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.