A Title Game For The Ages

Instead of writing up my usual recap of the Xavier game, for this year's 3A championship I thought I'd do something a little different. And a little less time-consuming. You see, for every Xavier game I take the play sheet I keep during my broadcast and write up quick summary, drive-by-drive, just for myself and for posterity. Ha!

Since I went into a little more detail for this game than usual, I thought it would work to simply copy and paste it here. So here you go - what I call the Gametrax for the 2018 Iowa Class 3A championship game, an epic for the ages.

Western Dubuque one of only two 3A programs to ever defeat Xavier. Xavier defeated WD 35-0 in a storm-interrupted game October 5.

FIRST HALF

Western Dubuque wins the toss and receives. They start at the 24. A drive ensues, the likes of which has never been achieved on Xavier this season. Calvin Harris throws to Drake George for 24; Harris runs for 19 on 3^rd and 9; Harris goes for 8 on 4^th and 8; another pass to George converts on 3^rd and 5; finally, on 4^th and goal at the 4, a reverse ends up with the ball in George’s hands and he sweeps in. A bad snap on the extra point and the try fails. Sixteen (!) plays, 76 yards. 6-0 Western Dubuque, 6:05, 1^st quarter.

Western Dubuque kicks off, and Xavier starts at the 17. On 3^rd and 2 Quinn Schulte finds a crease over the left side and bursts free, finally forced out of bounds after a 36-yard run. Two plays later, Schulte throws deep to a wide-open Derrick Skala inside the 5. He appears to get the ball across the goal line as he comes to the ground, but the officials indicate down at the 1, a 38-yard play. Schulte carries it in from there. The extra point is good. Six plays, 83 yards. 7-6 Xavier, 3:45, 1^st quarter.

Xavier kicks off, touchback. Western Dubuque at the 20. Another drive, but a quicker one – on the third play Harris catches Xavier in a blitz and flips a screen pass to Jake Hosch, who outruns missed tackles and poor angles for 65 yards down to the 13. Two plays later Harris takes it in from the 1. The extra point is good. Five plays, 80 yards. 13-7 Western Dubuque, 1:46, 1^st quarter.

Western Dubuque kicks off, Xavier ball at the 20. The ground game starts pounding, with Braden Stovie carrying END 1^st QUARTER four straight times followed by two Schulte carries. With 4^th and 2 at the 39 and the punt unit in, Coach Duane Schulte calls for the fake. As Mitch Willey pretends the snap goes over his head, the ball goes to an up back, who hands to Carter Hartman coming across from the slot. Hartman gets to the 42 for the 1^st down. Three plays later, Schulte faces a Bobcat blitz and finds Matt Jordebrek down the seam. Jordebrek catches the ball as he eludes one Bobcat, then outruns everyone for a 56-yard TD. The extra point is good (66 extra points on the season for Ben Conrad ties the school record, as well as his 120 career extra points). Ten plays, 80 yards. 14-13 Xavier, 8:36, 2^nd quarter.

Xavier kicks off, touchback. Western Dubuque at the 20. Here we go again: a defensive holding penalty gives the Bobcats one first down; then Harris runs for 11 to get another; another Harris scramble on 3^rd and 5 picks up 20 yards. Harris then fires a perfect pass down the right side to Payton Quagliano, who makes a fingertip catch over Pat McGinn and takes the ball in for a 26-yard score. The extra point is good (just the fourth made extra point against Xavier all year). Eight plays, 80 yards. 20-14 Western Dubuque, 4:33, 2^nd quarter.

Western Dubuque kicks off. Xavier ball at the 31. Schulte connects with Stovie for 13 yards, then runs for 19, then Stovie runs for 18 down to the WD 19. On 3^rd and 6, Schulte throws to Nick Banowetz along the left sideline. He crosses the 10 before he’s pushed back and out of bounds – but the official inexplicably marks it at the 10, a yard short of the 1^st down. Xavier lines up to go for it (and looks like they would have made it), but is whistled for a false start. Conrad kicks the 32-yard field goal (his 13^th field goal of the season, a new Xavier record). Seven plays, 54 yards. 20-17 Western Dubuque, 2:35, 2^nd quarter.

Xavier kicks off, touchback. Western Dubuque at the 20. Xavier holds them to a three and out, using their time outs. Punt.

And Zack Butcher gets a great one, forcing Schulte to let the ball drop and watch it roll for a 55-yard kick all the way to the 17. Stovie runs the ball three times to run out the clock – and on the last carry, apparently turns his ankle. He will not return.

END HALF. 20-17 WESTERN DUBUQUE. It’s the first time Xavier has trailed at the half since the 2016 semifinal against Pella.

SECOND HALF

Western Dubuque kicks off, touchback. Xavier at the 20. No Kyle Moeder (injured in the first-round Pella game), no Josh Volk (hurt on the opening drive against Lewis Central last week), no Braden Stovie. Schulte runs for 15 yards on the first play, then three plays later fakes the option, keeps the ball and connects with Nate Skala for 50 yards, down to the 5. Two consecutive penalties result in 1^st and goal at the 24, and three plays gain only 8 yards. Conrad nails the 33-yard field goal, and we are tied (Conrad now has the exact same career numbers as Ryan Persick – 120 extra points, 23 field goals, 189 kicking points). Eight plays, 64 yards. 20-20, 8:29, 3^rd quarter.

Xavier kicks off, touchback. Western Dubuque at the 20. On the second play, Harris scrambles for 8 yards and a first down, but apparently takes a hit to the head (or bounces his head off the turf, I couldn’t tell). He’s slow to get up, and he will not return. Sam Goodman replaces him, with 4 pass attempts and 4 rushing attempts on the season. The Saints stop two running plays for losses and force a punt.

And it’s another tremendous kick by Butcher, forcing Nate Skala inside the 10 where he’s tackled immediately at the 9. Now, remember the 18-play, 90-yard drive Xavier opened the Lewis Central game with? Wouldn’t that be nice here?  The Saints think so, too. Schulte and Patrick Chambers lead the way, with Chambers twice picking up 1^st downs on pitch sweeps to the left. Chambers runs for 3 on a 3^rd and 2, then Schulte carries END 3^rd QUARTER six consecutive plays, pounding up the middle for 21 total yards and two more 1^st downs. On 2^nd and 10 at the 33, Schulte appears to start up the middle again, then pulls back and throws to an open Chambers sneaking out of the backfield. Chambers makes the catch and takes it in for the score. The extra point is good (putting Conrad in the school record books for career extra points and kicking points). Fifteen plays (!), 91 yards. 27-20 Xavier, 10:12, 4^th quarter.

Xavier kicks off. Western Dubuque starts at the 17. On the first play, Xavier comes after Goodman, and he’s sacked at the 1. George’s carry on the next play barely gets outside the end zone. On 3^rd down Goodman is in trouble again, but gets the pass away for a 9-yard gain. Punt.

Finally a short kick, fair caught by Xavier at the Western Dubuque 42. A Schulte 10-yard run on 3^rd and 5 gets one first down, but on 3^rd and 8 the double-pass trick play fails when McGinn’s throw is just short of an open Nate Skala. Conrad attempts the 45-yard field goal, but is short and to the right.

Western Dubuque takes over at the 20, trailing by 7. Goodman runs for one 1^st down, then connects with George for 21 yards. Two plays later he throws a beautiful pass to Jeff Thiesen for 31 yards, down to the 18. Four times Goodman goes to the air, once off an outstretched hand of George – then on 4^th down, the throw to George in the corner of the end zone falls incomplete, with Jakob Forslund and Bryson Bastian on tight coverage (perhaps Bastian held George early in the pattern, I don’t know).

Xavier takes over on downs at the 18 with just under 2 minutes left. On 2^nd and 9, Schulte runs the option left, keeps the ball, and breaks free into the secondary. His legs are too tired to outrun Will Burds, but Schulte rolls for 74 yards all the way to the 7. Schulte keeps the ball on the next four plays, running down the clock, and finally scoring from the 1. The extra point is good. Six plays, 82 yards. 34-20 Xavier, :30, 4^th quarter.

Xavier kicks off, squib kicking. Western Dubuque starts at the 34. On the second play, Goodman finds George again, who breaks several tackles and evades Saints all the way down to the 17 (a 49-yard play). Goodman throws one incomplete, then with 2 seconds left his pass is intercepted by Schulte at the goal line.

END GAME. 34-20 XAVIER.

 Xavier’s second straight Class 3A championship and 26^th consecutive victory.

The Saints allowed 73 points scored, a new record (previously 88 points, 2006).

The Saints allowed (unofficially) 696 yards rushing; the previous 13-game record was 909 yards (2006).

Quinn Schulte finishes his career with records of 43 rushing TDs, 48 total TDs, and 288 points scored. He also has 5183 total yards (rushing and passing), a new school record. With his receiving yards added in, he has 5765 yards.

Ben Conrad had 68 extra points this season (68 for 68) and 14 field goals, both new school records (the 68 extra points actually ties with Ryan Persick in 2012, but that was over 14 games). He extended his season kicking points record to 110. He also set career records for extra points (122) and kicking points (191), and tied the career record for field goals (23).

