We all knew coming into the season that Xavier had an abundance of speed. Sean Murphy and Nick Stark, for example, had proved in 2014 that they were hard to catch in the open field. Maliki Wilson had a great year at tailback on the sophomore squad, and he was ready to move up to varsity. Couple that with a pretty smart, experienced junior quarterback in Bryce Schulte, and you figured the Saints were going to be able to move the ball downfield pretty well.
We're four games into the 2015 season. Here's a couple of numbers for you. The Saints have scored 17 touchdowns so far. The average length of scoring plays?
It's 34.6 yards.
That's freakin' unbelievable. Putting up 17 touchdowns in 4 games is good, but not outrageously high scoring ... but averaging nearly 35 yards on each touchdown play? That's ridiculous. It does make you wonder, can Xavier continue to count on the big plays throughout the rest of the season and playoffs, or are we living in a fools' paradise, as they say on the Swiffer commercial?
Let's move on to last Friday night's contest at Maquoketa. Going into the game, we had a matchup between the two teams at the top of Class 3A District 4 - both Xavier and Maquoketa were 2-0 in the district, with Xavier at 3-0 overall and the Cardinals at 3-1. Maquoketa had a rough go of things in 2014, with an extremely young team loaded with sophomores and juniors finding their way. At least in the early going this year, those now-juniors and now-seniors looked to have figured it out. Their only loss was to powerhouse West Delaware, and they were coming off a stirring comeback win over Dubuque Wahlert - after falling behind with 35 seconds left, Jacob Kloft returned the kickoff all the way for the winning touchdown. The Cardinals' resurgent season took a step back, though, with the 42-13 loss to Xavier on Friday.
The tone of the game was set on the second play. The snap went over the head of Maquoketa quarterback Justin Snyder, and the loose ball was recovered by Xavier's Nolan Armstrong at the 16. On the next play, Wilson carried over the right side and into the end zone, and the Saints were up less than a minute into the game.
Let's not forget to praise Xavier's defense in this early season run. Coach Jim O'Connell has his guys playing typical lights-out Xavier defense, flying to the ball and doing a fine job of shutting things down. This game wasn't much different, as the Cardinals managed only 4 first downs in the entire first half (including one by penalty and one on the next-to-last play of the half). After the D stopped Maquoketa on two three-and-outs, the Saints offense shifted into high gear.
Xavier scored on all but one possession of the first half. A 15-yard run by Wilson made it 14-0. Schulte fired a deep pass to Stark as he ran past his defender across midfield, and he pulled away for the 72-yard TD just before the first quarter ended. On the second play of the second quarter, Wilson started on a sweep left. It was plugged up by Maquoketa, so he reversed his field all the way to the right sideline, picking up some blocks (including a nice one from Schulte), then spinning past the final defender for a 65-yard TD run. The next time the Saints had the ball, Schulte threw a high lob over two leaping Maquoketa defenders that fell into the hands of Nolan Butkowski for a 20-yard scoring pass. And to cap off the first half, Wilson's 56-yard run got Xavier rolling, and his 16-yard touchdown made it 42-0. That run put Wilson right around 200 yards rushing with 4 touchdowns ... in the first half. The four scores tied a Xavier school record. For a game, not just a half.
With the continuous clock running and the scout teamers in the game, the second half went by quickly. Maquoketa finally got on the board early in the fourth quarter, taking advantage of a long punt return by Kloft into the red zone, with a 17-yard pass from Snyder to Lincoln Aunan for the score. The Cardinals' woes didn't stop, though. Cam Thede, likely the best kicker in District 4 (he hadn't missed an extra point and was 6 of 7 on field goals, including a 43-yarder), kicked the extra-point try directly into the line of blockers ahead of him. Maquoketa got another touchdown on a pass from Aunan to Andy Ahrens to stop the continuous clock, but there were only 36 seconds left.
A couple of notes about Goodenow Field - I thought it was charming. And I mean all the positive and negative things that can go along with such an adjective. Visitor seating was small, the press box was cramped, parking was catch-as-catch-can, the high school locker rooms were three-quarters of a mile away so the teams had to bus back and forth ... but it was still a neat atmosphere. The field itself was in fantastic shape. Even though there wasn't much for bleachers, a hillside wrapped around the west side of the field, allowing grass seating for the Xavier student section, along with others. The city water tower loomed over the west side, as well, and you could see the middle school building just about a half-block away (obviously that was the original high school building, so the location of the football field made sense at that time). Energetic music played loudly during pregame warmups, making it almost a college-type atmosphere. And the Maquoketa team ran down the northwest hillside, through an archway labeled "Alumni Alley," to take the field as they were introduced. I thought it was a pretty neat, for a small-town environment. Different than what Xavier players and fans are used to back in the 4A days, but this is 3A football. Charming. That's a good description.
With Maquoketa dispatched, it appears Xavier has a pretty good hold at the top of District 4 - although I think I said the same thing last season, when Western Dubuque came to Saints Field and left with a 7-6 victory (a really odd game, though - Schulte did not complete a pass in the rain, Xavier's only touchdown came from the defense, and a bad snap cost them the extra point and the game, it turned out). Western Dubuque is struggling mightily this season, however, and while the Saints can't afford to overlook anybody, it seems this year's Xavier team is capable of handling the Bobcats in Epworth this coming Friday. After that it's Wahlert for homecoming (the Golden Eagles were neck and neck with Maquoketa, then came from behind to defeat Western Dubuque last week), the non-district match with Iowa City Regina, and then a Marion squad that's really, really searching to get anything going. So, again, I said this last year and turned out to be wrong, but at this point it appears Xavier is in the driver's seat for the District 4 title. It also may be shaping up for a possible matchup of 6-0 Xavier against 7-0 Regina in Iowa City on October 16, which would be a huge, huge game here in eastern Iowa. Or is it yooge? Is that how we're saying it these days?
Sunday, September 27, 2015
Saturday, September 26, 2015
Playoff Thoughts at the Halfway Point
We're just past halfway through the 2015 high school football regular season. With a month of games yet to play, doesn't it seem like a great time to predict everything that's going to happen with 16- and 17-year old high school students playing contests of skill (and luck) in the entire state over the next four games? And then figure on what will happen with playoff matchups? Why, certainly! What could go wrong?
It's a way too early guess at how things might shake out. Only a guess, though ... I'm far too certain of my own fallibility to ever try and gamble at sports. Or much of anything else, really.
But, hey ... let's go! Records are district-only; playoff qualifiers are in bold; ties are broken by my best guess.
