As part of my gig doing play-by-play for Xavier football on KMRY, I stop by the studio on Wednesday mornings to talk football with morning guy Simon Will. It's an enjoyable part of my week, being a old radio guy from way back in the early 80s, and fits right in after I get my coach's interview with Duane Schulte done first thing on Wednesdays. Anyway, this past week, after crushing Central DeWitt 59-3, Simon asked me to predict a Xavier score with winless and somewhat hapless Maquoketa coming to town. I said, reluctantly, that we might see a 70 on the scoreboard.
I was wrong. Although 7 was involved, as in 7 touchdowns. In the first half.
The Saints blew right through the Cardinals 49-6, pretty much exactly as everyone figured would happen. Maquoketa just doesn't have a defense that can stop anybody, giving up over 400 yards a game. At least their average came down a little after this game ... partly because Xavier had such good field position they didn't need to roll up many yards to rack up 7 touchdowns. Meanwhile the Maquoketa offense managed a whole 15 total yards in the first half when you matched up first-team to first-team.
The Maquoketa possessions in the first half were three and out, three and out, fumble, three and out, fumble, three and out, three and out. Meanwhile the Saints scored on every possession, and even added a 52-yard fumble return score by Matt Downey. Bryce Schulte ran for two TDs (giving him 8 rushing scores on the year, I think) and threw for two more (actually his first passing TDs of the season). Nic Ekland scored on a 4th and goal from the two. Nick Stark had a tremendous wide-open catch and run score called back by penalty, only to match it with another very similar play in the next quarter that did count. Sean Murphy ran up the middle through three tacklers and then untouched the rest of the way for a 56-yard TD. Then throw in the fumble recovery ... the first half was a laugher.
The only things that kept the score under 50 were the Xavier scout teamers (who couldn't quite convert on all their 3rd downs) and the continuous clock that sped through the second half (the third quarter, with 12 minutes on the game clock, took only 13 actual minutes to play). The Cardinals couldn't even get a first down until their last drive of the game, when they picked up three (including a 4th down conversion) on the way to their only touchdown. Even the referees started letting obvious penalties go just to get the thing over with. I'm serious - I saw one obvious flinch before the snap by a Maquoketa receiver, the side judge started to reach for his flag, then pretty much visually gave up and said the heck with it, letting the play go. One of the most unusual things I've seen on a football field came at the end. Xavier had the ball, with the clock just running and running.They broke the huddle and came up to the line of scrimmage with a good 15 or so seconds left. I'm not sure if they really were going to run a play, but they never got a chance, as the referee slowly strolled his way through the formation, up to the center, and picked up the ball the instant the clock hit 0:00.
I'm not complaining, mind you. The game was never in doubt, and there was no need to run another play, as much as the Xavier second and third teamers might have liked to. For one thing, Saints tailback Jay Kortemeyer got hurt in the first half, hopping off the field on his left foot and reappearing in the second half on crutches and in a boot. That certainly did not look good for his continued play, but I suppose we will find out more over the next week. It would not be a good thing for Xavier to lose more than one player to injury in a blowout like this.
So .. will anyone challenge the Saints in District 4? I can't see it. Western Dubuque beat Wahlert in overtime, a Wahlert team that beat Central DeWitt in the final seconds, a Central DeWitt team that was crushed by Xavier. Solon has already lost by four touchdowns, and Solon whipped last year's runner-up Washington. Marion lost by a touchdown to Central DeWitt. I think the road is pretty clear for a 6-0 district mark for the Saints.
So, playoffs. District winners play fourth-place finishers in the first round. Currently in fourth place are teams like Decorah, Washington, Grinnell and Oskaloosa. Other teams leading districts (and possible third-round opponents) are West Delaware, Assumption, Pella and Ballard. So, yeah. Some interesting matchups once you get three games into the playoffs.
I hate to get my cart ahead of my horse, but then again, I am not a coach. I'm just a radio guy who's watched Xavier football since 2006. This is not the best Saints team I've seen, but it's pretty good, and it's playing well above its current competition. Is a return trip to the Dome in the cards? Maybe. But no guarantees. West Delaware and Pella are pretty darn good, for example.