An-ti-ci-paaaa-tion

Xavier and Lewis Central were the top two teams in every Class 3A poll since the football season began. Xavier was the defending state champion; Lewis Central had been a 4A program the past two seasons with a playoff win over West Des Moines Valley in 2017. The Titans also had Max Duggan, a top-notch athlete who had been highly recruited by Division I football programs, and who had committed to play at TCU next fall. Every 3A football fan in the state was looking forward to a playoff matchup between these two, and many lamented a bit when it turned out to be a semifinal contest instead of the championship game. Would it live up to the hype?

Turns out, Xavier's game plan was too much for the Lewis Central defense as the Saints rolled to a 37-13 victory. The key to not letting Duggan beat you, it so happens, is to not let him get on the field. Xavier's offense was able to control the ball and grind out first downs against the Titan defense, scoring on all but one of their eight possessions, with only an exchange of fumbles in the third quarter marring a near-perfect offensive game. The Saints had three drives of 87 yards or more, with a first-quarter possession that took about seven minutes off the clock.

Duggan showed his skills when he got in the game, with some tremendous deep passes, but Xavier's pass coverage clamped down hard after the first quarter. Playing from behind, Lewis Central didn't try to do much on the ground, and Duggan only had a couple of good runs (after rushing for more than 11 1/2 yards per carry during the season).

Xavier opened the scoring, after forcing a punt on the Titans' first possession. Starting at the 10 (and losing 2 yards on the first play), Xavier put together an epic 18-play drive marching to the 6. During this opening drive (I believe), Xavier's big offensive tackle Josh Volk went down with a leg injury and didn't return. Kyle Krezek replaced him on the offensive line - the point being, this wasn't even Xavier's top 5 linemen in the game controlling the line of scrimmage and maintaining a ridiculous amount of ball control throughout this game. On 4th down with the field goal unit in, Coach Duane Schulte got tricky. The formation shifted, with the line all moving to the far left side of the field and holder Bryson Bastian standing up to receive the snap in the shotgun. As kicker Ben Conrad went in motion to the right, Mitch Willey snapped the ball to Bastian, then sneaked into the end zone and caught the 6-yard TD pass.

Lewis Central responded, with a huge play coming on 3rd and 24 at their own 34. Duggan launched a monster pass deep downfield to his favorite receiver Josh Simmons, who just got behind the Saints defender to make a tumbling catch at the Xavier 8. Two plays later Duggan fired a dart to Simmons in the end zone, and the game was tied. (The extra point is just the second successful extra point against Xavier all season, going all the way back to Regina's extra point in the first game.)

Special teams have been big for Xavier all year, and Aaron Larson returned the kickoff to the Xavier 45. The Saints broke off several good running plays into the teeth of the Lewis Central defense, leading to Conrad's 39-yard field goal and a lead the Saints would never relinquish. After forcing another punt, Larson had an incredible 50-some-yard punt return, but a holding penalty called it back and Xavier started at their 42. Another time-consuming drive, this time with some well-placed passes from Quinn Schulte, and Xavier got inside the 10 with the clock running down. With 5 seconds remaining, Conrad booted a 25-yard field goal, and Xavier led 13-7 at the half.

A scary moment for the Saints in the third quarter, as Xavier fumbled on a shotgun snap Schulte wasn't expecting on the third play. Lewis Central recovered at the 21 with an excellent chance to take the lead. On the next play, though, as Brady Miller carried up the middle, Schulte came up from his safety spot and nailed Miller with a shot that knocked the ball loose. Xavier recovered at the 13. And here comes another Saints drive; a 43-yard pass from Schulte to Bastian streaking down the seam from the tight end position was the big play, and then runs by Schulte and Braden Stovie got the ball down to the 1. Schulte took it in over the left side from there, making it 20-7.

The Saints forced another punt, then drove 34 yards before Conrad kicked his third field goal of the game to make it 23-7. That tied the school record for field goals in a game, and Conrad's 12th field goal of the season and 98th kicking point of the year also tied school records.

Lewis Central and Duggan weren't done. The Titans put together a quick seven-play drive, including passes of 19 and 30 yards (that one converted a 3rd and 17) to get inside the Xavier 30. That's when Coach Jim Duggan got tricky, with a double-reverse to Simmons ending in a pass from Simmons to Duggan for a 26-yard TD. The two-point try (which would have made it a one-score game) wound up out of bounds, and Xavier led 23-13 with under 10 minutes to play.

And then, here come the Saints. Another long 10-play drive, all on the ground, eating up nearly 5 minutes of the clock. Schulte finally squirted up the middle for a 5-yard score to make it 30-13 - that's his 40th rushing TD of his career, a new school record. Conrad's extra point made it 99 kicking points for him on the season, also a school record.

With Lewis Central down by 17 and time running out, Duggan started to pick up some yards with his feet. The Titans drive down to the Xavier 11, where Duggan dropped back to throw. A Xavier defender comes clean up the middle and hit Duggan as he throws, and another Saint tips the pass up into the air. Jakob Forslund snatched the interception in wide-open space on the right side near the 10 yard line, and it looked like he'll return it all the way. Duggan, though, got back up after being knocked down and used his impressive speed to catch Forslund at the Lewis Central 16. Two plays later Schulte walked in from 12 yards out, making it 37-13. Schulte's 41st rushing TD, 46th total TD and 276th point scored are all Xavier records, while Conrad's extra point gave him 100 on the season.

So the Saints go on to the 3A championship game for the second year in a row, hoping to add another state title and a 26th consecutive victory to their total. They'll face Western Dubuque, an opponent right out of their own District 4, a team Xavier shut out 35-0 in a lightning-delayed game at Saints Field on October 5. The Saints got touchdowns in all four of their first-half possessions against the Bobcats that night, before the storms arrived, and held a potent WD offense to 156 yards. The Bobcats have won five in a row since that night, scoring close to 50 points a game, and notching road wins over an undefeated Solon and gaining revenge for an earlier 1-point loss against North Scott. WD used two kickoff return touchdowns to pull away from Sergeant Bluff-Luton in the other semifinal game, winning 35-18 to secure their spot in the championship game.

Second Verse, A Lot Like The First

Xavier won their first-round playoff game, an epic struggle against a powerful Pella squad, which earned them a spot in the quarterfinal round against Decorah - a team Xavier had handily defeated 45-3 back in August. Decorah, though, was rolling into the second round on a seven-game winning streak, with a defense that had improved tremendously over the past month and a ground game rolling up the yards. I was expecting a much closer contest than that first meeting.

Just shows what I know. Xavier jumped out early and never looked back, leading 28-0 at halftime and cruising to a 42-6 win at Saints Field. Braden Stovie, who ran for 198 yards in the first game, gained 150 yards and two scores in this one. Quinn Schulte completed 10 of 16 passes for 180 yards and a score (also by Stovie, on a 75-yard catch and run). The Xavier defense faced a Vikings team that ran for 330 yards against Clear Creek-Amana in the first round and shut them down for only 32 yards rushing. I suppose you could say the Xavier pass defense showed cause for concern - in the August meeting they didn't allow Jace Johnson to complete a pass. In this playoff game, Johnson did get a completion. One. For one yard. He was also sacked four times.

There are a few things to remark about in this game. On the "oops" side, Ben Conrad missed his second consecutive field goal try. After barely missing on a kick from the left hash in the Pella game, his attempt from the right hash from 39 yards out was just mis-hit, making him 9 of 12 for field goal attempts on the year (he's still 3 behind the all-time Xavier season record). Schulte also threw an interception for the second straight game, after having only one all season long. Xavier gave up their first third-quarter points of the season, when Kailer McCabe returned a kickoff 98 yards for a score (so still not technically against the first-team defense that's allowed 15 points scored all year).

But those things had no effect on the outcome of the game itself. Conrad was perfect on all six of his extra points, giving him 60 on the year (6 back of the season record). Schulte ran for a touchdown in the third quarter, giving him a school-record career total of 43 TDs and 258 points, breaking Will Martin's record from 2005-06. Schulte's 38 rushing TDs are just one behind Martin's school record. The defense had another first-half shutout (still only 9 points allowed in the first half this year), and just as an oddball statistic, the streak of unsuccessful extra points continued when Decorah had a terrible snap on their try. The only successful extra point scored on Xavier this year came in the Regina game in the season opener; since then teams have scored five touchdowns without making the extra point (Xavier blocked one kick at West Delaware, bad snaps ruined tries by Pella and Decorah, and Wahlert's kick was no good; the other TD by West Delaware resulted in a two-point try, which was stopped by Xavier).

So Xavier moves on to the semifinal round in the UNI Dome, their sixth trip in the past seven years. They face a formidable opponent in Lewis Central, the only other undefeated 3A program, and the team ranked right behind number one Xavier in the polls all season long (or right above them, if you look at the Radio Iowa poll). This collision of the top teams in the east and the west has been anticipated and expected since the season got started in August, and now the meeting is actually happening - but it's not in the championship game.

The state athletic association is trying something different this season. For the past many years, the semifinal/championship rounds have been divided basically east and west; one set of brackets was built on each side of the state, with the top two teams on each side meeting in the semifinal creating an east-west championship. Of course, this didn't always result in the best possible matchup in the final game, as sometimes there were better teams on one side of the state as compared to the other (2016 would be a good example, with the Xavier-Pella semifinal a much more compelling game than the Pella-Webster City final; 2006 in 4A is another good one, with the Xavier-Bettendorf semifinal a much better contest than Xavier-Southeast Polk in the championship). This year, though, the state developed the RPI system to help them select playoff teams and seed the brackets, in an attempt to get what ought to be the best four teams to the semifinal round and the best two in the championship, regardless of what part of the state they were from.