DISTRICT 1
Sergeant Bluff-Luton 6-0
Bishop Heelan, Sioux City 5-1
Boyden-Hull-Rock Valley 4-2
Spencer 3-3
Storm Lake 2-4
Le Mars 1-5
Denison-Schleswig 0-6
DISTRICT 2
Webster City 6-0
Carroll 4-2
Algona 4-2
Greene County 3-3
Boone 2-4
Humboldt 2-4
Perry 0-6
DISTRICT 3
West Delaware 6-0
Independence 5-1
Crestwood 4-2
Decorah 3-3
Waverly-Shell Rock 2-4
Vinton-Shellsburg 1-5
Charles City 0-6
DISTRICT 4
Xavier 6-0
Solon 5-1
Maquoketa 4-2
Dubuque Wahlert 3-3
Western Dubuque 2-4
Central DeWitt 1-5
Marion 0-6
DISTRICT 5
Davenport Assumption 6-0
Washington 5-1
Clear Creek-Amana 4-2
Keokuk 3-3
Fairfield 2-4
Mt. Pleasant 1-5
Ft. Madison 0-6
DISTRICT 6
Bondurant-Farrar 6-0
Gilbert 5-1
Ballard 4-2
Grinnell 3-3
Benton Community 2-4
Nevada 1-5
Newton 0-6
DISTRICT 7
Pella 6-0
Norwalk 5-1
Carlisle 4-2
Chariton 2-4
Oskaloosa 2-4
Knoxville 2-4
Saydel 0-6
It's a way too early guess at how things might shake out. Only a guess, though ... I'm far too certain of my own fallibility to ever try and gamble at sports. Or much of anything else, really.
But, hey ... let's go! Records are district-only; playoff qualifiers are in bold; ties are broken by my best guess.
DISTRICT 1
Sergeant Bluff-Luton 6-0
Bishop Heelan, Sioux City 5-1
Boyden-Hull-Rock Valley 4-2
Spencer 3-3
Storm Lake 2-4
Le Mars 1-5
Denison-Schleswig 0-6
DISTRICT 2
Webster City 6-0
Carroll 4-2
Algona 4-2
Greene County 3-3
Boone 2-4
Humboldt 2-4
Perry 0-6
DISTRICT 3
West Delaware 6-0
Independence 5-1
Crestwood 4-2
Decorah 3-3
Waverly-Shell Rock 2-4
Vinton-Shellsburg 1-5
Charles City 0-6
DISTRICT 4
Xavier 6-0
Solon 5-1
Maquoketa 4-2
Dubuque Wahlert 3-3
Western Dubuque 2-4
Central DeWitt 1-5
Marion 0-6
DISTRICT 5
Davenport Assumption 6-0
Washington 5-1
Clear Creek-Amana 4-2
Keokuk 3-3
Fairfield 2-4
Mt. Pleasant 1-5
Ft. Madison 0-6
DISTRICT 6
Bondurant-Farrar 6-0
Gilbert 5-1
Ballard 4-2
Grinnell 3-3
Benton Community 2-4
Nevada 1-5
Newton 0-6
DISTRICT 7
Pella 6-0
Norwalk 5-1
Carlisle 4-2
Chariton 2-4
Oskaloosa 2-4
Knoxville 2-4
Saydel 0-6
DISTRICT 8
Glenwood 5-1
Dallas Center-Grimes 5-1
Harlan 5-1
Creston 3-3
Winterset 2-4
ADM 1-5
Atlantic 0-6
Dallas Center-Grimes 5-1
Harlan 5-1
Creston 3-3
Winterset 2-4
ADM 1-5
Atlantic 0-6
PLAYOFF PAIRINGS
A few things to remember: in the first round, travel is limited to 125 miles. While the state will attempt to avoid rematches, especially within districts, sometimes there just isn't any alternative. The first round is 4th place at 1st place and 3rd place at 2nd place.
In the second round, while the 125-mile limit does not apply, the state will still try to keep travel reasonable and avoid rematches to the extent possible. Also, district champions are not allowed to face each other in the second round. Home teams are determined by highest district finish - ties are broken by alphabetical order, this year.
By the quarterfinals, all bets are off. The state will just try to set pairings that make some geographic sense.
Here we go, along with my wild-eyed shots in the dark at who might win in the first two rounds:
FIRST ROUND
Greene County at Sergeant Bluff-Luton
Spencer at Webster City
Dubuque Wahlert at West Delaware
Decorah at Xavier
Keokuk at Davenport Assumption (district rematch: it's either this, or Decorah goes to West Delaware with Keokuk at Xavier and Wahlert at Assumption. Since D-3 already has to have a rematch in the 2-3 game, I went this way)
Grinnell at Pella
Chariton at Bondurant-Farrar
Creston at Glenwood (district rematch: Glenwood is far away from everybody)
Boyden-Hull-Rock Valley at Sioux City Heelan (district rematch)
Carlisle at Carroll
Crestwood at Independence (district rematch: Crestwood is far away, too)
Clear Creek-Amana at Solon
Maquoketa at Washington
Algona at Gilbert
Harlan at Norwalk (this would be a fantastic first-round matchup)
Ballard at Dallas Center-Grimes
SECOND ROUND (with my wacky predicted first-round winners)
Harlan at Sergeant Bluff-Luton
Carlisle at Webster City
Washington at West Delaware
Independence at Xavier
Solon at Davenport Assumption
Gilbert at Pella
Dallas Center-Grimes at Bondurant-Farrar
Sioux City Heelan at Glenwood
QUARTERFINALS
Sioux City Heelan at Sergeant Bluff-Luton
Carlisle at Dallas Center-Grimes
West Delaware at Davenport Assumption
Xavier at Pella
That is a standout assortment of quarterfinal games, right there, that is.
And that's what I have for you here, after Week 5 of the 2015 season. More updates will be coming as conditions warrant - and they will! Nothing ever goes to plan, you know.
Sunday, September 20, 2015
A Little Rain Never Hurt Nobody
This season has been one of the most bizarre weather-wise I can remember. Going all the way back to my own playing days, in the 1980s (actually early '70s if you include middle school), I can remember just one JV game that was delayed and then canceled. And that was due to sleet, not lightning! We were all excited and ready to play in that stuff, but the grownups told us no.
Anyhow, I can't recall severe weather and lightning having this much impact on a season in, well, forever. I've been attending Xavier games since 2006. I've sat through torrential rain (Iowa City, 2008), bitter cold (Prairie at Xavier, 2006, and at Prairie in 2009, among others) and blistering heat (many times, including at Assumption last year and Assumption at Xavier this year ... what is it with Assumption?). But in all that time, there have been no delays because of lightning until 2013. That particular delay, at Dubuque in Week One, was ridiculous anyway, as the thunderstorm was 30 miles away well into Illinois and moving away. But then, we had another thunderstorm delay at last year's opening game in West Des Moines. That was it. Two delays in nine years, both in August. (There was also a game at Xavier in 2013, I think, that moved the kickoff up to 5:00 to beat a late-night storm system, so we had that, too.)
Here's what's happened in 2015. A long-lived storm system that kept throwing lightning bolts at 15 to 20 minute intervals ended up canceling the season opener (although you can also lay a lot of the blame for cancellation at the grave of the MVC and the feet of district football - in the MVC days, you were going to get all nine of your games in somehow because they all counted for playoff purposes. Not so with non-district games). The next week, as mentioned, one of the hottest days of the year. For the third game, at Solon, conditions were near perfect, nice and cool. Then last Friday. The forecast was for generally heavy rain and possible thunderstorms moving into eastern Iowa by mid-afternoon, and continuing through the evening. Some meteorologists (*cough* KCRG *cough*) said most of the weather would stay south of Interstate 80, but it was seen as a pretty good bet that the weather would be bad Friday afternoon and evening.