Saturday, September 27, 2014
Saturday, September 20, 2014
Everybody Said This Would Happen
When the whole districts/4A-3A/rearranging of high school football went down last winter, lots of prep football fans in Iowa were quick to jump to the conclusion that a team like Xavier was only moving down to 3A to clean up with championship hardware. Voices were heard far and wide that the private schools were taking over, that Heelan and Xavier (and Davenport Assumption) were going to have a stranglehold on the title game for years, that 3A teams just couldn't compete with a former 4A powerhouse that had played in the state 4A championship the last two years.
I wasn't positive about such talk. Sure, Xavier has had a great 4A team the past couple of years. The 2012 team was one of the most exciting teams to watch I've ever seen, and last year's defense was just nuts (who has 8 shutouts in 14 games? Seriously?). But still, all but 4 of last year's starters graduated. Every year is a brand new year, and there were a lot of uncertainties about how good the Saints might actually be this year ... plus, consider the different competition in 3A football is probably going to affect participation in the Xavier program in a couple of years. Throw in a crazy non-district schedule (Dowling? Really? Plus Assumption and Regina? Who else plays two defending state champions in the same year?) and nothing should be taken for granted.
Okay, I may have been wrong with my caution. After a dominating shutout of Solon last week, the Saints absolutely annihilated a Central DeWitt squad that 1) was averaging about 300 yards per game on the ground with their option attack; 2) had crushed a 4A Clinton team by 5 touchdowns; and 3) was itching for a district fight at home after dropping a last-second game to Wahlert last week. Xavier mashed the pedal down from the get-go and didn't let up until the continuous clock ran in the second half.
And from the get-go, that's just what I mean. Sean Murphy took the opening kickoff back 99 yards for a touchdown (I see the newspaper gave him 96 yards ... um, I thought it might have been a touchback with his foot in the end zone watching it live, how it that 96 yards?). After a Sabers three-and-out, Xavier drove 81 yards in 14 plays (picking up 6 first downs!) to score again. After another three-and-out, a 49-yard run by Bryce Schulte set up another touchdown. Then Central DeWitt fumbled, and the Saints went to the halfback pass they trotted out last week against Solon to rack up another score. It was 28-0 before the Sabers offense realized the game had started.
Xavier added another kickoff return touchdown in the second quarter, along with a 70-yard punt return to set up a field goal. Meanwhile, the Sabers could only sputter their way to four first downs in the first half and trailed 45-3. Even the Xavier second team got in on the scoring, with two more touchdown runs in the fourth quarter. The final - 59-3, and if anything, it wasn't that close.
This is definitely a new look of things for Xavier as they enter 3A football. Most of these schools don't have the bench to run a whole team of backups out there, should they be ahead or behind late in games. They also have plenty of guys playing both ways. These other teams are going to get worn down by a physical, relentless Xavier squad that, this year at least, still has a 4A mentality.
So, for right now, most of those voices were right. Xavier looks to cruise through District 4 (arguably their two toughest tests, Solon and Central DeWitt, are already behind them with a cumulative score of 87-3). Next week's opponent, Maquoketa, is a bad 0-4 team. Western Dubuque and Dubuque Wahlert are, if anything, similar to Central DeWitt. Marion is racked by injuries and probably a couple of notches below those three anyway. The non-district game with Regina October 17 is still incredibly interesting, but with the Regals' winning streak stopped by Solon in the opening game, quite a bit of the luster is gone. And it doesn't look like the 1A Regals are really going to match up against Xavier, although we'll see.
So, will the Saints be able to hold their focus now? Most of their toughest games came early, and now we are going to expect a lot more 50-point blowouts and continuous clock games. Unless they start taking things for granted, of course. But to be honest, anybody with a reasonable point of view has to at least start thinking about playoff matchups. Xavier will almost certainly win District 4, which means at least two home playoff games. What kind of matchups are possible? Assumption looks to do well in their district, but Xavier has already handled them easily. West Delaware has a salty team. Decorah is down this year, but could be an early-round opponent. Washington is good, as well as Pella. Otherwise ... I need to take a look at some of the other districts around to see what's what. But considering a district winner plays a fourth-place team in the first round, and then either a second- or third-place finisher in the second round, Xavier looks to be shaping up as a solid favorite to reach the quarterfinals at least.
But that's fan talk, not team talk, putting the cart way before the horse. I know for a fact the Saints coaching staff is having no such thoughts - the challenge is focusing the players on one week at a time, so they don't start having these daydreams of future games either.
