Back on Track

The key to Xavier's game with Dubuque Wahlert at the Rock Bowl was, can the Saints get back on track? How will they respond after they were outplayed in an unexpected loss to Western Dubuque? Historically, the Saints have shown losses like that have been motivators, or wake-up calls. Would that still hold true?

Well, Wahlert took the opening kickoff and handed the ball to stud running back Riley Hasken five straight times. He just accounted for 72 yards, including a 49-yard touchdown run that bowled over a couple of Saints tacklers and just looked too easy. A missed extra point made it only 6-0, but ... was the Western Dubuque hangover continuing for Xavier?

Forty-one unanswered points later, I think the answer was "no." Xavier responded with a four-play 56-yard TD drive of their own (all by Jay Kortemeyer), and after one exchange of punts, rang up five consecutive touchdown drives to cruise to a 41-12 victory at the Rock Bowl. Kortemeyer ended up with three touchdowns and over 200 yards rushing, and Bryce Schulte shrugged off his 0 for 7 performance of the previous week with two passing touchdowns (and about three drops, too, so he was really throwing well).

A few things to take away from this game: I was surprised Wahlert went away from Hasken so quickly. He made the first drive look so easy, but the Golden Eagles started to try to throw the ball more the next couple of drives (which then resulted in a Xavier interception that led to their second score). The game then quickly got out of hand and the ground game wasn't as much of an option for Wahlert, but why not keep pounding Hasken at the beginning while it was close? He's a load, tough to bring down and always moving forward for extra yards. After last night he's close to 1200 yards rushing on the season.

Another thing to mention is, despite the final score, this was a quite entertaining game. There were multiple athletic "ooh and ahh" moments for both teams. Hasken's touchdown run; a falling, rolling grab by Nick Stark right at the goal line for a Xavier TD catch; a one-handed grab by Joe Welch for another Saints score; Kortemeyer's last touchdown, a hard-earned 29-yard run through and over several Wahlert tacklers; and the Golden Eagles' last touchdown late in the third quarter, a diving highlight-reel catch by Austin Kluck. A lot of fun to watch.

A head scratcher came at the end of the first half. Wahlert had a little drive going, trailing 28-6, but were only near midfield with time running out. With 4th and about a foot to go, coach Travis Zajac let the clock run as much as he could, then called time out. He then went for the first down, and got it - only to let the clock expire. I suppose that showed a lot of respect for Xavier's punt return team, which has been outstanding this year, but it was a bit of a gamble to risk not getting the first and giving Xavier one shot from midfield at the end of the half. I dunno. It didn't make any difference in the game, but it was an interesting decision.

Okay, results-oriented. The win puts Xavier at 4-1 in the district and guarantees them a playoff game. Western Dubuque and Solon both won their games, so the Bobcats are 4-0 and the Spartans 3-1 going into their big match next Friday. If Solon wins, that sets the stage for a three-way tie in District 4 that would give the district title to Xavier in the tiebreaker. If WD can pull out the win, they almost certainly win the district on their own. Fun times ahead!