That is indeed what happened. In fact, the first of the thunderstorms moved into Cedar Rapids around 2:00, a little ahead of schedule. Naturally, the move by several area schools was to move up the kickoff time, to earlier than 7:15. I could guess that wasn't going to help with the weather already here, but the advantage was if things improved in the late afternoon/early evening, the varsity could get underway maybe a little early and get the game in even with any possible delays during play.
That ended up working well in Cedar Rapids. Game starts at Xavier, Kingston Stadium and Marion got pushed back to nearly 6:00, after some lightning just before 5:00, but those games were completed without additional delays. Iowa City and the Quad Cities area weren't quite so lucky, with games in Iowa City and Pleasant Valley not finishing up until nearly midnight thanks to lightning during the evening hours.
At Saints Field, what both Xavier and Central-DeWitt had to cope with was torrential rain. Sheets of rain. Buckets of rain. It would occasionally let up, and nearly stop, but the torrents always came back. Typically this type of weather favors a running game, and Central-DeWitt's flexbone offense is nothing if not a running attack. Xavier had pretty good success with Maliki Wilson in their first two games (over 100 yards each week), but they hadn't shown many options other than that.
So of course, we ended up with a school record-tying five touchdown passes and over 200 yards through the air by Bryce Schulte as the Saints rolled to a 42-6 win. Naturally. It turned out the Sabers were not only a good rushing team, but also pretty good at shutting down the run, as the Saints struggled to get much offense going early. Xavier scored on their opening drive, with a nice pass from Schulte to a leaping Blake Whitten in the corner of the end zone, but they didn't get another first down until 3:24 was left in the half. The Sabers weren't doing much better against a sturdy Xavier defense, amassing -1 yards of total offense in the first quarter. Central-DeWitt had just three plays that went more than 3 yards in the entire first half, and managed just three first downs (and one of those was a touchdown).
Special teams and turnovers can be backbreakers in bad weather games. The Sabers looked to gain an advantage there midway through the second quarter, when they blocked a Ryan Jasper punt and recovered at the 3. Two plays later quarterback TJ Sikkema drove his way in from the 1 on the QB keeper, but Xavier still led 7-6 after the extra point try snap went through the holder's hands. Schulte and the Xavier offense got things going a possession later. After a great Nick Stark punt return to the Central-DeWitt 27, on the next play Schulte and Stark got together for the touchdown pass, with Stark going down the right sideline and diving for the pylon. Xavier forced a Saber punt, then got rolling from their 23 behind Wilson, who picked up 44 yards on four carries to the Central-DeWitt 33. With about 19 seconds left, Schulte found Stark again for the score, Stark's fifth TD catch of the year, and the Saints had a 21-6 halftime lead.
Even with the miserable conditions, it was clear that the Saber pass defenders were not able to keep up with Xavier's receivers. As long as Schulte could get the wet ball to his target, the passing attack was going to go the Saints' way. And that it did. After both teams traded drives in the third quarter, Xavier started out on their 40 after stopping Central-DeWitt on a 4th and 7. Schulte threw to Sean Murphy in the right flat. Murphy spun his way past the first tackler, then put a move on the second. He motored his way past a third, then picked up some blockers as he raced the rest of the way for the 60-yard touchdown. Schulte still wasn't finished. On the second play of the next possession, he found Whitten on a skinny post down the right seam. Whitten juggled the ball initially, then tucked it away, and found the middle of the field wide open. He turned on the jets, crossing to the left sideline and outrunning Sikkema for an 84-yard touchdown play to put Xavier ahead 35-6 with about a minute left in the third. The fifth TD pass of the game for Schulte tied the school record, held by his brother Reggie, who threw five in a 2012 playoff game against Iowa City High.
That was just about it. Central-DeWitt ran only five plays after that, one a fumble at their 30 that set up another Xavier touchdown (a 19-yard run by Spencer Dempewolf), then Xavier ate up almost the entire fourth quarter with a 12-play drive, all runs, that ended with a turnover on downs at the Saber 9 as the clock ran out.
A solid performance by Xavier, particularly by the defense, who held the Sabers to under 100 yards of total offense and allowed just one pass completion. The running game had problems getting going with Central-DeWitt selling out to stop Wilson, but Schulte's ability to complete 8 out of 10 in terrible conditions was key (he actually completed one of those other two to his intended receiver, but he came down out of bounds). I had thought coming in that this was going to be a rebuilding year for Central-DeWitt, and it kind of looks like that is correct. They do have some good size on the lines, especially on defense, but not a lot of speed.
On to next week at Maquoketa, and hopefully better weather conditions (particularly as the KMRY broadcast team very well might have to be sitting outside at Goodenow Field. That pressbox is tiny). The Cardinals postponed their game to Saturday afternoon because of the weather, and ended up winning a thriller against Dubuque Wahlert. The Golden Eagles scored with 35 seconds left to take a 14-10 lead, but Jacob Kloft returned the kickoff all the way for a touchdown to give Maquoketa the 17-14 win. Xavier and Maquoketa currently sit atop the District 4 standings, both at 2-0 (Xavier is 3-0 overall, Maquoketa 3-1). Just like I didn't think this would be a good year for Central-DeWitt, Maquoketa is fulfilling my expectations of a real bounceback after last year's disaster. Almost everybody who played for the Cardinals in 2014 is back, with experience under their belts and a growing sense of confidence. This game Friday is shaping up to be a nice midseason district battle for the lead.
After next week's games, I'll take an early look at how Class 3A is shaping up statewide. So you can look forward to that! It might even be pumpkin-spiced!
Anyhow, I can't recall severe weather and lightning having this much impact on a season in, well, forever. I've been attending Xavier games since 2006. I've sat through torrential rain (Iowa City, 2008), bitter cold (Prairie at Xavier, 2006, and at Prairie in 2009, among others) and blistering heat (many times, including at Assumption last year and Assumption at Xavier this year ... what is it with Assumption?). But in all that time, there have been no delays because of lightning until 2013. That particular delay, at Dubuque in Week One, was ridiculous anyway, as the thunderstorm was 30 miles away well into Illinois and moving away. But then, we had another thunderstorm delay at last year's opening game in West Des Moines. That was it. Two delays in nine years, both in August. (There was also a game at Xavier in 2013, I think, that moved the kickoff up to 5:00 to beat a late-night storm system, so we had that, too.)