I wasn't positive about such talk. Sure, Xavier has had a great 4A team the past couple of years. The 2012 team was one of the most exciting teams to watch I've ever seen, and last year's defense was just nuts (who has 8 shutouts in 14 games? Seriously?). But still, all but 4 of last year's starters graduated. Every year is a brand new year, and there were a lot of uncertainties about how good the Saints might actually be this year ... plus, consider the different competition in 3A football is probably going to affect participation in the Xavier program in a couple of years. Throw in a crazy non-district schedule (Dowling? Really? Plus Assumption and Regina? Who else plays two defending state champions in the same year?) and nothing should be taken for granted.
Okay, I may have been wrong with my caution. After a dominating shutout of Solon last week, the Saints absolutely annihilated a Central DeWitt squad that 1) was averaging about 300 yards per game on the ground with their option attack; 2) had crushed a 4A Clinton team by 5 touchdowns; and 3) was itching for a district fight at home after dropping a last-second game to Wahlert last week. Xavier mashed the pedal down from the get-go and didn't let up until the continuous clock ran in the second half.
And from the get-go, that's just what I mean. Sean Murphy took the opening kickoff back 99 yards for a touchdown (I see the newspaper gave him 96 yards ... um, I thought it might have been a touchback with his foot in the end zone watching it live, how it that 96 yards?). After a Sabers three-and-out, Xavier drove 81 yards in 14 plays (picking up 6 first downs!) to score again. After another three-and-out, a 49-yard run by Bryce Schulte set up another touchdown. Then Central DeWitt fumbled, and the Saints went to the halfback pass they trotted out last week against Solon to rack up another score. It was 28-0 before the Sabers offense realized the game had started.
Xavier added another kickoff return touchdown in the second quarter, along with a 70-yard punt return to set up a field goal. Meanwhile, the Sabers could only sputter their way to four first downs in the first half and trailed 45-3. Even the Xavier second team got in on the scoring, with two more touchdown runs in the fourth quarter. The final - 59-3, and if anything, it wasn't that close.
This is definitely a new look of things for Xavier as they enter 3A football. Most of these schools don't have the bench to run a whole team of backups out there, should they be ahead or behind late in games. They also have plenty of guys playing both ways. These other teams are going to get worn down by a physical, relentless Xavier squad that, this year at least, still has a 4A mentality.
So, for right now, most of those voices were right. Xavier looks to cruise through District 4 (arguably their two toughest tests, Solon and Central DeWitt, are already behind them with a cumulative score of 87-3). Next week's opponent, Maquoketa, is a bad 0-4 team. Western Dubuque and Dubuque Wahlert are, if anything, similar to Central DeWitt. Marion is racked by injuries and probably a couple of notches below those three anyway. The non-district game with Regina October 17 is still incredibly interesting, but with the Regals' winning streak stopped by Solon in the opening game, quite a bit of the luster is gone. And it doesn't look like the 1A Regals are really going to match up against Xavier, although we'll see.
So, will the Saints be able to hold their focus now? Most of their toughest games came early, and now we are going to expect a lot more 50-point blowouts and continuous clock games. Unless they start taking things for granted, of course. But to be honest, anybody with a reasonable point of view has to at least start thinking about playoff matchups. Xavier will almost certainly win District 4, which means at least two home playoff games. What kind of matchups are possible? Assumption looks to do well in their district, but Xavier has already handled them easily. West Delaware has a salty team. Decorah is down this year, but could be an early-round opponent. Washington is good, as well as Pella. Otherwise ... I need to take a look at some of the other districts around to see what's what. But considering a district winner plays a fourth-place team in the first round, and then either a second- or third-place finisher in the second round, Xavier looks to be shaping up as a solid favorite to reach the quarterfinals at least.
But that's fan talk, not team talk, putting the cart way before the horse. I know for a fact the Saints coaching staff is having no such thoughts - the challenge is focusing the players on one week at a time, so they don't start having these daydreams of future games either.
Monday, September 15, 2014
At The 1/3 Mark
Has it been three games already? The high school football season is a third gone? Just doesn't seem possible, yet here we are.
Also, not to make too much of this weather forecasting thing, but boy has the NWS been off with their 7-10 day forecasts for Fridays. This week they say low 70s and a slight chance of rain, so you can count on either 1) a drenching cold downpour, or perhaps flurries; or B) low 90s with humidity to match. Book it!
