750 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Week 6 the Saints square off against Western Dubuque. The Bobcats won only 4 games in both 2012 and 2013, but do return leading passer Nolan Baumhover, who threw for 1278 yards and 11 scores. Luke Pothoff's 49 tackles are the most returning on defense, but that might be a good thing, as Western Dubuque gave up 315 yards per game last year, including over 240 ypg on the ground.
Finally Xavier finds a familiar opponent in Week 7, when they travel to Dubuque to take on the Wahlert Golden Eagles. Wahlert was the first MVC team to drop from 4A to 3A, starting the dominoes falling on the way to district play for 4A on the east side of the state. Wahlert has struggled in recent years with the MVC schedule, only winning 3 games since 2011 and not having a winning season since a 6-3 mark in 2007. The Golden Eagles had both one of the conference's worst offenses and worst defenses in 2013, so they welcome a 3A schedule in place of the MVC grind. Riley Hasken leads the way as a returning senior, with 754 yards rushing and 55 tackles in 2013.
In the penultimate week of the season, a potential media circus exists as Iowa City Regina comes to Xavier in a non-district clash of last year's 4A runner-up and 1A state champion. The Regals closed 2013 with a state record 56 game winning streak. The potential exists for Regina to travel up I-380 and take on Xavier with a 63-game winning streak alive - which I imagine would bring out media from all over the corridor to cover. Regina's numbers are amazing; 56 straight wins, an 88-5 record since 2007, four straight state championships (two in 2A, two in 1A), an offense that averaged over 405 yards per game last year. Drew Cook, son of Regals coach and former Hawkeye and NFL player Marv Cook, threw for 2563 yards and 22 touchdowns last year, adding 440 yards and 5 scores on the ground. He'll be back, along with leading tackler Justin Hunter, leading receiver Nick Phillips (54 catches, 7 TDs), and Jake Brinkman, who had six sacks to go along with his 536 yards rushing and 13 scores, plus 18 receptions, and touchdowns both receiving and via kickoff return.
Xavier's season wraps up with a district contest against metro foe Marion. The Indians had a strong run between 2007 and 2010 (32-4 in the regular season), but only had one playoff win in that span. Marion won 8 games in 2012, but finished just 4-6 last year. Leading rusher Kory Walsh returns, after gaining 448 yards and 5 touchdowns last year, while John Christensen, Dontavious Young and Nick Kramer add 550 yards rushing among them. Leading tackler Deshaun Quinn (6 sacks) will be back; he led a strong defense that allowed only 50.6 passing yards per game, and 212.1 total ypg.
So that's what Xavier faces in the 2014 season. Three tremendously tough opponents open the season, with defending state champion 4A Dowling and former 4A squad Assumption on the road the first two games, followed by area powerhouse Solon at Xavier in Week 3. After district games at DeWitt/Central Clinton, home vs. Maquoketa and Western Dubuque, and on the road at Dubuque Wahlert, the Saints will face another strong challenge when defending 1A state champion Iowa City Regina comes to Cedar Rapids. The season wraps up with Marion. The path to a finish in the top levels of the district is there for the taking, but what will Xavier do facing the 3A playoffs? A return engagement with Solon could be likely, or perhaps a rematch with Assumption? What about last year's state runners-up Washington? Or the perennial winners from Decorah? Could a championship match against Sioux City Heelan be in the cards?
A bunch of new opponents, a whole new system of playoff qualification, and a whole new world of 3A football. It's going to be different in 2014 ... will Xavier find the players to step in for last year's 4A runners-up and step up to this challenge?
The Saints' drop to 3A directly resulted in an almost-complete loss of metro-area opponents. The other former MVC members basically told Xavier, "You guys want to play a 3A schedule? Great. Suit yourself. We want to play other 4A teams, so good luck with your schedule." Kennedy, Jefferson, Prairie, Linn-Mar, Washington: none of them sought to add Xavier for a non-district game. Cedar Falls, Iowa City High, Iowa City West: nope, no thank you, Saints. It's not a hard question to crack - what would any area 4A team have to gain by playing a 3A Xavier? No school from the MVC (save one) had been able to defeat the Saints in the past two seasons. If you beat Xavier, well, they're 3A. You were supposed to win. If you lose, hey, you guys lost to a 3A school! Haw haw! Even the notion of increased gates for in-city games wasn't enough to spur interest.
We'll see if things change once the hard feelings from Xavier and Wahlert leaving the MVC fade. But this season is what it is, and Xavier ended up with a pretty darn challenging schedule on their own. Admittedly, their district opponents by and large shouldn't strike a lot of fear into the Saints (although with only four starters coming back, Xavier is going to have some growing pains of their own this fall), but the non-district games are not only all-parochial, they are certainly a stout challenge for Coach Duane Schulte and his squad.
Start with the opener: A rematch of last year's state 4A championship game, with Xavier taking on Dowling Catholic of West Des Moines. Not only are the Maroons the defending state 4A champions, not only did they easily handle the Saints 44-13 last November, but they see All-Everything QB Ryan Boyle returning. Boyle led Dowling in both passing and rushing last season, with 1833 yards and 21 touchdowns through the air and 1332 yards and 24 touchdowns rushing. The Maroons also see some experience coming back on the defensive side, including Nick Wilson and Max Morris (10 sacks in 2013). It's an incredibly tough game for Xavier to start the season, plus it's on the road.