Here's what's happened in 2015. A long-lived storm system that kept throwing lightning bolts at 15 to 20 minute intervals ended up canceling the season opener (although you can also lay a lot of the blame for cancellation at the grave of the MVC and the feet of district football - in the MVC days, you were going to get all nine of your games in somehow because they all counted for playoff purposes. Not so with non-district games). The next week, as mentioned, one of the hottest days of the year. For the third game, at Solon, conditions were near perfect, nice and cool. Then last Friday. The forecast was for generally heavy rain and possible thunderstorms moving into eastern Iowa by mid-afternoon, and continuing through the evening. Some meteorologists (*cough* KCRG *cough*) said most of the weather would stay south of Interstate 80, but it was seen as a pretty good bet that the weather would be bad Friday afternoon and evening.
That is indeed what happened. In fact, the first of the thunderstorms moved into Cedar Rapids around 2:00, a little ahead of schedule. Naturally, the move by several area schools was to move up the kickoff time, to earlier than 7:15. I could guess that wasn't going to help with the weather already here, but the advantage was if things improved in the late afternoon/early evening, the varsity could get underway maybe a little early and get the game in even with any possible delays during play.
That ended up working well in Cedar Rapids. Game starts at Xavier, Kingston Stadium and Marion got pushed back to nearly 6:00, after some lightning just before 5:00, but those games were completed without additional delays. Iowa City and the Quad Cities area weren't quite so lucky, with games in Iowa City and Pleasant Valley not finishing up until nearly midnight thanks to lightning during the evening hours.
At Saints Field, what both Xavier and Central-DeWitt had to cope with was torrential rain. Sheets of rain. Buckets of rain. It would occasionally let up, and nearly stop, but the torrents always came back. Typically this type of weather favors a running game, and Central-DeWitt's flexbone offense is nothing if not a running attack. Xavier had pretty good success with Maliki Wilson in their first two games (over 100 yards each week), but they hadn't shown many options other than that.
So of course, we ended up with a school record-tying five touchdown passes and over 200 yards through the air by Bryce Schulte as the Saints rolled to a 42-6 win. Naturally. It turned out the Sabers were not only a good rushing team, but also pretty good at shutting down the run, as the Saints struggled to get much offense going early. Xavier scored on their opening drive, with a nice pass from Schulte to a leaping Blake Whitten in the corner of the end zone, but they didn't get another first down until 3:24 was left in the half. The Sabers weren't doing much better against a sturdy Xavier defense, amassing -1 yards of total offense in the first quarter. Central-DeWitt had just three plays that went more than 3 yards in the entire first half, and managed just three first downs (and one of those was a touchdown).
Special teams and turnovers can be backbreakers in bad weather games. The Sabers looked to gain an advantage there midway through the second quarter, when they blocked a Ryan Jasper punt and recovered at the 3. Two plays later quarterback TJ Sikkema drove his way in from the 1 on the QB keeper, but Xavier still led 7-6 after the extra point try snap went through the holder's hands. Schulte and the Xavier offense got things going a possession later. After a great Nick Stark punt return to the Central-DeWitt 27, on the next play Schulte and Stark got together for the touchdown pass, with Stark going down the right sideline and diving for the pylon. Xavier forced a Saber punt, then got rolling from their 23 behind Wilson, who picked up 44 yards on four carries to the Central-DeWitt 33. With about 19 seconds left, Schulte found Stark again for the score, Stark's fifth TD catch of the year, and the Saints had a 21-6 halftime lead.
Even with the miserable conditions, it was clear that the Saber pass defenders were not able to keep up with Xavier's receivers. As long as Schulte could get the wet ball to his target, the passing attack was going to go the Saints' way. And that it did. After both teams traded drives in the third quarter, Xavier started out on their 40 after stopping Central-DeWitt on a 4th and 7. Schulte threw to Sean Murphy in the right flat. Murphy spun his way past the first tackler, then put a move on the second. He motored his way past a third, then picked up some blockers as he raced the rest of the way for the 60-yard touchdown. Schulte still wasn't finished. On the second play of the next possession, he found Whitten on a skinny post down the right seam. Whitten juggled the ball initially, then tucked it away, and found the middle of the field wide open. He turned on the jets, crossing to the left sideline and outrunning Sikkema for an 84-yard touchdown play to put Xavier ahead 35-6 with about a minute left in the third. The fifth TD pass of the game for Schulte tied the school record, held by his brother Reggie, who threw five in a 2012 playoff game against Iowa City High.
That was just about it. Central-DeWitt ran only five plays after that, one a fumble at their 30 that set up another Xavier touchdown (a 19-yard run by Spencer Dempewolf), then Xavier ate up almost the entire fourth quarter with a 12-play drive, all runs, that ended with a turnover on downs at the Saber 9 as the clock ran out.
A solid performance by Xavier, particularly by the defense, who held the Sabers to under 100 yards of total offense and allowed just one pass completion. The running game had problems getting going with Central-DeWitt selling out to stop Wilson, but Schulte's ability to complete 8 out of 10 in terrible conditions was key (he actually completed one of those other two to his intended receiver, but he came down out of bounds). I had thought coming in that this was going to be a rebuilding year for Central-DeWitt, and it kind of looks like that is correct. They do have some good size on the lines, especially on defense, but not a lot of speed.
On to next week at Maquoketa, and hopefully better weather conditions (particularly as the KMRY broadcast team very well might have to be sitting outside at Goodenow Field. That pressbox is tiny). The Cardinals postponed their game to Saturday afternoon because of the weather, and ended up winning a thriller against Dubuque Wahlert. The Golden Eagles scored with 35 seconds left to take a 14-10 lead, but Jacob Kloft returned the kickoff all the way for a touchdown to give Maquoketa the 17-14 win. Xavier and Maquoketa currently sit atop the District 4 standings, both at 2-0 (Xavier is 3-0 overall, Maquoketa 3-1). Just like I didn't think this would be a good year for Central-DeWitt, Maquoketa is fulfilling my expectations of a real bounceback after last year's disaster. Almost everybody who played for the Cardinals in 2014 is back, with experience under their belts and a growing sense of confidence. This game Friday is shaping up to be a nice midseason district battle for the lead.
After next week's games, I'll take an early look at how Class 3A is shaping up statewide. So you can look forward to that! It might even be pumpkin-spiced!
Sunday, September 13, 2015
Oh My Gosh and Holy Moly
As Sting said in the timeless classic De Do Do Do De Da Da, words are hard to find. But don't think me unkind if I try to come up with some to describe a terrifically entertaining high school football game between Xavier and Solon last Friday night.
(I could mention Katy Perry here, with last Friday night and all, but I shall resist.)
Going into the game, most observers expected a pretty good battle. Solon has been a longtime powerhouse in eastern Iowa football, winning four straight state championships between 2007 and 2010 while going 54-1 in that period. The Spartans haven't exactly struggled since moving up to Class 3A in 2010, finishing second or better in their district each year and never winning fewer than 8 games. Kevin Miller had won 143 games in 13 years as head coach. That's a ton (Xavier's Duane Schulte had 124 wins with the Saints in his 18th season coming into this game).