As far as selecting playoff teams, RPI did pretty well in 3A and 4A, maybe less so in some of the other classes. But there's an oddity at the top - Sergeant Bluff-Luton, the District 1 champion, has held the top spot in RPI all season long, and by a pretty significant margin. They stayed there despite having a loss, a loss to undefeated Lewis Central, a 42-14 loss that had the continuous clock running for part of the second half. Even so, SBL stayed at the top of the RPI list, ahead of the 9-0 team that beat them, ahead of the 9-0 teams in the east ... and as SBL won their first two playoff games, they got the top seed in the semifinal round, matching them with the 4th-best remaining RPI (Western Dubuque, with two losses). The game matching the 2nd and 3rd place RPI semifinalist turns out to be undefeated Lewis Central vs undefeated Xavier, in a game that could be the de facto championship a week early.

To be honest, it doesn't matter that much when this game takes place. It's a good thing that it is, as these two squads have been on an anticipated collision course for the entire season. The offensive statistics are pretty close; Lewis Central has more yards rushing and passing, but it's only a difference of about 60 yards per game. Xavier is far better on the defensive side, giving up only 40 points all season and right about 130 yards per game. Both teams' leading rushers are right about at 1200 yards; both teams' quarterbacks have thrown for 23 TDs and 3 interceptions or fewer. It would appear, though, that Xavier is a bit more balanced on offense (Lewis Central goes through quarterback Max Duggan, who is also their leading rusher and has accounted for 2/3rds of all their offensive yards this season). Lewis Central's defense, while giving up about 100 yards more per game than Xavier, still hasn't allowed more than 14 points in any game (while the offensive is scoring almost 50).

This should be a fantastic game (of course, I expected a defensive slugfest in last year's Xavier-Solon semifinal, when Solon had a defense that simply didn't allow points at all - then Xavier put up 35 in the first half, so what do I know?). We will find out pretty late on Thursday night who is the better team.

Some More RPI Thoughts

Just random musings about RPI and how it's affecting the playoff setup this year ...

First off, it's become apparent that there's little a team can do about the records of their opponents. With opponents' winning percentage being an equal part in the RPI formula to your own winning percentage, it really makes a difference how well your opponents do over the course of the season. But how can you count on that ahead of time?

Let's look at Xavier. Their non-district schedule included Iowa City Regina (a 1A powerhouse that had made it to the championship game for, like, a decade straight), Decorah (a solid 3A program), Davenport Assumption (another perennial playoff qualifier), and West Delaware (a constant presence in the 3A playoffs and one of the most consistently winning 3A programs in eastern Iowa). On paper, that looks like a recipe for an outstanding RPI.

But as the year went along ... Regina limped to a 5-4 record and missed the playoffs. West Delaware did the same. Assumption actually ended up with a losing record (4-5). Now, could this have been foreseen? The last time Regina had more than 3 losses was 2002; the last time they won fewer than 9 games was 2006. Assumption hadn't had a losing season since 2008. West Delaware's last season with fewer than 7 wins was 2007. It had been TEN YEARS or more since any of these three programs had a record like this year ... AND IT HAPPENED TO ALL THREE OF THEM this season. What are the odds?

Even with the unexpectedly poor performance by three of Xavier's four non-district foes (Decorah won their district with a 7-2 record), the Saints still ended up with the third-best RPI statewide. The issue with that, though, is should Xavier make it to the semifinals in the UNI Dome, the state will re-seed the four remaining teams, with number 1 playing number 4 and number 2 playing number 3. Xavier is at number 3; the number 2 team is Lewis Central, the undefeated leader of the west side in 3A, the team that most observers figured would make a logical championship opponent for the Saints. But ... now they're possibly slated for a semifinal match, making any championship game rather anticlimactic.

So this is where we can look to Xavier's schedule and what they expected to get from their opponents. If either Regina or West Delaware had won one more game, making their record 6-3, Xavier's RPI would have been raised above Lewis Central's into the number 2 spot. Oddly, though, even if all three of Regina, Assumption, and West Delaware had each won another game, that probably would not have been enough to get Xavier into the number 1 spot. That spot is held by Sergeant Bluff-Luton, which brings us to another kind of head-scratcher. You see, Lewis Central is undefeated. Xavier is undefeated. Solon (at number 4) was undefeated. Sergeant Bluff-Luton has lost a game, their season opener ... to Lewis Central. Not only did they lose, they lost handily (49-14, I believe) with a running clock in the second half. Yet their RPI remained high enough to them to hold the top spot above every undefeated 3A program in the class. (It had to do with their opponents' winning percentage; SBL's opponents won 55 of their 81 games, which is crazy ridiculous. Decorah's opponents won 53 games, but nobody else had opponents with over 50 wins. Lewis Central, Xavier, and Solon all had exactly identical opponents' records, leaving the opponents' opponents' winning percentage to sort out those three.)

But ... the quarterfinal round isn't over at the time I write this. Should Spencer knock off Sergeant Bluff-Luton on Friday (and SBL only won 24-20 last time they played), that would make Lewis Central the top remaining seed, and Xavier in the second spot. In that event, Lewis Central would play Spencer in one semifinal (unless Western Dubuque upsets North Scott, in which case the Bobcats would be Lewis Central's opponent). Xavier would take on North Scott (or Spencer if Western Dubuque should win), setting up the potential championship that everybody has been looking for since August.

But we shall see how things shake out Friday night.

Into the Second Round

Yes, I'm a tad behind. Let me catch you up ...

In the final game of the regular season, Xavier rolled over Marion 51-0 to complete their fourth straight undefeated regular season, their 22nd consecutive win, and their 36th consecutive regular season win. The roof fell in on Marion right from the start ... Isaac Cechota and Mitch McAllister had confusion about who was going to field the opening kickoff, which they muffed at about the 1. Cechota finally picked up the ball, then stepped back into the end zone and took a knee, thinking it was a touchback. That's actually a safety, and Xavier was up 2-0 seven seconds into the game. Quinn Schulte ran for a score on the next possession following the free kick, and the Saints were off to the races.

Then it was the playoffs. The state was trying something a little different this year, attempting to seed (via their new RPI toy) right from the first round. With Xavier sitting at the number 3 RPI statewide, it seems they ought to get a break with their opponent (seed number 14 would be optimal in a true seeded bracket).

Instead they got the 12 seed - which turned out to be Pella. One-loss Pella, only a one-point loss in overtime Pella, defeater of Xavier in the playoffs two of the last three years Pella, state 3A champ three of the past four years Pella, last year's state runner-up Pella. Admittedly, there wasn't a break to be had on the east side of the state, as the teams that had to travel were Pella (8-1), Clear Creek-Amana (8-1), Waverly-Shell Rock (8-1), and Western Dubuque (7-2, but as a district mate of Xavier's the state wouldn't pair them in the first round).

Pella still had last year's championship game loss on their minds, and they came out fired up and looking for the upset. The Dutch didn't even try to establish a running game, with Ryan Gustafson throwing 52 passes on the night. Aaron Downs, a sophomore, caught 11 of those throws, many with Xavier defenders right on top of him. Meanwhile, the Pella defense (which had been burned yardage-wise by several opponents this season) matched up evenly with Xavier's offensive line, slowing down the Saints attack and forcing them to earn every yard.

It turned out to be big plays that made the difference. On Xavier's second possession in the first quarter, Quinn Schulte got good protection and found a wide-open Kyle Moeder about 20 yards downfield. Moeder angled for the sideline and outran the Pella defenders to complete a 51-yard score, putting Xavier up 7-0. But that was about it for the rest of the half. Xavier intercepted Gustafson twice, sacking him another time to end a drive, but the Saints couldn't move the ball very well either. After the second interception, Schulte led Xavier inside the 20, but Gustafson (playing safety) managed to return the favor by picking off Schulte's pass near the end zone (only Schulte's second interception of the entire year).

The second half was equally tough and bruising. Xavier fumbled the ball away once, but were able to hold the Dutch on downs. Back and forth the two teams struggled, until in the fourth quarter, where Xavier hit on the big play again. Schulte threw the ball (laterally) to the right flat to Bryson Bastian, who rolled a bit further and then lofted the ball down the sideline to Moeder. Moeder had just gotten behind two defenders, where he caught the ball, angled to midfield, and outran everyone for a 72-yard touchdown. The double pass was nearly identical to one Xavier used for a TD against Pella in last year's championship, except this one was to the right and last year's went to the left. Xavier was up 14-0 with just over 8 minutes left.

Two scores and you could breath easy, right? Nope. Pella responded with one of the great drives ever seen against a Xavier defense. Fifteen plays, all passing plays (including one scramble), covering 80 yards and taking nearly 4 minutes. The drive ended with a halfback option pass, with Gabe Thomas rolling to the right and tossing the ball to Logan Shetterly near the pylon in heavy traffic from 9 yards out. On the extra point try, the snap was bad, causing the holder to try to get two, but failing, leaving Xavier with a 14-6 lead and just over 4 minutes to go.

Now Xavier just needed to run the clock. Jon Bell had two good carries for 20 yards, getting the ball near midfield, but then ... the Saints fumbled again. It's their 3rd turnover of the game, after only having 5 all season long.