On to last week, though. Xavier continued their death march of power programs to start the season, facing Solon (but finally at home). The Spartans won four straight state championships between 2007 and 2010, with just one loss in those four years. Old news, you say? Well, they were first or second in their district the past two years, and 11-2 last season. Plus they kicked off 2014 by ending Iowa City Regina's record winning streak, so, yeah - a power program in the area.
Unfortunately, Solon had to face Xavier without their top running back, Brandon Kramer. Add to that the fact that their varsity roster is actually smaller than Assumption's (just 38, including 3 or 4 sophomores), plus a wet, chilly night with rain falling in the first half, and it wasn't exactly a recipe for success for an offense that typically spreads out 4 wide and throws the ball.
The Xavier defense came to play. Not even backup tailback Colton Hansel, who is so hot right now, could ambi-turn his way into a Solon offensive drive. Dylan Eller started the scoring with his 3rd interception of the year, taking this one 25 yards to the end zone. Bryce Schulte ran 21 yards for a score, Jay Kortemeyer added a TD run (and another 170+ yards rushing) and it was 21-0 at halftime. Solon had managed only three first downs, two of those on an early drive following a Xavier fumble. Things didn't ease up in the second half, even with another Saint fumble early. Nic Ekland had a nice 34-yard TD run, and the only other Spartan first down came with the backups in the game. The final was a shutout, 28-0 for Xavier.
The defense is salty, even after replacing 10 starters from last year. Ekland is everywhere, Nick Kellen and Nick Lang plug up the middle, Thomas Ickes is doing a great job at linebacker, and Eller and Sean Murphy are hitting hard in the backfield. With a combined score of 58-6 so far against 3A opponents, the D is going to provide plenty of cushion for an offense that's still finding its way. The ground game continues to look pretty good, but it just doesn't feel like everything is coming together yet.
The string of powerful opponents continues this week as the Nomads play their third road game in four weeks at Central Clinton-DeWitt. The Sabers alternate between winning and losing seasons, and this year they are due for a winning one. They already knocked off a 4A program, blowing out Clinton in week one, and are only a last-minute touchdown by Wahlert last week from being 3-0. DeWitt Central runs the triple option, and they love to run it, averaging close to 300 yards per game on the ground over the past 13 games. This will be a different kind of offense for the Saints to face, but assignment football is key against the option, and Xavier has always been good at that.
After this week, Xavier gets four of the last five games at home, facing a pretty bad Maquoketa team, a so-far average Western Dubuque and Dubuque Wahlert, then after the non-district Regina match it's a Marion team that can't find their way yet. A win at DeWitt this week goes a long way towards cementing Xavier at the top of District 4, and winning the district gets you at least two home playoff games. With programs like West Delaware, Decorah, Pella, and Newton lurking in November, that could be quite the benefit.
Also, not to make too much of this weather forecasting thing, but boy has the NWS been off with their 7-10 day forecasts for Fridays. This week they say low 70s and a slight chance of rain, so you can count on either 1) a drenching cold downpour, or perhaps flurries; or B) low 90s with humidity to match. Book it!
On to last week, though. Xavier continued their death march of power programs to start the season, facing Solon (but finally at home). The Spartans won four straight state championships between 2007 and 2010, with just one loss in those four years. Old news, you say? Well, they were first or second in their district the past two years, and 11-2 last season. Plus they kicked off 2014 by ending Iowa City Regina's record winning streak, so, yeah - a power program in the area.
Unfortunately, Solon had to face Xavier without their top running back, Brandon Kramer. Add to that the fact that their varsity roster is actually smaller than Assumption's (just 38, including 3 or 4 sophomores), plus a wet, chilly night with rain falling in the first half, and it wasn't exactly a recipe for success for an offense that typically spreads out 4 wide and throws the ball.
The Xavier defense came to play. Not even backup tailback Colton Hansel, who is so hot right now, could ambi-turn his way into a Solon offensive drive. Dylan Eller started the scoring with his 3rd interception of the year, taking this one 25 yards to the end zone. Bryce Schulte ran 21 yards for a score, Jay Kortemeyer added a TD run (and another 170+ yards rushing) and it was 21-0 at halftime. Solon had managed only three first downs, two of those on an early drive following a Xavier fumble. Things didn't ease up in the second half, even with another Saint fumble early. Nic Ekland had a nice 34-yard TD run, and the only other Spartan first down came with the backups in the game. The final was a shutout, 28-0 for Xavier.