Being the two prohibitive District 4 favorites going in, the winner of this matchup was going to take a strong step forward towards the district title. Western Dubuque, who finished third last year while defeating Xavier 7-6, ended up losing to Maquoketa on Friday. Central-DeWitt is 0-3 after dropping their game at Dubuque Wahlert. Marion is also 0-3, losing in the final seconds to Class 2A Cascade. Maquoketa is looking stronger after last year's terrible season, and Wahlert seems to be okay ... but it's hard at this point to identify a solid challenger to either Solon or Xavier. So naturally, the first week of district play puts those two strong programs together.
If you saw Xavier's first contest against Davenport Assumption, you saw a lot of yardage being given up on kickoff returns. That ended up a harbinger of things to come, as Graeson Dall took the opening kick at his own 16 and went pretty much untouched down the field for an 84-yard touchdown return. Right off the bat, the Saints found themselves behind - again, similar to the week before, when Assumption needed only 5 plays to drive the field and score a touchdown. This was just marginally faster.
The Saints responded. Maliki Wilson ripped off a 21-yard run to start off the opening series, and nine plays later Bryce Schulte tossed an 8-yard scoring pass to Nick Stark. It was all tied up with 7:16 to go in the first quarter. Early in the second, after an exchange of possessions, Solon found themselves in an awkward position - 4th and 7 at the Xavier 34. Too far out to try a field goal, too close to count on much of a punt. Coach Miller sent the Spartans out in punt formation anyway, but did you know Solon's punter, Brandan Childs, is also one of their quarterbacks? We knew it up in the booth. I bet the Xavier coaches knew it. The Xavier defense, though, apparently forgot. Childs took the snap and threw downfield to Matt Roeder, who got behind his defender and scored fairly easily to put Solon up 13-7. Childs, however, missed the extra point try.
Through the second quarter we go. Xavier intercepted Blayze Griffis at the 14, but five plays later the Saints fumbled the ball back to Solon at the Spartan 26. Only one first down was to be had by either team after that play, however, and we reached the half still 13-7 Solon.
Wilson opened the second half for Xavier with yet another 21-yard run (he actually averaged 13 yards a carry for the six times he was given the ball to start a possession, which is sort of a weird stat but actually kind of meaningful). The Saints, though, couldn't keep things going and ended up punting to Solon. The Spartans started at their 39, and in the mirror image of the lightning-strike opening kickoff return, ground together a 13-play drive on their first possession of the second half. Solon converted on fourth down twice in this drive, once with a 5-yard pass on 4th and 3, then again with a big diving catch by Nate Christensen for a 24-yard gain on ... 4th and 24. That set up a 3-yard Dall TD run with 3:28 left in the third. Solon's two-point try was no good (Xavier has not allowed a successful two-point attempt since at least 2013), and their lead was 19-7.
Xavier responded by throwing an interception - just Schulte's second since last year's opening game. But one possession later, the Saints found what they needed. Starting at their 15, Xavier put together a 10-play drive, converting three 3rd downs along the way (including one big pass interference call), which was capped by Wilson's tough 12-yard run past and through several Solon tacklers. That made it a five-point game at 19-14. The teams traded possessions - Xavier's defense looking strong, holding Solon to 1 total yard over two series - but the Saints were only able to get one first down.
Then with just about three minutes left to play, Childs' punt was downed at the Xavier 7. Schulte's first-down pass was incomplete. On second down, Schulte quickly threw a backwards pass to the left sideline, where Nolan Butkowski was split wide. Butkowski grabbed the lateral, turned, and heaved the ball downfield to an open Blake Whitten at the Xavier 42. On the next play, Schulte was stopped for no gain. Then, the real "Wow" moment. Schulte dropped back, looked down the middle of the field for Stark. Stark got a step on his man running the post pattern. The ball was lofted perfectly, the Solon defender reaching for it but missing as he fell to the turf, then the ball settled into Stark's hands and he raced the rest of the way for the 58-yard touchdown to put Xavier ahead for the first time.
Coach Schulte wasn't done with his shenanigans. On the two-point try, the snap went directly to Wilson in the wildcat formation. He ran to his left, then handed the ball to Sean Murphy on the reverse. Murphy looked like he wanted to throw, then saw some space near the right pylon and turned on the speed. At the last minute, though, he pulled up and tossed the ball to Schulte in the end zone for the conversion. That put Xavier up by 3, 22-19, with 2:03 left to play.
Now it was Solon's turn to respond. The Spartans had not picked up a first down since their opening drive of the third quarter, picking up a total of 4 positive yards in three offensive possessions. That changed right away. Griffis hit Halston Durr for 12, then again for 6. Xavier was flagged for pass interference. Childs ripped off a fine 13-yard run, then Griffis to Christensen for 3. The ball was at the Xavier 21, there was still just over a minute left to play, and the lead was only three.
Once again, let's hearken back to the week before. Xavier's defense stepped up big in the first quarter (an end-zone interception kept Assumption from going up by two scores early), and in the fourth (an interception at the 5 ended one scoring attempt, and Caleb Billick's fumble recovery sealed the game at the end). For the second game in a row, the Saints defense got the key turnover at the key moment. Griffis went back to pass, facing a ferocious rush by Bryce Charipar. He tossed the ball down the right seam to a receiver inside the 10, but Billick (again!) got to the ball, juggling it before tucking it away for the interception at the 9, causing me to interject "Oh my gosh!" and even a "holy moly!" on the radio airwaves. Xavier only had to run out the final seconds for the win.
This was a real gut check for Xavier, facing a strong, determined Solon squad looking for payback for last year's 28-0 loss. The Saints fell behind early, fought back once, then fell behind by 12 points in the second half. They were able to find their way to two fourth-quarter scores and complete the comeback. Likewise, this has to really hurt for the Spartans. They had Xavier down, they were certainly slowing down the Saint offensive attack, and they had big players making big plays (Dall on the kick return, Childs and Roeder out of punt formation, Griffis and Christensen on 4th and 24). It still didn't end up being enough.
Again, it's very likely these two teams will end up at the top of District 4 come the end of October. I do think Maquoketa is much improved over last year, but I don't know if they can match up with either of these schools. Dubuque Wahlert is doing their thing, but I have similar doubts about that matchup. Of course, eating words is something I have experience with ... at about this time last season, nobody was predicting a Western Dubuque win at Saints Field. All these contests have to be played out on the field, not on paper, and funny bounces can happen. What Xavier and Solon did show, however, was what a game between two highly motivated, competitive, proud, solid programs can look like. And it was a humdinger.
(I could mention Katy Perry here, with last Friday night and all, but I shall resist.)
Going into the game, most observers expected a pretty good battle. Solon has been a longtime powerhouse in eastern Iowa football, winning four straight state championships between 2007 and 2010 while going 54-1 in that period. The Spartans haven't exactly struggled since moving up to Class 3A in 2010, finishing second or better in their district each year and never winning fewer than 8 games. Kevin Miller had won 143 games in 13 years as head coach. That's a ton (Xavier's Duane Schulte had 124 wins with the Saints in his 18th season coming into this game).
