Xavier and Lewis Central were the top two teams in every Class 3A poll since the football season began. Xavier was the defending state champion; Lewis Central had been a 4A program the past two seasons with a playoff win over West Des Moines Valley in 2017. The Titans also had Max Duggan, a top-notch athlete who had been highly recruited by Division I football programs, and who had committed to play at TCU next fall. Every 3A football fan in the state was looking forward to a playoff matchup between these two, and many lamented a bit when it turned out to be a semifinal contest instead of the championship game. Would it live up to the hype?
Turns out, Xavier's game plan was too much for the Lewis Central defense as the Saints rolled to a 37-13 victory. The key to not letting Duggan beat you, it so happens, is to not let him get on the field. Xavier's offense was able to control the ball and grind out first downs against the Titan defense, scoring on all but one of their eight possessions, with only an exchange of fumbles in the third quarter marring a near-perfect offensive game. The Saints had three drives of 87 yards or more, with a first-quarter possession that took about seven minutes off the clock.
Duggan showed his skills when he got in the game, with some tremendous deep passes, but Xavier's pass coverage clamped down hard after the first quarter. Playing from behind, Lewis Central didn't try to do much on the ground, and Duggan only had a couple of good runs (after rushing for more than 11 1/2 yards per carry during the season).
Xavier opened the scoring, after forcing a punt on the Titans' first possession. Starting at the 10 (and losing 2 yards on the first play), Xavier put together an epic 18-play drive marching to the 6. During this opening drive (I believe), Xavier's big offensive tackle Josh Volk went down with a leg injury and didn't return. Kyle Krezek replaced him on the offensive line - the point being, this wasn't even Xavier's top 5 linemen in the game controlling the line of scrimmage and maintaining a ridiculous amount of ball control throughout this game. On 4th down with the field goal unit in, Coach Duane Schulte got tricky. The formation shifted, with the line all moving to the far left side of the field and holder Bryson Bastian standing up to receive the snap in the shotgun. As kicker Ben Conrad went in motion to the right, Mitch Willey snapped the ball to Bastian, then sneaked into the end zone and caught the 6-yard TD pass.
Lewis Central responded, with a huge play coming on 3rd and 24 at their own 34. Duggan launched a monster pass deep downfield to his favorite receiver Josh Simmons, who just got behind the Saints defender to make a tumbling catch at the Xavier 8. Two plays later Duggan fired a dart to Simmons in the end zone, and the game was tied. (The extra point is just the second successful extra point against Xavier all season, going all the way back to Regina's extra point in the first game.)
Special teams have been big for Xavier all year, and Aaron Larson returned the kickoff to the Xavier 45. The Saints broke off several good running plays into the teeth of the Lewis Central defense, leading to Conrad's 39-yard field goal and a lead the Saints would never relinquish. After forcing another punt, Larson had an incredible 50-some-yard punt return, but a holding penalty called it back and Xavier started at their 42. Another time-consuming drive, this time with some well-placed passes from Quinn Schulte, and Xavier got inside the 10 with the clock running down. With 5 seconds remaining, Conrad booted a 25-yard field goal, and Xavier led 13-7 at the half.
A scary moment for the Saints in the third quarter, as Xavier fumbled on a shotgun snap Schulte wasn't expecting on the third play. Lewis Central recovered at the 21 with an excellent chance to take the lead. On the next play, though, as Brady Miller carried up the middle, Schulte came up from his safety spot and nailed Miller with a shot that knocked the ball loose. Xavier recovered at the 13. And here comes another Saints drive; a 43-yard pass from Schulte to Bastian streaking down the seam from the tight end position was the big play, and then runs by Schulte and Braden Stovie got the ball down to the 1. Schulte took it in over the left side from there, making it 20-7.
The Saints forced another punt, then drove 34 yards before Conrad kicked his third field goal of the game to make it 23-7. That tied the school record for field goals in a game, and Conrad's 12th field goal of the season and 98th kicking point of the year also tied school records.
Lewis Central and Duggan weren't done. The Titans put together a quick seven-play drive, including passes of 19 and 30 yards (that one converted a 3rd and 17) to get inside the Xavier 30. That's when Coach Jim Duggan got tricky, with a double-reverse to Simmons ending in a pass from Simmons to Duggan for a 26-yard TD. The two-point try (which would have made it a one-score game) wound up out of bounds, and Xavier led 23-13 with under 10 minutes to play.
And then, here come the Saints. Another long 10-play drive, all on the ground, eating up nearly 5 minutes of the clock. Schulte finally squirted up the middle for a 5-yard score to make it 30-13 - that's his 40th rushing TD of his career, a new school record. Conrad's extra point made it 99 kicking points for him on the season, also a school record.
With Lewis Central down by 17 and time running out, Duggan started to pick up some yards with his feet. The Titans drive down to the Xavier 11, where Duggan dropped back to throw. A Xavier defender comes clean up the middle and hit Duggan as he throws, and another Saint tips the pass up into the air. Jakob Forslund snatched the interception in wide-open space on the right side near the 10 yard line, and it looked like he'll return it all the way. Duggan, though, got back up after being knocked down and used his impressive speed to catch Forslund at the Lewis Central 16. Two plays later Schulte walked in from 12 yards out, making it 37-13. Schulte's 41st rushing TD, 46th total TD and 276th point scored are all Xavier records, while Conrad's extra point gave him 100 on the season.
So the Saints go on to the 3A championship game for the second year in a row, hoping to add another state title and a 26th consecutive victory to their total. They'll face Western Dubuque, an opponent right out of their own District 4, a team Xavier shut out 35-0 in a lightning-delayed game at Saints Field on October 5. The Saints got touchdowns in all four of their first-half possessions against the Bobcats that night, before the storms arrived, and held a potent WD offense to 156 yards. The Bobcats have won five in a row since that night, scoring close to 50 points a game, and notching road wins over an undefeated Solon and gaining revenge for an earlier 1-point loss against North Scott. WD used two kickoff return touchdowns to pull away from Sergeant Bluff-Luton in the other semifinal game, winning 35-18 to secure their spot in the championship game.
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