Pella had a chance, down by 8 with about 2 minutes left. The Dutch convert on 4th down thanks to a Xavier penalty, then convert on another 4th and 8 with a big 16-yard pass. Pella gets a 1st and goal at the 8; Gustafson throws incomplete. a draw play loses a yard, Gustafson is incomplete near the sideline. On 4th and goal, Gustafson looks for Thomas on the crossing pattern in the end zone, but his throw is off target and Thomas is well covered. The Saints take over at the 8 with 33 seconds left and Pella out of time outs.

It was a thriller of a game between two well-matched, tough, physical opponents. Xavier finally showed they could play a full four-quarter game, and showed they had the guts to hold on when they had to. Pella showed they were far better than a 12 seed in this playoff field, and made Xavier pay for every yard and every point.

So Xavier moves on to the quarterfinals, facing another familiar opponent in Decorah. The Vikings defeated Clear Creek-Amana 17-6 to move on, their 7th straight win. While Xavier rolled over Decorah 45-3 back in August, amassing over 400 yards of offense and nearly 200 yards rushing by Braden Stovie, Decorah's defense has been much better over the past three games. Xavier, though, should have a bit of an edge as the Vikings' main offensive threat comes on the ground, an area where Xavier has been tough as nails (fewer than 50 yards allowed per game).

A couple of things to remember, though. Only three 3A teams have ever defeated Xavier; Western Dubuque in 2014, Pella in the semifinals in 2014 and 2016, and ... Decorah in the quarterfinals in 2015. There have also been just three teams to knock off an undefeated Xavier team in the playoffs; Ankeny in the 2012 championship, Pella in the 2016 semifinal, and ... Decorah, in that 2015 game at Saints Field, where a 4-5 Viking team that barely slipped into the playoffs and won their first-round game came all the way to Cedar Rapids and just flat-out outplayed a 9-0 Saints squad.

Spinning Round Like New School Records

This wasn’t looking to set up as a record-setting season for Xavier back in August. Hopes were high, sure, with the defending state 3A champions bringing back some key parts from last year. There was speculation the Saints would be really good again, perhaps even better than 2017.

Let the record show not only are the 2018 Saints looking like a cut above the 2017 state champs, in some respects this may be one of the best Xavier teams ever. And they’ve made their mark in the school record book to stake their claim. Let’s go through some of the new records this year’s squad is making.

WIN STREAK

• Xavier actually surpassed their old win-streak record several games ago, and are currently at 22 games and counting. The Saints’ last loss came in the 2016 semifinal, when Pella mounted a furious drive and scored on the final play to defeat Xavier 34-30.
• Xavier also has a 36-game regular season win streak going into the 2019 season. Their last regular-season loss came in Week 8 of the 2014 season, when the Saints lost to Iowa City Regina. Xavier won the next week against Marion; opened the 2015 season with a game against West Des Moines Dowling that was canceled by weather; then went 8-0 in 2015, 9-0 in 2016, 9-0 in 2017, and 9-0 again this year.
• The Saints have lost one district game in five years of 3A play (7-6 to Western Dubuque in 2014).

TEAM SCORING (added Oct. 26)

• With so many other numbers to total (plus trying to do this in the middle of three other things, like, you know, work) I totally spaced off the fact that Xavier’s offense set a new regular-season scoring record this year. The previous record (383 points), set in 2012, has been surpassed by this season’s total of 395 points. The 13-game record of 531 was also set in 2012; Xavier can move above that by scoring over 34 points per game in four playoff games.

TEAM DEFENSE

• The regular season record for fewest points allowed was shattered - Xavier gave up just 28 points in nine games, blowing past the 2006 mark of 47. The Saints allowed four touchdowns (with just one successful point after) and a field goal. Only 3 points were scored in the first quarter (by Decorah); just 6 in the second (by West Delaware); and zero points were allowed in the third. The other 19 points all came in the fourth quarter (another West Delaware TD plus scores by Iowa City Regina and Dubuque Wahlert). The record for fewest points allowed in 13 games is 88, set in 2006. If Xavier gives up fewer than 15 points per game and plays 4 playoff games, they'll set a new record.
• The Saints defense also set new regular season marks for fewest rushing yards allowed (458, beating the 2006 record by some 50 yards) and fewest total yards allowed (1168, topping the 2013 record by over 200 yards). The mark for fewest rushing yards in 13 games is 909, and fewest total yards in 13 games is 1831. That makes those marks pretty tough to hit, requiring the Saints to give up less than 110 rushing yards per game or 166 total yards per game over four playoff contests.
• While I don’t know if there’s an actual regular season record for most shutouts, this year’s team posted five, including three in a row to end the season (and almost shut out all five district opponents in a row, save the late TD scored by Wahlert). Five shutouts in the regular season matches the 2013 squad, who holds the overall shutout record with 8 in 14 games.

BEN CONRAD

• Conrad is becoming one of the most prolific kickers in Xavier history. He tied one school record in 2017 with three field goals in a game (vs Independence). This year he has been perfect on extra points (52-52). The 52 PATs are a new regular season school record. Add to that his 9 field goals (also a regular season record) and he has 79 kicking points, another regular season record. For 13-game season records, including playoffs, Ryan Persick had 11 field goals in 2012 along with 66 extra points and 93 kicking points.
• Conrad also has, I believe, five field goals of 40 yards or longer in his career, which is remarkable for a high school kicker. He tied the school record for longest field goal with a 48-yarder against Maquoketa, and also had field goals of 47 and 45 yards. His only miss of the year came on a 46-yard attempt vs. Dubuque Wahlert.
• For career records, Conrad still is behind Ryan Persick (2011-13); Persick had 120 career extra points (Conrad currently has 106), 23 field goals (Conrad has 18), and 189 kicking points (Conrad has 160).

QUINN SCHULTE

• Schulte has totaled up some impressive scoring records, thanks to three years of varsity play (as a receiver his sophomore year in 2016 with his brother Bryce at quarterback, Quinn caught 52 passes for 546 yards and 5 TDs). He is tied with Will Martin for career touchdowns, with 42, as well as career points, with 252. His 37 career rushing TDs are just two behind Martin's 39. He also tied Martin for the school regular season rushing touchdown mark, with his two scores against Marion giving him 17 for the season.
• In total yards (rushing, receiving and passing) Schulte is moving up on his brother Bryce's career mark of 5103 yards. Quinn has 4670 going into the 2018 playoffs, putting him just 433 yards back (he's averaging over 205 yards of total offense per game this season).
• While Schulte's passing yards and TDs don't quite measure up to his brothers' Reggie and Bryce, it's kind of interesting to see how many scores Quinn has accounted for. While he's scored 42 himself (37 rushing and 5 receiving), he's also thrown for 35 ... so he's been involved in 77 touchdowns in his three seasons at Xavier. I don't think anybody keeps track of that as a record, but it's an impressive number.

The March Continues

Xavier’s streak lives on, as the Saints won their 21st consecutive game (and 35th straight regular season game) with a 41-0 shutout of Center Point-Urbana. The victory sets up the final game of the season between Xavier (8-0, 4-0 in D-4) and Marion (4-4, 3-1 in the district). Xavier wins the district outright with a win (that would be their fifth straight district title in Class 3A) while Marion gets at least a share of the championship and a playoff spot if they win (couple a win by Marion with a Western Dubuque loss to Maquoketa and Marion is the champion).

Xavier rolled over CPU without much difficulty, scoring on all six first-half possessions and starting the continuous clock for the eighth time with a third-quarter touchdown. That touchdown was special ... Braden Stovie had a chance to carry the ball in, but went down at the 2. On the next play, Quinn Schulte tossed a scoring pass to Kyle Thompson, a player who means a lot to the Saints. Thompson is a converted lineman who has spent his years working away on the scout team, and it obviously pleased the Xavier side for him to get a score. The players on the field (and the Xavier coaches next to me in the booth) celebrated that quite a bit.

Schulte had another big game, with 200+ yards passing for the second straight week. Perhaps the best drive was in the second quarter, when a nice CPU punt had Xavier backed up at the 1. Schulte threw three consecutive passes to Kyle Moeder, covering the entire 99 yards and ending with a 27-yard TD pass. The defense put up their fourth shutout of the year (and could have had two more, with late scores by Regina and Dubuque Wahlert coming against the scout defense). The Saints added four or five sacks, too ... Jon Bell leads D-4 with six (officially, although I think he’s got eight or nine) and Kyle Krezek has five (again, at least).

I’ve been a little slack in my usual tracking of potential school records, so let me rectify that a bit. Ben Conrad booted two field goals against CPU (including a 45-yarder at the end of the first half), making him 9 for 10 on field goal attempts. Those nine kicks equal the school record for field goals in a regular season (Ryan Persick in 2012), so another one this week sets a new mark. Conrad already has surpassed the school record for kicking points in a regular season, with 72 going into Friday night (61 was the old mark, again by Persick). Meanwhile, Schulte is on the precipice of breaking Will Martin’s 2006 record for rushing touchdowns in the regular season. Schulte has 16, one behind Martin’s total.

So this Friday brings the end of the regular season and the beginning of the postseason. Xavier is, I think, assured of a playoff spot regardless of what happens Friday - with a win they’ll have one of the top 3 RPIs in the class, probably, which means they’d host the first two rounds of the playoffs. The only way they go on the road for the first round is a loss to Marion plus a Maquoketa win over Western Dubuque, which is vanishingly unlikely. Who will the opponent be? Well ... the 3A field is going to be stacked. Xavier, Solon, and Lewis Central are likely to be undefeated; Sergeant Bluff-Luton, Sioux City Heelan, Waverly-Shell Rock, North Scott, Clear Creek-Amana, Oskaloosa, and Pella could all be 8-1. That’s 10 teams out of 16 with one loss or fewer (the rest of the field looks to be Decorah, Western Dubuque, and Harlan at 7-2, then Norwalk, Carroll, and Spencer all at 6-3). Given the restrictions of RPI seeding, who gets home field, and geography, Xavier’s first-round opponent could very well be ...