The defense is salty, even after replacing 10 starters from last year. Ekland is everywhere, Nick Kellen and Nick Lang plug up the middle, Thomas Ickes is doing a great job at linebacker, and Eller and Sean Murphy are hitting hard in the backfield. With a combined score of 58-6 so far against 3A opponents, the D is going to provide plenty of cushion for an offense that's still finding its way. The ground game continues to look pretty good, but it just doesn't feel like everything is coming together yet.
The string of powerful opponents continues this week as the Nomads play their third road game in four weeks at Central Clinton-DeWitt. The Sabers alternate between winning and losing seasons, and this year they are due for a winning one. They already knocked off a 4A program, blowing out Clinton in week one, and are only a last-minute touchdown by Wahlert last week from being 3-0. DeWitt Central runs the triple option, and they love to run it, averaging close to 300 yards per game on the ground over the past 13 games. This will be a different kind of offense for the Saints to face, but assignment football is key against the option, and Xavier has always been good at that.
After this week, Xavier gets four of the last five games at home, facing a pretty bad Maquoketa team, a so-far average Western Dubuque and Dubuque Wahlert, then after the non-district Regina match it's a Marion team that can't find their way yet. A win at DeWitt this week goes a long way towards cementing Xavier at the top of District 4, and winning the district gets you at least two home playoff games. With programs like West Delaware, Decorah, Pella, and Newton lurking in November, that could be quite the benefit.
Sunday, September 7, 2014
In the Win Column
The weather forecasters may have been off ... again ... but the Xavier Saints bore down on one of the hottest days of the year and took care of business at Davenport with a 30-6 win over Assumption. (I've got to stop looking at forecasts more than two days ahead, because the NWS keeps predicting wonderful weather on Fridays far out which turns into lightning, hail, and heavy rain by the time Friday actually arrives.)
First off, the Saints appear to have their run blocking clicking. Jay Kortemeyer ran for something around 190 yards, which is just ridiculous. The Saints altogether put up close to 300 yards rushing. Davenport Assumption had no answer for the ground attack. Second, Xavier's defense continued to show that they know what they are doing. After slowing down the state's top 4A team in Week 1, they kept Assumption from even picking up a first down until the 4th quarter. They forced four turnovers, with two interceptions by Dylan Eller, and recovered two kickoffs to boot. (Ha!)
There is still room for improvement. Bryce Schulte got sacked a few times, so the pass blocking could have been better. There was only one really good pass play out of the Saints, a 30-yard play-action down the seam to Noah Clasen. And they absolutely need to work on their missed field-goal return game (more on that later).
A big factor in this game was the injury situation for Assumption. The Knights were already down to their third quarterback when the game started, and ended up playing numbers four and five before the game was through (and frankly, number five seemed to be the most productive). They had something like five or six starters in jeans and jerseys on the sideline. It wasn't a true test of teams at full strength, which is too bad. The Knights have a long history of success as a small school in a 4A conference, and I know they are hoping the move to 3A will be better for them. We'll see how district play works out.
As for the officiating ... at the end of the first half, with Xavier only leading 3-0 due to some mistakes killing several scoring opportunities, Dallas Klein came out to try a 39-yard field goal into the breeze. The kick fell well short, but did make it into the end zone. In high school, a kick that crosses the goal line is automatically dead. However, Will Ontiveros of Assumption was back there anyway. He caught the ball in the end zone, then started running it out. While the Assumption crowd got excited, people who knew the rules were baffled. There was no whistle. No official blew the ball dead. Instead, Ontiveros made his return, Assumption players were blocking, Xavier players were attempting to make a tackle, and he eventually took the ball cross-country to the other end zone. Thankfully, no official signaled touchdown, so they apparently knew that much. After some discussion and delay, they brought the ball back to the 20 for a touchback, which it should have been all along.
Word is Coach Schulte was not impressed (livid might be more accurate), and I can't blame him. If a player from either team had been injured on that play, that's totally on the officials. They can't let something like that play out and let the players continue at full speed when the ball is obviously dead. It was a horrendous brain freeze by the entire crew (they all have whistles!).
Thankfully, nobody was hurt. And Xavier picked up after halftime, putting together three straight scoring drives. In fact, the Saints put 17 points on the board without Assumption running an offensive play. Xavier got a touchdown, and on the ensuing kickoff the ball bounced off a Knight 20 yards back toward the kick team, which recovered. That resulted in another touchdown, and on the kickoff after that, it was short into the wind and a Xavier player was able to outfight an Assumption upback to recover. That ended in a field goal.