Being the two prohibitive District 4 favorites going in, the winner of this matchup was going to take a strong step forward towards the district title. Western Dubuque, who finished third last year while defeating Xavier 7-6, ended up losing to Maquoketa on Friday. Central-DeWitt is 0-3 after dropping their game at Dubuque Wahlert. Marion is also 0-3, losing in the final seconds to Class 2A Cascade. Maquoketa is looking stronger after last year's terrible season, and Wahlert seems to be okay ... but it's hard at this point to identify a solid challenger to either Solon or Xavier. So naturally, the first week of district play puts those two strong programs together.
If you saw Xavier's first contest against Davenport Assumption, you saw a lot of yardage being given up on kickoff returns. That ended up a harbinger of things to come, as Graeson Dall took the opening kick at his own 16 and went pretty much untouched down the field for an 84-yard touchdown return. Right off the bat, the Saints found themselves behind - again, similar to the week before, when Assumption needed only 5 plays to drive the field and score a touchdown. This was just marginally faster.
The Saints responded. Maliki Wilson ripped off a 21-yard run to start off the opening series, and nine plays later Bryce Schulte tossed an 8-yard scoring pass to Nick Stark. It was all tied up with 7:16 to go in the first quarter. Early in the second, after an exchange of possessions, Solon found themselves in an awkward position - 4th and 7 at the Xavier 34. Too far out to try a field goal, too close to count on much of a punt. Coach Miller sent the Spartans out in punt formation anyway, but did you know Solon's punter, Brandan Childs, is also one of their quarterbacks? We knew it up in the booth. I bet the Xavier coaches knew it. The Xavier defense, though, apparently forgot. Childs took the snap and threw downfield to Matt Roeder, who got behind his defender and scored fairly easily to put Solon up 13-7. Childs, however, missed the extra point try.
Through the second quarter we go. Xavier intercepted Blayze Griffis at the 14, but five plays later the Saints fumbled the ball back to Solon at the Spartan 26. Only one first down was to be had by either team after that play, however, and we reached the half still 13-7 Solon.
Wilson opened the second half for Xavier with yet another 21-yard run (he actually averaged 13 yards a carry for the six times he was given the ball to start a possession, which is sort of a weird stat but actually kind of meaningful). The Saints, though, couldn't keep things going and ended up punting to Solon. The Spartans started at their 39, and in the mirror image of the lightning-strike opening kickoff return, ground together a 13-play drive on their first possession of the second half. Solon converted on fourth down twice in this drive, once with a 5-yard pass on 4th and 3, then again with a big diving catch by Nate Christensen for a 24-yard gain on ... 4th and 24. That set up a 3-yard Dall TD run with 3:28 left in the third. Solon's two-point try was no good (Xavier has not allowed a successful two-point attempt since at least 2013), and their lead was 19-7.
Xavier responded by throwing an interception - just Schulte's second since last year's opening game. But one possession later, the Saints found what they needed. Starting at their 15, Xavier put together a 10-play drive, converting three 3rd downs along the way (including one big pass interference call), which was capped by Wilson's tough 12-yard run past and through several Solon tacklers. That made it a five-point game at 19-14. The teams traded possessions - Xavier's defense looking strong, holding Solon to 1 total yard over two series - but the Saints were only able to get one first down.
Then with just about three minutes left to play, Childs' punt was downed at the Xavier 7. Schulte's first-down pass was incomplete. On second down, Schulte quickly threw a backwards pass to the left sideline, where Nolan Butkowski was split wide. Butkowski grabbed the lateral, turned, and heaved the ball downfield to an open Blake Whitten at the Xavier 42. On the next play, Schulte was stopped for no gain. Then, the real "Wow" moment. Schulte dropped back, looked down the middle of the field for Stark. Stark got a step on his man running the post pattern. The ball was lofted perfectly, the Solon defender reaching for it but missing as he fell to the turf, then the ball settled into Stark's hands and he raced the rest of the way for the 58-yard touchdown to put Xavier ahead for the first time.
Coach Schulte wasn't done with his shenanigans. On the two-point try, the snap went directly to Wilson in the wildcat formation. He ran to his left, then handed the ball to Sean Murphy on the reverse. Murphy looked like he wanted to throw, then saw some space near the right pylon and turned on the speed. At the last minute, though, he pulled up and tossed the ball to Schulte in the end zone for the conversion. That put Xavier up by 3, 22-19, with 2:03 left to play.
Now it was Solon's turn to respond. The Spartans had not picked up a first down since their opening drive of the third quarter, picking up a total of 4 positive yards in three offensive possessions. That changed right away. Griffis hit Halston Durr for 12, then again for 6. Xavier was flagged for pass interference. Childs ripped off a fine 13-yard run, then Griffis to Christensen for 3. The ball was at the Xavier 21, there was still just over a minute left to play, and the lead was only three.
Once again, let's hearken back to the week before. Xavier's defense stepped up big in the first quarter (an end-zone interception kept Assumption from going up by two scores early), and in the fourth (an interception at the 5 ended one scoring attempt, and Caleb Billick's fumble recovery sealed the game at the end). For the second game in a row, the Saints defense got the key turnover at the key moment. Griffis went back to pass, facing a ferocious rush by Bryce Charipar. He tossed the ball down the right seam to a receiver inside the 10, but Billick (again!) got to the ball, juggling it before tucking it away for the interception at the 9, causing me to interject "Oh my gosh!" and even a "holy moly!" on the radio airwaves. Xavier only had to run out the final seconds for the win.
This was a real gut check for Xavier, facing a strong, determined Solon squad looking for payback for last year's 28-0 loss. The Saints fell behind early, fought back once, then fell behind by 12 points in the second half. They were able to find their way to two fourth-quarter scores and complete the comeback. Likewise, this has to really hurt for the Spartans. They had Xavier down, they were certainly slowing down the Saint offensive attack, and they had big players making big plays (Dall on the kick return, Childs and Roeder out of punt formation, Griffis and Christensen on 4th and 24). It still didn't end up being enough.
Again, it's very likely these two teams will end up at the top of District 4 come the end of October. I do think Maquoketa is much improved over last year, but I don't know if they can match up with either of these schools. Dubuque Wahlert is doing their thing, but I have similar doubts about that matchup. Of course, eating words is something I have experience with ... at about this time last season, nobody was predicting a Western Dubuque win at Saints Field. All these contests have to be played out on the field, not on paper, and funny bounces can happen. What Xavier and Solon did show, however, was what a game between two highly motivated, competitive, proud, solid programs can look like. And it was a humdinger.
Saturday, September 5, 2015
Class 3A Nondistrict Musings
We are through the first two weeks of the 2015 season, and Class 3A has completed the exclusively nondistrict part of the schedule (everybody plays just nondistrict games the first two weeks; from week three on, district play is in effect - although with 7 teams per district, one of those 7 will have a nondistrict game each week). What conclusions can we draw from the first two weeks?
The obvious thing to me is, District 3 looks like a powerhouse. Their teams went 10-4 in nondistrict play, including two wins over 4A teams and a win over last years' 2A champion. Everybody but Decorah, in fact, went 10-2 in that district (Crestwood lost to New Hampton and Vinton-Shellsburg lost to South Tama). It is true a lot of those wins came against 2A competition, but you can't deny two 4A victories and the win over North Fayette Valley as showing some real strength in that district.