Pella. Yep, a rematch of last year’s championship game is certainly a possibility for the first round, and considering Pella’s only loss came by one point in overtime to Oskaloosa, that’s a dangerous foe to start the playoffs with. But we will see. Pairings should be out in the early morning hours Saturday.

EDIT ABOUT RECORDS: For some reason, the list of Xavier records I have is a little wonky ... it showed Ryan Persick with the regular season records of 9 field goals and 49 extra points, but it also showed his regular season kicking-points record as 61. When that total of kicks above is 76. So I must have messed up in filling out my record sheet sometime ...

Anyway - Conrad's 9 field goals through 8 games do appear to set a new Xavier regular season record (it looks like the previous regular season record was 6, not 9). Also, his 72 kicking points sets a new record (61 was indeed the previous mark, as Persick had just 4 regular season field goals in 2012). Persick is the only Xavier kicker to make more than 9 field goals in any season, including playoffs - he had 10 in 2012 and 12 in 2013. Conrad is certainly within striking range, particularly if the Saints go well into the playoffs. Conrad's 45 extra points are 4 behind Persick's regular season record of 49, with one game yet to go.

Career-wise Conrad has 153 kicking points; Persick's outstanding years in 2012-13 (plus one field goal in 2011) gives him a total of 189, so he's 36 points behind with a potential five games left to play. Conrad also has five field goals of 40 yards or more, including a 47-yarder last year and 45- and 48-yarders this season.

How Things Stand At The Final Week

Six of the nine districts in Class 3A are settled after the games of Week 8; only D-3, D-4, and D-5 still have question marks about who is going to be the champion. That also means that, in general, we have a good idea about who is going to be in the playoff field. What we don't know, however, is exactly how the state is going to bracket things.

Let's start with what we know. The district champions and automatic playoff qualifiers are:

Sergeant Bluff-Luton, D-1 (Sioux City Heelan can tie them with a win over Spencer and an SBL loss to Storm Lake, but SBL has the head-to-head tiebreaker)

Carroll, D-2 (Boone could tie with a win over Webster City and a Carroll loss to Dallas Center-Grimes, but Carroll has the head-to-head tiebreaker)

Solon, D-6 (the winner of Washington-Mount Pleasant could tie if Solon loses to Fairfield, but Solon has the head-to-head tiebreaker over both of them)

Oskaloosa, D-7 (Pella could tie with a win over Grinnell and an Oskaloosa loss to South Tama, but Oskaloosa holds the head-to-head tiebreaker)

Norwalk, D-8

Lewis Central, D-9 (Harlan could tie with a win over Winterset and a Lewis Central loss to ADM, but Lewis Central has the head-to-head tiebreaker)

So what about the other districts? They have exactly the same scenarios:

In D-3, Decorah plays Independence on Friday; a Decorah win gives them the title. Should Independence win, along with a Waverly-Shell Rock victory over Charles City, there would be a three-way tie for the championship; Waverly-Shell Rock would be named the champion due to RPI, and Decorah and Independence would both be playoff qualifiers. If both Decorah and Waverly-Shell Rock lose, Independence would be the district champion.

In D-4, a Xavier win over Marion gives the Saints the district crown. If Marion wins, along with a Western Dubuque win over Maquoketa, there would be a three-way tie. Xavier would be the champion with the best RPI, and Western Dubuque and Marion would both be in the playoffs. Losses by both Xavier and Western Dubuque would give the district title to Marion.

In D-5, a North Scott victory over Davenport Assumption means North Scott wins the district. An Assumption win, along with a Clear Creek-Amana win over Central DeWitt, sets up a three-way tie, with CCA probably taking the championship with their RPI. Assumption and North Scott would also be in the playoffs. Losses by both North Scott and CCA would give Assumption the championship.

So for playoff qualifiers, we know we have:

• Sergeant Bluff-Luton
• Carroll
• Solon
• Oskaloosa
• Norwalk
• Lewis Central

The other likely district champions are:

• Decorah
• Xavier
• North Scott

And to fill the rest of the field by RPI, it would look like this (going with my projections of Week 9 results):

• Sioux City Heelan (.6716)
• Waverly-Shell Rock (.6492)
• Clear Creek-Amana (.6461)
• Harlan (.6438)
• Western Dubuque (.6299)
• Pella (.6282)
• Spencer (.5894)

There still could be a few wrinkles, as you can see by the potential scenarios in D-3, D-4, and D-5. Should all three of those districts end in 3-way ties, meaning Independence, Marion, and Davenport Assumption join the playoff party, that would mean only Heelan (with a win over Spencer) or Harlan (should Heelan lose and Harlan defeats Winterset) would make the field as at-larges ... leaving Pella and Spencer out.

But it's probably going to look something like the 16 qualifiers you see above. What could be a likely playoff bracket? District champions host the first-round games, with the exception of the one with the worst RPI (that would be Carroll, by far). The state has said they want to use RPI to seed as much as they can, with geography only being a last resort. My guess is that means the priority would be to protect the top 4 RPI teams so they don't meet before the semifinals in the Dome, and then try to not put two high RPI squads together in the first round. With my projections showing the top 4 RPIs as SBL, Xavier, Lewis Central, and North Scott, here's a possible playoff bracket that might do the trick:

Carroll at Sergeant Bluff-Luton

Sioux City Heelan at Norwalk

----

Spencer at Lewis Central

Harlan at Oskaloosa

----

----

Waverly-Shell Rock at Xavier

Western Dubuque at Decorah

----

Pella at North Scott

Clear Creek-Amana at Solon

A Look At The Playoff Situation

All righty, I usually like to start prognosticating playoff possibilities with about three weeks to go in the season. Back in the day, when there were 7 district games and 4 of them were in the books, it didn't take advanced calculus to figure out who might be eliminated from contention and who had an easy path to a district title.

Well, the state couldn't let that be. With only 5 district games now, trying to forecast the possibilities with 60 percent of your district games left was dang near impossible, at least for somebody without access to a NASA supercomputer. So, I waited another week, and with two games left in the season, the district possibilities are starting to come into focus.

Now, what I'm looking at here is district titles. At-large playoff teams are going to be chosen by RPI statewide, and while we're starting to narrow down the ranges of RPIs, there's still going to be some significant changes over the final two weeks. I may have a more definite prediction of the entire playoff field after Week 8, so we'll see.

I make no guarantees that I've found every scenario or possibility. I kind of raced through this, but I think I've got all the high points. I'll welcome corrections or comments. For now, how the districts break down:


DISTRICT 1

Sergeant Bluff-Luton wins the district with a win.

Either Heelan or Spencer can with the district with two wins if Sergeant Bluff-Luton loses twice.

Storm Lake will be eliminated with a loss to Heelan.

LeMars is eliminated.

There is a wild scenario which could result in a five-way tie: Storm Lake defeats Sergeant Bluff-Luton and Heelan; Denison-Schleswig wins over Sergeant Bluff-Luton and LeMars; Spencer loses to Heelan but defeats LeMars. That's a five-way tie at 3-2 in the district, and five playoff qualifiers from District 1 alone. Yikes.



DISTRICT 2

Carroll wins the district with a win.

Boone can win the district by winning twice if Carroll loses twice.

Humboldt can win the district by winning twice, Carroll losing twice, and Boone losing once.

The loser of Webster City/Dallas Center-Grimes is eliminated. There are some scenarios where the winner might be involved in a tie.

Perry is eliminated.



DISTRICT 3

Either Independence or Decorah wins the district with two wins.

If Independence and Decorah both win this week, Week 9's game between the two decides the district title. An Independence win this week also eliminates Waverly-Shell Rock.

If Waverly Shell Rock wins twice and Independence beats Decorah, there will be a three-way tie.

West Delaware, Charles City, and Waterloo East are all eliminated.

DISTRICT 4

No matter what happens this week, if Xavier defeats Marion in Week 9 the Saints win the district.

Marion wins the district with two victories.

Western Dubuque wins the district with two wins and two Xavier losses.

If Western Dubuque wins twice and Xavier defeats CPU and loses to Marion, there will be a three-way tie.

Center Point Urbana, Maquoketa, and Dubuque Wahlert are eliminated.



DISTRICT 5

Clear Creek-Amana wins the district with a win.

North Scott wins the district with two wins.

If North Scott beats Clear Creek-Amana and loses to Davenport Assumption, while Assumption beats Iowa City Liberty and Clear Creek-Amana defeats Central DeWitt, there will be a three-way tie.

Central DeWitt, Iowa City Liberty, and Clinton are eliminated.



DISTRICT 6

Solon wins the district with a win over Fairfield.

Mount Pleasant wins the district with two wins plus two Solon losses; they can tie with two wins and two Fairfield wins.

Washington wins the district with two wins and two Solon losses.

Fairfield needs to win twice, have Solon lose to Keokuk and Mount Pleasant lose once. They can force a three-way tie with two wins, a Solon win over Keokuk, and two Mount Pleasant wins.