So Xavier has to feel somewhat better about their offense, while knowing their defense is top notch. This Friday district play starts. Now the games will count for district standings/playoff qualifying, and Xavier gets the task of starting with the undefeated Solon Spartans. Solon knocked off defending state 1A champion Iowa City Regina in overtime in week one, and beat Mt. Vernon by 20 points last week. They are a good team, with a solid history of recent state championships in both 2A and 3A. This is probably a matchup of two of the favorites in District 4, and it's the first district game of the year.
(Don't sleep on DeWitt-Central, though. The Sabers have rolled up a metric ton of offense in their first two games, and got a win over a 4A opponent by beating Clinton in week one. Guess when the Saints take them on? Yep, week four. A killer first month for Xavier.)
First off, the Saints appear to have their run blocking clicking. Jay Kortemeyer ran for something around 190 yards, which is just ridiculous. The Saints altogether put up close to 300 yards rushing. Davenport Assumption had no answer for the ground attack. Second, Xavier's defense continued to show that they know what they are doing. After slowing down the state's top 4A team in Week 1, they kept Assumption from even picking up a first down until the 4th quarter. They forced four turnovers, with two interceptions by Dylan Eller, and recovered two kickoffs to boot. (Ha!)
There is still room for improvement. Bryce Schulte got sacked a few times, so the pass blocking could have been better. There was only one really good pass play out of the Saints, a 30-yard play-action down the seam to Noah Clasen. And they absolutely need to work on their missed field-goal return game (more on that later).
A big factor in this game was the injury situation for Assumption. The Knights were already down to their third quarterback when the game started, and ended up playing numbers four and five before the game was through (and frankly, number five seemed to be the most productive). They had something like five or six starters in jeans and jerseys on the sideline. It wasn't a true test of teams at full strength, which is too bad. The Knights have a long history of success as a small school in a 4A conference, and I know they are hoping the move to 3A will be better for them. We'll see how district play works out.
As for the officiating ... at the end of the first half, with Xavier only leading 3-0 due to some mistakes killing several scoring opportunities, Dallas Klein came out to try a 39-yard field goal into the breeze. The kick fell well short, but did make it into the end zone. In high school, a kick that crosses the goal line is automatically dead. However, Will Ontiveros of Assumption was back there anyway. He caught the ball in the end zone, then started running it out. While the Assumption crowd got excited, people who knew the rules were baffled. There was no whistle. No official blew the ball dead. Instead, Ontiveros made his return, Assumption players were blocking, Xavier players were attempting to make a tackle, and he eventually took the ball cross-country to the other end zone. Thankfully, no official signaled touchdown, so they apparently knew that much. After some discussion and delay, they brought the ball back to the 20 for a touchback, which it should have been all along.
Word is Coach Schulte was not impressed (livid might be more accurate), and I can't blame him. If a player from either team had been injured on that play, that's totally on the officials. They can't let something like that play out and let the players continue at full speed when the ball is obviously dead. It was a horrendous brain freeze by the entire crew (they all have whistles!).
Thankfully, nobody was hurt. And Xavier picked up after halftime, putting together three straight scoring drives. In fact, the Saints put 17 points on the board without Assumption running an offensive play. Xavier got a touchdown, and on the ensuing kickoff the ball bounced off a Knight 20 yards back toward the kick team, which recovered. That resulted in another touchdown, and on the kickoff after that, it was short into the wind and a Xavier player was able to outfight an Assumption upback to recover. That ended in a field goal.
So Xavier has to feel somewhat better about their offense, while knowing their defense is top notch. This Friday district play starts. Now the games will count for district standings/playoff qualifying, and Xavier gets the task of starting with the undefeated Solon Spartans. Solon knocked off defending state 1A champion Iowa City Regina in overtime in week one, and beat Mt. Vernon by 20 points last week. They are a good team, with a solid history of recent state championships in both 2A and 3A. This is probably a matchup of two of the favorites in District 4, and it's the first district game of the year.
(Don't sleep on DeWitt-Central, though. The Sabers have rolled up a metric ton of offense in their first two games, and got a win over a 4A opponent by beating Clinton in week one. Guess when the Saints take them on? Yep, week four. A killer first month for Xavier.)
Monday, September 1, 2014
We Are Under Way
The season has begun. Perhaps not quite the way Xavier fans and players might have hoped, but we've started and the games are coming, ready or not.
