Xavier closed out their 2017 regular season with the South Tama Trojans, a team that had won just two games on the year and had the distinction of being the only team to lose to Vinton-Shellsburg (and got shut out, no less). Xavier, meanwhile, was looking to finish undefeated for the third regular season in a row, so it wasn't shaping up to be a classic contest.
And it wasn't. Xavier put up six touchdowns in the first quarter and rolled to a 62-7 win, setting a school record for points in a game. Justin Schneider returned the opening kickoff all the way to the South Tama 34, and Quinn Schulte ran it in for a score on the next play. Three plays later, South Tama's Colton Vest had the ball knocked loose. It bounced directly into Schneider's hands, and he returned the fumble for a 30-yard TD. The Saints had their one sustained drive of the quarter on the next possession, rolling 80 yards in six plays, with Braden Stovie scoring from 3 yards out (he'd end up with 3 TDs on the night). Gabe Lux returned the next South Tama punt 72 yards for a score; it took two plays on the next possession for McClain Burger to run for a 51-yard TD; and then Lux returned another punt 61 yards to the end zone with 17 seconds left in the quarter. Xavier 41, South Tama 0 after 11:43 of play (yeah, Ben Conrad missed his first extra point of the year during all that, but you have to excuse him; his leg was probably pretty tired, kicking six extra point attempts in that quarter).
Xavier also scored on their next two possessions in the second quarter, on passes of 28 and 66 yards to Stovie (who saw a lot of action, as Jax Junge was out with an injury), to go up 55-0. Patrick Chambers fumbled late in the half, giving the Trojans a chance to mount a drive starting at Xavier's 44. Lane Koch threw a TD pass to Nick Ryan from 15 yards out with 4 seconds left, but frankly - that was the highlight of the evening for South Tama.
Chambers carried the ball throughout the continuous-clock second half for Xavier, rolling up 108 yards and scoring a 4th-quarter touchdown for the final 62-7 result. Xavier surpassed their previous record of 59 points (set against Central DeWitt in 2014), and did it with scores by the offense, defense, and special teams.
So now it's off to the playoffs. Xavier drew Oskaloosa, a wild-card playoff entry from District 5. The Indians lost a non-district game to Pella, then finished third in the district with losses to D-5 champion Solon and runner-up Washington. Oskaloosa is one of just three teams to get a score on Solon, so they do have that going for them. Seth Howard, the quarterback, leads a really balanced offense that racked up over 1500 yards both rushing and passing. Howard and Casey Hill combined for over 1200 yards and 23 TDs on the ground, while Tanner DeKock and Cole Henry caught 50 passes between them. The top five Indian receivers have a total of 95 receptions; Xavier's Quinn Schulte has attempted 95 passes total. It's an offensive juggernaut coming to Saints Field, but one that was certainly held in check by both Pella and Solon (only one TD against each).
Not to look ahead, but the brackets are favorable for Xavier; with a win Friday, they're assured to be home again for the second round, as the opposite bracket features a match between two district runners-up (Washington and Davenport Assumption). Then, a potential semifinal matchup between Xavier and fellow unbeaten Solon looms November 9 in the UNI Dome. But the Saints have to win on the field first - and with a team that's scored 100 points in the last two weeks (and put up 20 on a strong Waverly-Shell Rock defense the week before), perhaps Xavier is putting things all together at just the right time.
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