If Solon loses twice there's a variety of scenarios for ties involving Washington, Mount Pleasant, and Fairfield.

Fort Madison and Keokuk are eliminated.



DISTRICT 7

Oskaloosa wins the district with a win.

If Oskaloosa loses twice, either Pella or Newton can win the district with two wins.

If Oskaloosa loses twice, Pella beats Newton but loses to Grinnell, then Oskaloosa, Pella, Grinnell and the Newton-Knoxville winner all tie. If Newton beats Pella but loses to Knoxville, then Oskaloosa, Newton, Knoxville and the Pella-Grinnell winner all tie (both assuming Grinnell defeats South Tama).

South Tama is eliminated.



DISTRICT 8

Norwalk wins the district with a win.

Bondurant-Farrar wins with two wins and two Norwalk losses.

If Norwalk loses twice, several tie scenarios are in play involving the Ballard-North Polk winner, Gilbert if they defeat Bondurant-Farrar, and Carlisle if they win twice.



DISTRICT 9

Lewis Central wins the district with a win.

Either Harlan or Winterset can win the district with two wins and two Lewis Central losses.

If Lewis Central loses twice and Glenwood beats Creston, tie scenarios come into play including Winterset, Creston, and Harlan.

If Creston beats Glenwood, Lewis Central will win all possible tiebreakers.

One Half of Lightning, Three Hours of Waiting

The matchup between two top-ten programs in Class 3A, with undefeated Xavier taking on 5-1 Western Dubuque, looked like a royal struggle for the lead in District 4. The Saints and the Bobcats had pretty much the top two offenses and defenses in the district, Xavier with an edge on the defensive side and Western Dubuque with a bit more explosive offense - in fact, the Bobcats averaged over 400 yards per game and had the second-best offense in all of Class 3A.

It all didn't live up to the hype, as Xavier scored on all four of their first-half possessions and shut out Western Dubuque 35-0, in a game delayed over three hours by lightning. The kickoff was moved up two hours, to 5 pm, in an effort to beat the oncoming weather - but the Saints provided all the lightning necessary. A ten-play drive on the first possession resulted in a touchdown pass from Quinn Schulte to a wide-open Matt Jordebrek; on Xavier's next possession it took just five plays (some big runs by Braden Stovie) until Schulte ran it in from 14 yards out; in the second quarter another long 11-play drive was capped by a 2-yard Stovie run; and that was followed by another five-play drive, including a 38-yard pass to an again wide-open Jordebrek, that was finished by Jordebrek's second TD catch of the night. It was 28-0 at halftime, and the powerful Bobcat offense had only about 50 yards of total offense.

Then came the lightning, which tormented football games across eastern Iowa on this night. The homecoming halftime festivities all went off fine, the teams came out and loosened up, Xavier received the kickoff and ran one play - and there was the lightning. The crowd and the teams were sent off to safety as the required 30-minute delay after each lightning strike was counted down. Two or three times it looked like the weather had moved through - the teams actually even came out to warm up at one point until lightning chased them back inside almost immediately - but it took over three hours before the situation was finally deemed safe enough.

Things didn't change a whole lot. Western Dubuque was able to get a little bit of offense going in the second half, and their defense had a little more success in stopping the Saints, but the Bobcats never really threatened to score while Xavier was content grinding out as much of the clock as they could. The Saints tacked on another touchdown in the fourth quarter - a 24-yard rocket from Schulte to Bryson Bastian, who spun like a top past one defender and dove into the end zone - and that fired up the continuous clock for the seventh time in seven games.

So now Xavier goes to 7-0 and 3-0 in District 4, and definitely has the advantage for the district crown. Regardless of what happens at Center Point-Urbana next week, if the Saints defeat Marion in Week 9, they'll win their fifth consecutive district title and secure a playoff spot. Western Dubuque still has a chance, should Xavier lose twice and the Bobcats win out, and there is a scenario involving a three-way tie between Xavier, Western Dubuque, and Marion that would put all three into the playoffs. But Xavier holds their own destiny in their hands, and as defending state 3A champions, I doubt they'd want it any other way.

Just Like Clockwork

While some observers of high school football thought before the season that the Dubuque Wahlert Golden Eagles might be on an upswing, the first few weeks of games made it clear that Wahlert and Maquoketa were two District 4 teams still struggling and trying to find their way. So naturally, that's the first two district opponents faced by defending state 3A champion Xavier. The Saints had handled Maquoketa 41-0 the previous week (starting with a 28-point first quarter), and this past Friday rode a 35-point second quarter to a 45-6 win over Wahlert.

The game started as several this season have ... with Xavier's opponent finding room to move the ball in the first quarter. West Delaware had done it, Maquoketa had done it, Decorah had even taken a 3-0 lead in the early going. Wahlert did it here by surprise, coming in with an offense that had averaged only 24 yards a game on the ground, but running the ball play after play on the opening drive and gaining two first downs on the ground. Coach Jim O'Connell's defense was able to clamp down, though, and that was just about all the Golden Eagles were able to do. By the time Wahlert ran 12 more plays, covering four possessions, the Saints were already up 28-0.

And again, as we've seen many times this season, it was an explosive second quarter that opened things up for Xavier. The Saints had score 21 points in the second quarter against Regina, 24 points against Decorah, 31 points against Davenport Assumption - here, with an early 7-0 lead thanks to Quinn Schulte's interception of Bryce Osterberger being turned into points, Xavier blew things open with five touchdowns in the second period. Schulte found Braden Stovie down the seam, who spun away from the Wahlert safety for a long touchdown; Schulte ran for a score; Schulte threw a beautiful 40-yard bomb to Nate Skala; Stovie ran for a TD; and then finally, after a terrible shanked punt gave Xavier the ball at the Wahlert 14 with under 20 seconds to play, Schulte fired the ball to Kyle Moeder on a slant pattern for yet another score. It was 42-0 at the half, and once again the entire second half would be played with the continuous clock.

Schulte had one of his best passing games of the year, with 196 yards and 3 TDs, while the Saints gained "only" 155 yards on the ground (but Wahlert only had 24, almost all of that on the first drive). The defense was once again salty, only giving up the shutout late in the game on a pass from Osterberger to Danny McDermott after Xavier fumbled at their 25.

That second quarter ... Xavier has scored 128 points in the second over six games, by far their biggest quarter over the season. With the exception of that 28-point outburst in the first quarter against Maquoketa and a 28-point third quarter against West Delaware, the second quarter has really been the bellwether for the Saints. A couple of other things ... Xavier has given up only 3 first-quarter points all year (to Decorah) and just 9 in the first half; and Xavier's scout team has outscored opponents in the fourth quarter by 27-19.

Now the real test comes, as Xavier faces their toughest competition in District 4 - the Western Dubuque Bobcats. The Bobcats have lost just once, a 7-6 decision to District 5 favorite North Scott, and feature the 2nd most potent offense in Class 3A. Calvin Harris has been a terrific quarterback, throwing for nearly 1200 yards, Ben Bryant leads a strong ground game, and Drake George has caught 42 (!) passes in the first six games (Schulte has completed a total of 46 passes; George has caught almost that many by himself).

Rolling Into The Second Half

Hard to believe we are already into the back half of the 2018 high school football season, but here we are, heading to Week 6. The weather is certainly making us feel the chill of fall, after a scorching hot Thursday football Friday revealed a cool, crisp, nearly perfect autumn evening - perfect for another fall tradition, Xavier rolling over their district foes on the gridiron.

The Saints scored their 18th straight win (a new school record) and ran their all-time Class 3A district record to 26-1 with a convincing 41-0 win over Maquoketa. It was also Xavier's 32nd consecutive regular-season win, stretching all the way back to a loss to Iowa City Regina in 2014. The Saints never really had that much trouble with the Cardinals, scoring on their first four possessions and adding an interception return TD by Bryson Bastian to lead 28-0 at the end of the first quarter and 35-0 at halftime. Meanwhile, Maquoketa started the game with a decent drive but managed only two more first downs the rest of the first half.

With a continuous clock in the entire second half, there wasn't much time to move the ball, and the Cardinals got only two first downs in that half as well. Xavier's Ben Conrad kicked two field goals, including a school-record-tying 48 yarder, and that lifted the Saints past 40 points for the fifth time in five games. Xavier has now had the continuous clock running in all five games this year, three times for the entire second half and once for the entire fourth quarter - that's 90:13 of game time running with a continuous clock (over 75% of all their second-half time this year). I don't imagine anybody keeps records for an esoteric stat like that, but I do know the 2012 Saints had 104:38 of continuous clock during that season. That's over nine games. This year's team is closing in on that through five. Amazing.

Chances are the Saints will blow past that 104:38 time this week when Dubuque Wahlert comes to town. Wahlert, like Maquoketa, is winless on the season, and hasn't really competed in any of their games. The Golden Eagles are hapless on the ground, rushing for less than 25 yards a game, and have given up a monstrous 426 yards per game on defense. The one slightly bright spot for Wahlert is their passing game, as Bryce Osterberger has been tossing the football around to a bunch of receivers for nearly 200 yards per game, but they've still been outscored 232-60 on the season. I really don't think Xavier will have much trouble controlling both sides of the ball.