There were some good things to take away from the Saints' 24-2 loss to Dowling. The defense actually played pretty well. Ryan Boyle passed for only 150 yards, and almost a third of that came on one 42-yard touchdown throw. The Saints also held Boyle to negative yards rushing, and the Maroons were under 100 yards total on the ground. Those are some good defensive numbers against the defending 4A champs.
Xavier also had a great goal line stand, keeping Dowling out of the end zone at the end of the first quarter/start of the second. And the third quarter belonged to the Saints, as Dowling gave up a safety and then had two three-and-outs while Xavier mounted their lone offensive drive of the game, picking up three or four first downs. Unfortunately that drive ended on a rushed field goal attempt that fell well short.
The Saints do have a lot of work to do on the offensive side, true. Bryce Schulte was hurried a lot of the time, and when he did get good protection his accuracy was spotty. When he did have good throws, the receivers had the dropsies. Schulte also threw two really bad passes, both intercepted and both setting up Dowling touchdowns. The running game was mostly ineffective - although some misdirection plays got good yardage, about the best gain was on a fake punt.
It all comes down to the lines. Xavier is breaking in new players on the left side of the O-line, and it showed. I do expect improvement throughout the season. This was the number 1 ranked 4A team in the state they were going against, after all.
A short turnaround to a Thursday game this week, and another salty defense to go up against. Davenport Assumption had one of the top defenses in the 4A MAC last year, and return several of those starters. The Knights did get pasted by Bettendorf 41-6 last week, so it doesn't necessarily seem that defense is all that. But, a Bettendorf-Dowling 4A championship game isn't out of the question this November. The Bulldogs that smashed Assumption are a good team, with an offense clicking much better than Xavier's in the opener. This matchup of former 4A teams now in 3A districts is not going to be an easy one for the Saints. I don't think I would be looking for lots of points in this one.
Once again, we're dealing with a Kernels baseball conflict on the radio. We will have the game on KMRY following the Kernels' playoff game at Burlington. I would expect our delayed coverage to start around 9:45 or 10, depending on weather and how the baseball game goes. This will be our last baseball conflict, though - September 12 will be live when the Saints host what's shaping up to be a tremendous Solon team.
There were some good things to take away from the Saints' 24-2 loss to Dowling. The defense actually played pretty well. Ryan Boyle passed for only 150 yards, and almost a third of that came on one 42-yard touchdown throw. The Saints also held Boyle to negative yards rushing, and the Maroons were under 100 yards total on the ground. Those are some good defensive numbers against the defending 4A champs.
Xavier also had a great goal line stand, keeping Dowling out of the end zone at the end of the first quarter/start of the second. And the third quarter belonged to the Saints, as Dowling gave up a safety and then had two three-and-outs while Xavier mounted their lone offensive drive of the game, picking up three or four first downs. Unfortunately that drive ended on a rushed field goal attempt that fell well short.
The Saints do have a lot of work to do on the offensive side, true. Bryce Schulte was hurried a lot of the time, and when he did get good protection his accuracy was spotty. When he did have good throws, the receivers had the dropsies. Schulte also threw two really bad passes, both intercepted and both setting up Dowling touchdowns. The running game was mostly ineffective - although some misdirection plays got good yardage, about the best gain was on a fake punt.
It all comes down to the lines. Xavier is breaking in new players on the left side of the O-line, and it showed. I do expect improvement throughout the season. This was the number 1 ranked 4A team in the state they were going against, after all.
A short turnaround to a Thursday game this week, and another salty defense to go up against. Davenport Assumption had one of the top defenses in the 4A MAC last year, and return several of those starters. The Knights did get pasted by Bettendorf 41-6 last week, so it doesn't necessarily seem that defense is all that. But, a Bettendorf-Dowling 4A championship game isn't out of the question this November. The Bulldogs that smashed Assumption are a good team, with an offense clicking much better than Xavier's in the opener. This matchup of former 4A teams now in 3A districts is not going to be an easy one for the Saints. I don't think I would be looking for lots of points in this one.
Once again, we're dealing with a Kernels baseball conflict on the radio. We will have the game on KMRY following the Kernels' playoff game at Burlington. I would expect our delayed coverage to start around 9:45 or 10, depending on weather and how the baseball game goes. This will be our last baseball conflict, though - September 12 will be live when the Saints host what's shaping up to be a tremendous Solon team.
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