Both districts 7 and 8 also went 10-4, but several of those decisions were against each other (Dallas Center-Grimes played Pella and Carlisle, Winterset played Oskaloosa and Norwalk, Creston played Norwalk). So that makes it tougher to judge, I think. Pella, in District 7, is the odds-on favorite to repeat as state champion, but they did lose one of their key players to an ACL injury. That probably won't be enough to slow them down much. In District 8, Harlan (after a down year last year) is 2-0 and has given up only 7 points in two games, both against other 3A teams.
A couple of the poorest-performing districts are in eastern Iowa. District 5 has only 3 nondistrict victories, while District 4 only has 4. The two districts combined went 1-5 against 4A teams, and only 3-7 versus 2A competition. In District 5, Fort Madison did defeat a 4A Burlington ... but they also lost to a 1A team in West Burlington Notre Dame. Clear Creek-Amana, near the top of the district last year, lost to two 2A opponents. In District 4, Maquoketa rang up 53 points on 2A Cascade, but then gave up 45 to West Delaware. Central-DeWitt, who just missed the playoffs last year, has been outscored 81-24 in two games. Western Dubuque had to rally late to come back and defeat 2A Dyersville Beckman, after getting steamrolled by West Delaware in week one.
So, I just thought this was interesting, to take a quick look at how 3A did in the nondistrict. None of these results matter for playoff consideration or anything like that ... district games are going to be the key from here on out. We'll see if teams change their outlook now that they play their district foes.
The obvious thing to me is, District 3 looks like a powerhouse. Their teams went 10-4 in nondistrict play, including two wins over 4A teams and a win over last years' 2A champion. Everybody but Decorah, in fact, went 10-2 in that district (Crestwood lost to New Hampton and Vinton-Shellsburg lost to South Tama). It is true a lot of those wins came against 2A competition, but you can't deny two 4A victories and the win over North Fayette Valley as showing some real strength in that district.
Both districts 7 and 8 also went 10-4, but several of those decisions were against each other (Dallas Center-Grimes played Pella and Carlisle, Winterset played Oskaloosa and Norwalk, Creston played Norwalk). So that makes it tougher to judge, I think. Pella, in District 7, is the odds-on favorite to repeat as state champion, but they did lose one of their key players to an ACL injury. That probably won't be enough to slow them down much. In District 8, Harlan (after a down year last year) is 2-0 and has given up only 7 points in two games, both against other 3A teams.
A couple of the poorest-performing districts are in eastern Iowa. District 5 has only 3 nondistrict victories, while District 4 only has 4. The two districts combined went 1-5 against 4A teams, and only 3-7 versus 2A competition. In District 5, Fort Madison did defeat a 4A Burlington ... but they also lost to a 1A team in West Burlington Notre Dame. Clear Creek-Amana, near the top of the district last year, lost to two 2A opponents. In District 4, Maquoketa rang up 53 points on 2A Cascade, but then gave up 45 to West Delaware. Central-DeWitt, who just missed the playoffs last year, has been outscored 81-24 in two games. Western Dubuque had to rally late to come back and defeat 2A Dyersville Beckman, after getting steamrolled by West Delaware in week one.
So, I just thought this was interesting, to take a quick look at how 3A did in the nondistrict. None of these results matter for playoff consideration or anything like that ... district games are going to be the key from here on out. We'll see if teams change their outlook now that they play their district foes.
The Night Was Moist
"Sultry! The night was sultry!"
All apologies to Throw Momma From The Train, but that description just so aptly fits the midsummer night conditions at Saints Field Friday, as the Saints finally got the season going and got in the win column with a 14-7 decision over Davenport Assumption.
I suppose it's just not a Xavier-Assumption matchup without oppressive weather. Last year in Davenport, on a Thursday night, the teams played on one of the hottest days of the year (then a cold front came through overnight and all the Friday night games featured fans/coaches wearing jackets ... I was so jealous). This year, same thing, one of the hottest days of the year. Plus, Xavier was likely going to be pretty rusty, since they hadn't gotten to play their opener. Assumption had rallied for three scores late in their first game against Bettendorf to lose by just 7, so they were on an upward trend.
Both of those topics held true at the kickoff. Elijah Williams ran the opening kick back 46 yards across midfield, and Joe Argo sliced and diced his way straight through the Saints defense. Argo scored on an 8-yard run that looked really easy, and the Knights led Xavier 7-0 just five plays in. On the second offensive play for Xavier, the Saints fumbled the ball away at their own 21, but Argo's pass was intercepted by Blake Whitten on the very next play to give the ball back to Xavier.
Note that. Turnovers are probably one of the big takeaways (get it?) from this game for the Saints. Assumption had multiple scoring threats both early and late in this game, and the Saints defense was able to force a key turnover four times. Whitten's pick was the first. The second (and one of the biggest) came on the Knight's next possession. Assumption started at their 17 after a punt, then ran the ball right at and around the Saints all the way to the Xavier 15. Finally the Saints defense made a couple of stops, forcing a 3rd and long. Argo looked to his favorite receiver, 6 foot 3 Will Ontiveros, down the right sideline in the end zone. It appeared to be an obvious score, but Nick Stark caught up to the ball and made a fantastic interception in the end zone to prevent the touchdown.
Now the Xavier offense woke up. Maliki Wilson dashed for 10 and the Saints' first first-down. Bryce Schulte threw to Wilson for 23 yards, getting the ball into Knight territory. And then Stark again, getting behind his defender with his speed, Schulte able to get the pass to him for the 47-yard TD strike. It was all tied up at 7 with 2:11 to go in the first quarter.
Then things got bogged down in the humidity. Xavier got a couple of first downs in the second quarter, but also lost the ball on a dopey fumble (Saint players didn't seem to realize the ball was on the ground, and Assumption lineman Daniel Tjaden picked it up ran it 36 yards to the Xavier 43). Assumption also got a couple of first downs, but was stopped on 4th and 1 at the 15 following that fumble return.
The second half started with a tremendous 52-yard return by Sean Murphy, but the Saints couldn't make anything out of that. Xavier, in fact, couldn't make a first down at all in the third quarter (you can thank false start penalties for a lot of that - the Saints ended up with 10 penalties on the night), while Assumption wasn't much better.
A spark appeared early in the fourth. Starting at their 25, Wilson ripped off a 10-yard run on the first play of the drive. Two plays after that, Schulte stood behind excellent protection and found Whitten wide open in the middle of the field at the Assumption 41. Wilson had another 15-yard carry to get close to the red zone. Then the Saints came out in an unusual formation - nobody split wide, an extra blocker on the left end of the line (so, four guys left of the center, three right - eight big blockers all packed together in front of the standard I formation). Wilson got the give over the left side, and jumped in frustration as Xavier was whistled for yet another false start penalty.