Things do get more interesting after that. Western Dubuque, perhaps the strongest contender for Xavier in District 4, faces the Saints on October 5. The 4-1 Bobcats are that "1" in Xavier's 26-1 district record, spoiling the Saints' homecoming back in 2014 with a 7-6 win - and guess what, October 5 will be homecoming for the Saints again. Hmm .. That game will go a long way towards determining this year's district title, I think. Anyway, the regular season winds down for Xavier with road games at Center Point-Urbana and at Marion, two teams who still have playoff hopes if things break their way over the last four games. Marion, for one, is battle-tested, having lost excruciatingly close games against West Delaware and Clear Creek-Amana and holding on to win a wild one against CPU last week.

So, another notch in Xavier's cap, and a struggling Wahlert team coming up this Friday. Stay tuned, though ...

Wrapping Up Non-District ... In Style!

Before the 2018 season started, a savvy observer could look at Xavier's schedule and point toward September 14 as a real test of where last year's state champions would stand. The Saints were set to go on the road to West Delaware, a place they had never played, to take on a sturdy 3A program with a 10-year playoff streak that was returning a 1200-yard rusher, a very good quarterback, and had some real size and strength on both sides of the line. Indeed, going into the game we were looking at a matchup of two undefeated squads with serious playoff expectations.

(Yes, West Delaware's 3-0 record came partly from a forfeit from the week before, when Mt. Vernon's coach made the principled and upright admission that his team had inadvertently used a player for more quarters than was allowed in their last-second win over the Hawks. It still stands, though, that West Delaware has excellent players in an excellent program that intended to give the Saints everything they had.)

And for a rather tough 15 game minutes on Friday night, Xavier and West Delaware were slugging it out toe-to-toe, with only a blocked extra point keeping the game from being tied. By the time the Hawks got four more first downs, though, Xavier had tallied four touchdowns and a field goal to pull away on their way to a 45-12 win. The Saints remain undefeated, with their 17th consecutive win tying a school mark set in the state championship year of 2006.

The game was scoreless until very late in the first quarter, when Nate Skala finally got a chance at a punt return and raced all the way inside the West Delaware 20. A penalty on the Hawks moved the ball to the 8, and Quinn Schulte ran it in on the next play to go up 7-0. After that, Saints mistakes coupled with a fired-up Hawk team started to turn the tide a bit. Xavier had a possible touchdown on a long pass-and-run from Schulte to Braden Stovie taken off the board by a penalty; then on the very next play Schulte threw one of the worst passes of his career off-target, where it was intercepted by West Delaware.

The interception return set the Hawks up at Xavier's 35, and another penalty moved the ball inside the 20. Xavier's defense stood up strong inside the 10, forcing a third-down play. West Delaware's Nick Casey did a nice job of faking handoffs to two running backs criss-crossing in the backfield, then threw to a wide-open Logan Winn for the tying touchdown. Wait a minute - there would be no tie, as Xavier blocked the extra point attempt (Jim Ecker tells me it was Pat McGinn on the block) and Xavier held on to a 7-6 lead.

Xavier's defense ended up stopping the Hawks on 4th down on their next possession, taking over near midfield. A few plays later Schulte makes an outstanding run, taking the time to set up blocks downfield and looking for space, going 33 yards down to the 1. He carried the ball in on the next play to put the Saints up 14-6. Xavier forced a three-and-out after than, and when Casey's punt didn't make it all the way out of bounds, Schulte was back there to field it and return it all the way to West Delaware's 39-yard line. The offense gets to the 6 before being stopped on 4th down, and Ben Conrad boots his fourth field goal of the year to give Xavier a 17-6 halftime lead.

Then comes the third quarter. Xavier received the kickoff, with a nice return setting them up at the 44. The Saints move steadily downfield, every play on the ground (against a defense that had been much better against the run than the pass this season). Schulte runs in his third TD of the game on a 1-yard sneak to make it 24-6. The Saints allow one first down on the Hawks' next drive, but then force a short punt, muffed and recovered at their 42. On the first play, Schulte drops back and looks deep down the middle to a streaking Kyle Moeder, who outraced his defender, gathered in the bomb, and sped the rest of the way for a 58-yard score. Now it's 31-6. West Delaware gets only one first down again, and Xavier stuffs the Hawks on 4th and short at the WD 41. Again, on the next play, Stovie runs off-tackle to the right, evades tacklers, makes a fancy stutter-step move, runs between two other defenders, and is eventually hit at the 2 and carried into the end zone by West Delaware tacklers. Three consecutive Xavier plays have ended in touchdowns, with 21 points scored in less than four minutes of game time. It's 38-6 with almost 6 minutes left in the third quarter, and the Hawks are trying to figure out what hit them.

Xavier adds another touchdown on a 38-yard run by Stovie in the fourth quarter before West Delaware finally puts together a nine-play drive to score with just under three minutes left. But that's all she wrote. What looked like a tough test going in, and even through the first quarter, ends in another 40-point game for the Saints and another convincing victory.

A couple of points - Xavier had a lot of penalties on the night. If there's one thing that's hurt good Xavier teams over the years, it's 15-yard penalties at inopportune times (and in most cases, those 15-yard penalties are easily avoidable, the odd pass-interference call notwithstanding). In the first three weeks of the season, we hadn't seen that as a factor, but it certainly was there this past week. The other point is the mistakes - Schulte's poor throw for an interception, a muffed punt that was lost, a couple of passes to open receivers just off the mark. Take those things away and you're looking at an even more dominant victory. I'll also just mention, going into the game I thought Xavier would probably need to use the passing game to get going, as West Delaware had proved rather weak at defending the pass while being very tough on the ground. It turns out the 58-yard TD bomb from Schulte to Moeder was just about the only passing yards Xavier would get on the night, while the ground game piled up a ton of yardage. I think this does show the Saints' offensive line is continuing to play at a very high level.

Now we go into district play. Remember, district champions are guaranteed playoff spots in October, while anyone who does not win their district has to compete with the rest of Class 3A for one of the remaining seven (or fewer, considering possible district ties) spots. So it's a pretty big deal to win the whole thing. Xavier has won their district each of their four seasons in 3A (winning by a tiebreaker in 2014, outright and undefeated the other three years) and are in pretty good shape to repeat again this year. Maquoketa and Dubuque Wahlert are the first two district games, and neither has won a game yet. The next test for the Saints will be October 5 against Western Dubuque, a team putting gaudy numbers up on offense until dropping a 7-6 decision to North Scott last week. And the end of the district schedule continues to be a challenge, with a pretty good Center Point-Urbana team and finally Marion (both of those on the road).

Thirty-Three and a Third (Percent)

One-third of the way through the 2018 season already, and the Xavier Saints look, well, like the defending state champions. Quinn Schulte and Braden Stovie ran for just about 110 yards apiece and the defense picked up their first shutout of the year as the Saints blanked Davenport Assumption 48-0 last Friday.

Let's talk a bit about that defense. They've allowed 7 points to Iowa City Regina, then 3 to Decorah before the shutout of Assumption - if that trend persists, they'll start allowing negative points, if that's possible. Jon Bell has credit for 4 sacks and Kyle Krezek has 3, opponents have gotten a total of 57 yards passing over the past two weeks, the Saints are allowing only about 63 yards per game on the ground, the linebackers (particularly juniors Ethan Hurkett and Jakob Forslund) are playing great, we've already seen two blocked punts this year ... Coach O'Connell has these guys playing at a really high level.

But really, Xavier is running on all cylinders so far this year. The Saints have scored 40-plus points in all three games, against pretty good competition (even though all three teams Xavier defeated are currently 1-2, Regina is a top 1A team, Decorah is really pretty good with plenty of size and talent, and Assumption has always played tough against good opponents). The continuous clock has run for the entire second half of two games and the entire fourth quarter of the other. Add to that, as I mentioned, that they've allowed only 10 points, and the first third of the season has been pretty much everything you'd want so far. Heck, one of the sore points of good Xavier teams over the years has been penalties, but even that hasn't been an issue so far this season. Even the scout team offense has shined, putting together solid, consistent, long drives in the fourth quarter of all three games and finishing two of those drives with touchdowns (the other one ended inside the 5 as the clock ran out).

But a test is certainly coming this week. West Delaware boasts a ton of offensive weapons, from a huge 300-pound sophomore lineman blasting open running lanes to a quarterback (Nick Casey) who's already thrown 80 passes for almost 500 yards to one of the top running backs in the state (Caleb Kehrli). Kehrli has run for just about 1800 yards in his last 14 games, averaging 5.9 yards per carry with 100 carries already in three games this season (that's no small sample size!). West Delaware and coach Jim Winkowitsch have a terrific 3A program in Manchester, one that's been to the playoffs for 10 years in a row, and this offense has been unstoppable so far.

Defensively, though, the Hawks do appear to have a weak link - they've given up a ton of passing yards. You can't really put that on teams trying to catch up through the air, either, as Marion led West Delaware pretty much the entire game two weeks ago until the Hawks pulled it out at the end, and Mt. Vernon stayed step-for-step with WD last Friday with the lead changing hands three times over the past 3 minutes or so.

(A bit of an aside: while Mt. Vernon pulled out that game at the end in a thrilling finish, it turns out one of their players participated in more quarters of football than he was allowed to last week, playing in both JV and varsity contests. Mt. Vernon's head coach self-reported the situation, which by rule results in a forfeit to West Delaware - that means the Hawks are officially 3-0 going into this week's Xavier game.)

