It's Sort Of A Dynasty ...

Once upon a time there was a successful high school football coach (one state championship under his belt) who had three sons. The first one grew up with a keen football intellect, a precision eye, and a strong throwing arm. The second collected plenty of his older brother's intellect, and added smart decision-making, a powerful build, and a rifle for an arm. The third might turn out to be the best athlete of them all, with a shifty running style and nice passing touch.

Of course this is the Schulte family of Xavier. Duane Schulte has been coach of the Saints ever since the school opened in 1998, and has led the football team to a 140-65 record over 19 seasons. He's taken Xavier to the playoffs every year since 2006, when the Saints won the Iowa Class 4A championship over Southeast Polk (although the semifinal against Bettendorf was perhaps the de facto championship that season). And a Schulte has started at quarterback for Xavier in 60 of the school's last 74 games, every year since 2011 (excepting the 2013 season, where the only Schulte student at Xavier was a freshman).

Reggie Schulte is the oldest, and took over the starting job in 2011 with a team that was, well, mostly learning on the job throughout a tough MVC schedule. The Saints sneaked into the playoffs with a 5-4 record, and even though they dropped their first-round game against Pleasant Valley, those who were on hand saw the start of something special. The 2012 Saints rolled undefeated through their season until the 4A state championship game, a classic against Ankeny where the Saints held their own (leading in the fourth quarter) before falling short in a wild finish. Reggie passed for over 2500 yards that season, with a remarkable 37 TD passes, while adding 123 yards rushing and 3 scores on the ground.

After Reggie's graduation to the UNI squad, the next Schulte son, Bryce, was just a freshman in 2013. He did see action in a couple of games, completing 5 of 6 in his limited appearances (as a freshman, remember). As a sophomore, he stepped into the starting lineup and stayed there for three seasons. Bryce wasn't as prolific through the air as his older brother, but was still terrifically effective (throwing only 10 interceptions over 282 attempts in those three years) and was also a load to stop when he chose to run the ball. Bryce ran for 668 yards and 31 TDs as a starter, which went along with his 4265 yards passing and 56 TDs in those three years. He took the Saints to the 3A state semifinal in 2014 and 2016, with a 6-3 playoff record during his starting tenure.

And now, it's Quinn's turn. He's been able to soak up the knowledge and experiences of not only his head coaching dad, but his two quarterback brothers as well. As a sophomore last season, with Bryce firmly in place at quarterback, Quinn found the field as a wide receiver and led the team in receptions (while also starting both ways, incredibly rare and perhaps unprecedented for a sophomore at Xavier). With Bryce off to join the Iowa Hawkeyes this fall, Quinn started his first varsity game last Friday at Regina, passing effectively (7 of 9 for 64 yards, no interceptions) and running with flash and speed (75 yards and a score).

Now, there's no telling how far the Saints might go in the next two years. One would expect the playoff streak to continue - the maximum number of games left for Quinn would be 25, should the Saints reach the 3A title game this year and next. So the possibility exists of a Schulte starting at quarterback for 85 out of 99 consecutive games, which is quite remarkable regardless of the success of the program. When you consider that during the 60-game Schulte-starting stretch the Saints have a 48-12 record, well ... that's a bit more than remarkable.

Here are the total numbers for the five seasons led by Reggie and Bryce:

547 completions in 870 attempts, 62.9% completion rate

8267 passing yards, over 140 yards per game and 9.5 yards per attempt (that's incredibly good)

105 passing TDs versus only 27 interceptions

766 rushing yards, 2.3 yards per carry (take away Reggie's sack-filled year in 2011, and you have 788 yards and 2.9 yards per carry)

36 rushing TDs, for a total of 141 TDs accounted for over five years (over 14 points per game)

It's a neat bit of family history. Perhaps, the first thoughts of some hearing about the stretch of Schulte QBs playing for Coach Schulte would turn to nepotism and favoritism. I think the numbers speak for themselves. This is a coach who knows what he's doing, and a group of brothers who have learned from their father, their friends, and each other.