So they lined up and did the exact same play again. This time Wilson charged over the left side for 17, down to the 10. On the next play, same look, only Wilson took it over the right side for the 10-yard touchdown run. Xavier got their first lead of the season, 14-7, with 6:42 left in the game.
Now the Saints defense was asked to hang on. The Knights did not make it easy. After another great kickoff return by Williams, out to the Assumption 46, Argo ran and passed his way downfield. A clutch 3rd and 9 completion to Caleb Wachal got the Knights to Xavier's 14. On third down - remember the key turnovers I mentioned earlier? - Argo faked a run and tried a Tim Tebow jump pass. Nobody saw the intended receiver, but Whitten was there again, diving to the turf to intercept the ball at the 5 yard line.
It still wasn't quite over. Xavier was able to get only one first down after that, and Assumption used their time outs to force a punt with just over a minute left, regaining the ball right at the 50. On the third play, two Knight running backs criss-crossed in front of Argo to hide who was actually getting the ball. The answer was no one, as the handoff was muffed and the football fumbled to the ground. Caleb Billick fell on it for Xavier, and the game was finally in hand.
So a rough start for Xavier, with obvious fits and starts for a team getting its feet under it a week late. Wilson was fantastic, carrying the ball for 135 yards and a touchdown, while Schulte looked good completing 9 of 14 passes for 119 yards and a score. The Saint defense was a little shaky, giving up 132 yards rushing to Argo and 214 yards on the ground overall, but they were able to force three important turnovers inside their own 21 to turn away scoring threats.
Next week district play gets started, and the Saints travel to Solon to take on an impressive Spartan team. Solon lost a tough one to Iowa City Regina to start the year, then overcame a slow start to defeat Mount Vernon 35-14 this week. Solon is itching to get Xavier back for their shutout loss last year, and the Saints are going to need to get some improvement fast to counter the Spartans and get on top in District 4. Should be a real good one.
All apologies to Throw Momma From The Train, but that description just so aptly fits the midsummer night conditions at Saints Field Friday, as the Saints finally got the season going and got in the win column with a 14-7 decision over Davenport Assumption.
I suppose it's just not a Xavier-Assumption matchup without oppressive weather. Last year in Davenport, on a Thursday night, the teams played on one of the hottest days of the year (then a cold front came through overnight and all the Friday night games featured fans/coaches wearing jackets ... I was so jealous). This year, same thing, one of the hottest days of the year. Plus, Xavier was likely going to be pretty rusty, since they hadn't gotten to play their opener. Assumption had rallied for three scores late in their first game against Bettendorf to lose by just 7, so they were on an upward trend.
Both of those topics held true at the kickoff. Elijah Williams ran the opening kick back 46 yards across midfield, and Joe Argo sliced and diced his way straight through the Saints defense. Argo scored on an 8-yard run that looked really easy, and the Knights led Xavier 7-0 just five plays in. On the second offensive play for Xavier, the Saints fumbled the ball away at their own 21, but Argo's pass was intercepted by Blake Whitten on the very next play to give the ball back to Xavier.
Note that. Turnovers are probably one of the big takeaways (get it?) from this game for the Saints. Assumption had multiple scoring threats both early and late in this game, and the Saints defense was able to force a key turnover four times. Whitten's pick was the first. The second (and one of the biggest) came on the Knight's next possession. Assumption started at their 17 after a punt, then ran the ball right at and around the Saints all the way to the Xavier 15. Finally the Saints defense made a couple of stops, forcing a 3rd and long. Argo looked to his favorite receiver, 6 foot 3 Will Ontiveros, down the right sideline in the end zone. It appeared to be an obvious score, but Nick Stark caught up to the ball and made a fantastic interception in the end zone to prevent the touchdown.
Now the Xavier offense woke up. Maliki Wilson dashed for 10 and the Saints' first first-down. Bryce Schulte threw to Wilson for 23 yards, getting the ball into Knight territory. And then Stark again, getting behind his defender with his speed, Schulte able to get the pass to him for the 47-yard TD strike. It was all tied up at 7 with 2:11 to go in the first quarter.
Then things got bogged down in the humidity. Xavier got a couple of first downs in the second quarter, but also lost the ball on a dopey fumble (Saint players didn't seem to realize the ball was on the ground, and Assumption lineman Daniel Tjaden picked it up ran it 36 yards to the Xavier 43). Assumption also got a couple of first downs, but was stopped on 4th and 1 at the 15 following that fumble return.
The second half started with a tremendous 52-yard return by Sean Murphy, but the Saints couldn't make anything out of that. Xavier, in fact, couldn't make a first down at all in the third quarter (you can thank false start penalties for a lot of that - the Saints ended up with 10 penalties on the night), while Assumption wasn't much better.
A spark appeared early in the fourth. Starting at their 25, Wilson ripped off a 10-yard run on the first play of the drive. Two plays after that, Schulte stood behind excellent protection and found Whitten wide open in the middle of the field at the Assumption 41. Wilson had another 15-yard carry to get close to the red zone. Then the Saints came out in an unusual formation - nobody split wide, an extra blocker on the left end of the line (so, four guys left of the center, three right - eight big blockers all packed together in front of the standard I formation). Wilson got the give over the left side, and jumped in frustration as Xavier was whistled for yet another false start penalty.
So they lined up and did the exact same play again. This time Wilson charged over the left side for 17, down to the 10. On the next play, same look, only Wilson took it over the right side for the 10-yard touchdown run. Xavier got their first lead of the season, 14-7, with 6:42 left in the game.
Now the Saints defense was asked to hang on. The Knights did not make it easy. After another great kickoff return by Williams, out to the Assumption 46, Argo ran and passed his way downfield. A clutch 3rd and 9 completion to Caleb Wachal got the Knights to Xavier's 14. On third down - remember the key turnovers I mentioned earlier? - Argo faked a run and tried a Tim Tebow jump pass. Nobody saw the intended receiver, but Whitten was there again, diving to the turf to intercept the ball at the 5 yard line.
It still wasn't quite over. Xavier was able to get only one first down after that, and Assumption used their time outs to force a punt with just over a minute left, regaining the ball right at the 50. On the third play, two Knight running backs criss-crossed in front of Argo to hide who was actually getting the ball. The answer was no one, as the handoff was muffed and the football fumbled to the ground. Caleb Billick fell on it for Xavier, and the game was finally in hand.
So a rough start for Xavier, with obvious fits and starts for a team getting its feet under it a week late. Wilson was fantastic, carrying the ball for 135 yards and a touchdown, while Schulte looked good completing 9 of 14 passes for 119 yards and a score. The Saint defense was a little shaky, giving up 132 yards rushing to Argo and 214 yards on the ground overall, but they were able to force three important turnovers inside their own 21 to turn away scoring threats.
Next week district play gets started, and the Saints travel to Solon to take on an impressive Spartan team. Solon lost a tough one to Iowa City Regina to start the year, then overcame a slow start to defeat Mount Vernon 35-14 this week. Solon is itching to get Xavier back for their shutout loss last year, and the Saints are going to need to get some improvement fast to counter the Spartans and get on top in District 4. Should be a real good one.
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