Following that game, it's a short week to a Thursday contest with Davenport Assumption the next week. The Knights and the Saints have never played, despite being parochial schools only about 80 miles apart. The Knights are also making the move to Class 3A, after a long history of a 4A schedule in the Mississippi Athletic Conference. Assumption has finished in the top 3 in the MAC every year but one since 2007, and has only missed the playoffs 3 times since 1989. This season, they do face a challenge of replacing most of the statistical leaders from their offense ... they'll come into 2014 with only two varsity pass attempts on the roster. A lot of the defensive side returns, including leading tackler Jake Poster as well as Joe Argo (9 sacks) and Chase Hager.
District play starts Week 3 with the Solon Spartans, so it doesn't get much easier for the Saints. Solon went 54-1 between 2007 and 2010 with four straight state championships. The Spartans are 28-7 over the past three seasons, including a loss in the state 3A semifinals last fall and playoff losses to the eventual state champion in both 2011 and 2012. Jacob Black returns as the team's leading passer and rusher, with 23 touchdowns on the ground and over 2500 yards combined passing and rushing. Brandon Kramer ran for nearly 1200 yards last year, and defenders Connor Ham and Logan Linderbaum return for a defense that allowed less than 150 yards rushing per game in 2013.
Week 4 the Saints go back on the road to face Central Clinton in DeWitt. The Sabers are coming off a 4-6 season in 2013, but featured a tremendous ground game averaging 284 yards per game. Unfortunately, a lot of those players have graduated.
The next district game sees the Maquoketa Cardinals coming to Saints Field. Maquoketa has made the playoffs five straight seasons, with playoff losses to the eventual state champion in both 2011 and 2012. The Cardinals finished 7-4 last year with an offense that threw the ball an amazing 209 times, averaging over 156 yards passing per game. Back for Maquoketa, however, is not their quarterback but running back Jacob Kloft, who ran for nearly 750 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Week 6 the Saints square off against Western Dubuque. The Bobcats won only 4 games in both 2012 and 2013, but do return leading passer Nolan Baumhover, who threw for 1278 yards and 11 scores. Luke Pothoff's 49 tackles are the most returning on defense, but that might be a good thing, as Western Dubuque gave up 315 yards per game last year, including over 240 ypg on the ground.
Finally Xavier finds a familiar opponent in Week 7, when they travel to Dubuque to take on the Wahlert Golden Eagles. Wahlert was the first MVC team to drop from 4A to 3A, starting the dominoes falling on the way to district play for 4A on the east side of the state. Wahlert has struggled in recent years with the MVC schedule, only winning 3 games since 2011 and not having a winning season since a 6-3 mark in 2007. The Golden Eagles had both one of the conference's worst offenses and worst defenses in 2013, so they welcome a 3A schedule in place of the MVC grind. Riley Hasken leads the way as a returning senior, with 754 yards rushing and 55 tackles in 2013.
In the penultimate week of the season, a potential media circus exists as Iowa City Regina comes to Xavier in a non-district clash of last year's 4A runner-up and 1A state champion. The Regals closed 2013 with a state record 56 game winning streak. The potential exists for Regina to travel up I-380 and take on Xavier with a 63-game winning streak alive - which I imagine would bring out media from all over the corridor to cover. Regina's numbers are amazing; 56 straight wins, an 88-5 record since 2007, four straight state championships (two in 2A, two in 1A), an offense that averaged over 405 yards per game last year. Drew Cook, son of Regals coach and former Hawkeye and NFL player Marv Cook, threw for 2563 yards and 22 touchdowns last year, adding 440 yards and 5 scores on the ground. He'll be back, along with leading tackler Justin Hunter, leading receiver Nick Phillips (54 catches, 7 TDs), and Jake Brinkman, who had six sacks to go along with his 536 yards rushing and 13 scores, plus 18 receptions, and touchdowns both receiving and via kickoff return.
Xavier's season wraps up with a district contest against metro foe Marion. The Indians had a strong run between 2007 and 2010 (32-4 in the regular season), but only had one playoff win in that span. Marion won 8 games in 2012, but finished just 4-6 last year. Leading rusher Kory Walsh returns, after gaining 448 yards and 5 touchdowns last year, while John Christensen, Dontavious Young and Nick Kramer add 550 yards rushing among them. Leading tackler Deshaun Quinn (6 sacks) will be back; he led a strong defense that allowed only 50.6 passing yards per game, and 212.1 total ypg.
So that's what Xavier faces in the 2014 season. Three tremendously tough opponents open the season, with defending state champion 4A Dowling and former 4A squad Assumption on the road the first two games, followed by area powerhouse Solon at Xavier in Week 3. After district games at DeWitt/Central Clinton, home vs. Maquoketa and Western Dubuque, and on the road at Dubuque Wahlert, the Saints will face another strong challenge when defending 1A state champion Iowa City Regina comes to Cedar Rapids. The season wraps up with Marion. The path to a finish in the top levels of the district is there for the taking, but what will Xavier do facing the 3A playoffs? A return engagement with Solon could be likely, or perhaps a rematch with Assumption? What about last year's state runners-up Washington? Or the perennial winners from Decorah? Could a championship match against Sioux City Heelan be in the cards?
A bunch of new opponents, a whole new system of playoff qualification, and a whole new world of 3A football. It's going to be different in 2014 ... will Xavier find the players to step in for last year's 4A runners-up and step up to this challenge?
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