So it's up to Schulte and the Saints receivers to make a mark this Friday. The offensive line has been outstanding at both run and pass blocking so far - they'll need to keep that up with WD's Jordan Bries accounting for 5 sacks already this year. The receivers, by the way, have generally shown up big this season - Kyle Moeder had two big TD catches against Regina, and Matt Jordebrek added two more against Decorah - but there were some drops and missed opportunities last Friday. West Delaware probably isn't going to be very forgiving of Xavier mistakes.

As the season has started to take shape over the first third, Xavier has certainly solidified their expectations as the favorite in District 4. This week is probably the Saints' toughest test so far this season - once district play starts on September 21 Xavier begins with Maquoketa and Dubuque Wahlert, two struggling programs that have yet to find a win, but October 5 will be another big test as Western Dubuque comes to Saints Field. Apparently it's the WD teams that are looking to challenge Xavier in 2018.

Mentioning district titles and playoffs - the official RPIs are posted on the IHSAA website. They don't mean anything after just three games, but it's a chance to see how those numbers are shaping up. Remember, if you win your district, it doesn't matter what your RPI is, you're in the playoffs. That number is going to come into play for the at-large, non-district-champion playoff qualifiers, of which there could be as many as seven. So it's interesting at this point, but doesn't really mean that much.

Let's see what Xavier does on the road at a pretty darn good opponent this week, then we'll get started on the district games after that.

One If By Land, Two If By .. Punt Return?

The Decorah Vikings reached the 2004 Class 3A state championship, facing the Harlan Cyclones in the title game. The Vikings found themselves outmatched that day in Cedar Falls, dropping a 42-7 decision. For 13 years after that, Decorah proved to be one of the top programs in the state, never losing a game by anything like five touchdowns.

Until last Friday in Cedar Rapids. The Xavier Saints ran over, around, and through the Vikings, striking by land, air, and special teams, as Xavier rolled to a SIX-touchdown win, 45-3. Braden Stovie ran for 198 yards, converting 3rd-down plays over and over again, while Quinn Schulte passed for 138 yards and 3 TDs.

The game started like many expected, looking like a defensive slugfest in the first quarter. Decorah has some huge dudes along the line of scrimmage, and with senior leadership everywhere on the field, the Vikings looked determined to show they weren't afraid of the defending state champions. The Vikings were coming off a solid 24-20 win over Waukon, the defending Class 2A state champions, so they were full of confidence. Each team traded a possession early, then Xavier's Wyatt Johnson blocked a Cameron DeLong punt after a bad snap, giving the Saints decent field position. Unfortunately, soon after that Nate Skala fumbled after catching a Schulte pass, and the Vikings took advantage, driving into Saints' territory and setting up DeLong for a 35-yard field goal, driven by a strong south breeze. Decorah led 3-0.

Xavier responded. Boy, did they respond - a 14-play, 80-yard drive, every play on the ground, with Stovie and Schulte running seven times each. Schulte finished that drive with a 6-yard scoring run to put Xavier in the lead, and they never gave it up again. It was almost like the Vikings were hit by the hammer of Thor, over and over again - Decorah went three-and-out; Skala and the Xavier punt return team struck with a 69-yard return, down to the 17, where Schulte tossed a scoring pass to Matt Jordebrek. (That wasn't the last we'd see from the punt return team, by the way). Another Viking three-and-out was followed by a five-play drive; incompletion, incompletion, 15-yard Stovie run, a gorgeous 50-yard pass to Jordebrek, followed by a 5-yard TD pass to Jordebrek again.

Decorah's one bright spot in this onslaught came after that score, when Kailer McCabe took the kickoff return, blasted through the Saints kickoff team, and dashed down the far sideline with Aaron Larson in hot pursuit. It looked like it might be a touchdown return ... until McCabe lost the handle on the ball and dropped it out of bounds at the Xavier 40. The Saints held tough, even after a pass interference penalty, and all the promise of the big kick return ended with a missed field goal attempt, short and to the right. On the ensuing possession, Stovie took the handoff on a sweep after being lined up in the slot, dashing down the field with three Vikings on his heels, finally dragged down at the five by Drake Shelton after a 69-yard run. It was Decorah's turn to hold tough here, and Ben Conrad nailed a 27-yard field goal to make it 24-3 at halftime.

The second half was more of the same. Even after a Stovie fumble on the first series of the half, Decorah could get only one first down in the third quarter. Meanwhile the Saints put together another 80-yard drive, with a perfectly placed 33-yard pass from Schulte to Derrick Skala setting up a 10-yard TD throw to Nate Skala. After another Viking three-and-out, the punt return team rose to the occasion again, clearing the field and opening the way for Nate Skala to go 65 yards for the touchdown as the third quarter expired. It was 38-3, and the continuous clock would run for the rest of the game. Decorah was able to drive into Xavier territory on their next possession, but the drive ended when Jace Johnson picked up only a yard on fourth and two. Then the Saints scout team offense, just as they did against Regina the week before, put together a nice series and rolled deep into the opponent's territory, keeping the ball for eleven plays behind Patrick Chambers and Christian Klein (plus a 5-yard pass from Tyler DuPont to Drew DuPont). Klein slammed into the end zone from the 2 with 44 seconds left, and it was 45-3 - Decorah's worst defeat in over 14 years.

While we've gone over the tremendous success of Xavier's offense and special teams during this game, the defense came to play as well. Decorah rushed for 142 yards, resulting in total team offense of ... 142 yards. The Vikings had zero pass completions on the night, and just seven first downs, scoring their only points after a Xavier turnover and coming up with nothing after a huge kickoff return into Saints territory. So, yeah, things are meshing pretty well for this Xavier team in their first two games.

This week comes Davenport Assumption, who lost to Rock Island Alleman in week one before shutting out Dubuque Wahlert 37-0 last week. The Knights are another good, solid football program, perennial playoff contenders in Class 3A led by coach Wade King (who has won 120 games since 2002). In recent years Assumption's player numbers have been dropping; from what I saw they had just 22 varsity players dressed the first week and only 24 against Wahlert - but the guys on the field are good, tough, athletic football players, and they've always given Xavier a tough game.

These Guys Are Pretty Good

The 2018 football season kicked off Friday night, or should we say, late Friday afternoon. With the weather forecasters trumpeting fears of violent weather coming in the early evening hours, schools across eastern Iowa panicked and moved their varsity contests to an earlier time, either canceling or postponing the sophomore/freshman/JV games. For Iowa City Regina vs Xavier, the AD at Regina decided to move kickoff all the way up to 5:00 pm (the originally scheduled freshman game start time) and simply canceled the freshman game altogether.

(At least in Cedar Rapids, the predicted bad weather - torrential rain and plenty of lightning - did indeed roll through Friday night. Closer to 11:00 Friday night, but okay ...)

Anyway, yes, I'm kind of whining about the weather screwing with schedules (not to mention the freshmen getting a game taken away from them), but once the game kicked off - my goodness, it looks like Xavier is picking up right where they left off after winning last year's Class 3A state title. The Saints romped all over the Regals, scoring on their first five possessions and adding a punt-block safety as well, ending with a 44-7 victory.

Quinn Schulte was terrific at quarterback for Xavier. He ran for the first two scores, then threw four TD passes after that to account for all six of the Saints touchdowns. I had him with 67 yards on the ground and 9 of 14 passing for 177 yards, in just over a half of football. Braden Stovie had a couple of exciting runs from the tailback position, with about 63 yards and a TD catch. Kyle Moeder brought some thrills, too, catching a pair of scoring passes (56 and 39 yards) where he simply outran the Regal defenders to the end zone.

And the Saints defense was all it had been cracked up to be. While Regina QB Ashton Cook came out throwing and moved the ball well on the first series of the game, Xavier adjusted to the nonstop passing attack and started putting some pressure on the Regal sophomore. Kyle Krezek ended up with a couple of sacks on the night, and Bryson Bastian picked off an overthrow on the first possession that set up the Saints for their opening score. Ethan Hurkett, Tanner Wright, and Jon Bell were actively harrassing Regal ballcarriers all evening, with Bell getting a block of Regina's first punt attempt that resulted in a safety.

Regina has a pretty decent team: Cook is a good quarterback, and is going to grow quite a bit over the next three seasons; Alec Wick, Patrick Clark, and Scott Arndt are tall, accomplished receivers; and they've got some decent size on the lines. The Regals were able to make three sustained drives against the Saints defense (admittedly, the final 11-play, 84-yard scoring drive was against Xavier's scout defense). However, they only crossed midfield three times - once on their opening drive (with Bastian's interception coming on the next play), again on the last play of the first half (already trailing 37-0) and finally in the fourth quarter on their scoring drive.

Let's give some credit to the Xavier scout team, by the way. The offense ended the game with an 11-play, 70-yard drive, with the clock running out as the Saints were on the 2 (again, admittedly, the Regina scout team was in on defense). Patrick Chambers, Christian Klein, and Tyler DuPont picked up good yards on the ground. And Xavier's scout defense forced the Regina first-team offense to use 8 minutes of game time and 11 plays to drive for their score, aided by a couple of pass interference calls (one justified, one I really don't know about, as the ball was about 12 feet over the receiver's head).

Anyway, a solid, dominating performance by Xavier to open the season. It made four straight victories over Regina in five years (in fact, Regina's victory in 2014 was the last time Xavier had lost a regular-season game) and 28 consecutive regular-season wins. Next week Decorah comes to Saints Field, bringing a Viking team that dropped the top-rated Class 2A team, Waukon.