But for most Iowa high school teams, including Xavier, the action begins the last week of August. What are some things to look forward to in 2019?
Xavier will be defending their back-to-back Class 3A state titles and their 26-game winning streak. The Saints are facing a strong challenge this season, with only three starters back from last year. And, after having a Schulte take at least a few snaps at quarterback every season since 2010, there aren't any Schultes left on the roster. Pretty much the entire starting lineup will need to be rebuilt, but Coach Duane Schulte has been here before. Last year's juniors got playing time throughout the season (with an average victory margin of 30 points over the past two seasons, everybody gets to see the field), and the tradition of success is a long-standing one at Xavier. The Saints haven't had a losing record since 2004 and have reached the playoffs every season since 2006, with 31 playoff wins, eight Dome playoff appearances (including five championship games) and three state titles.
Another thing to look forward to is brand new Field Turf at Saints Field. When Xavier opened in 1998 the football field wasn't ready at the start of the year (the Saints played at least one home game at Kingston Stadium), and by the end of the season it was discovered the field was a soggy mess. After being re-done for the 1999 season and beyond, Saints Field had a large crown down the center for drainage - a crown that often had visiting teams crying foul about the home-field advantage of playing on that slope (even though it was completely within the limits for a regulation field). Now, for 2019, a donor ponied up the cash to install Field Turf, which was completed over the summer, and now the Saints have a level, weather-proof surface to practice and play on.
The Saints begin their season with Iowa City Regina, a longtime Class 1A power. Regina had a down year in 2018, missing the playoffs for the first time in, well, practically forever. Coach Marv Cook has bunch of former Hawkeyes on his coaching staff, and he'll have his team ready. Regina has been facing the same problem almost every other Iowa high school team has been dealing with - low participation numbers. They typically have a few freshmen on the varsity squad just because they need the bodies (well, I mean, they're good freshmen - junior receiver Alec Wick will be making his third appearance against Xavier this year).
The other non-district games for the Saints are on the road at Decorah (a tough game this year, as the Vikings return some talented players), a Thursday night game at Davenport Assumption (another team that's had trouble getting enough kids out for football), and then back home facing West Delaware (a usual 3A power in northeast Iowa that had an unusual down season by their standards last year). The district games are home vs. Maquoketa (a struggling program that's making some strides), on the road at Dubuque Wahlert (another team that can't get bodies on the field, with a new coach this season), at last year's state champion runners-up Western Dubuque, then home for the final two games against Center Point-Urbana and Marion.
While Marion has been improving, they lose some important members of last year's team, and CPU still looks to be adjusting to the move to 3A - but that game at Western Dubuque is (at least from a preseason standpoint) the key game of 2019. Xavier handled the Bobcats easily in the regular season last year, winning 35-0 at home in a game that was first moved up two hours due to storms in the forecast, then delayed over three hours by lightning right after halftime. When they met again in the state championship, though, Western Dubuque stood toe-to-toe with Xavier, with the Saints not taking the lead for good until 10 minutes were left in the game.
The Bobcats bring back a lot of players in the so-called skill positions, with Calvin Harris at QB (if his commitment to play baseball at Ole Miss doesn't trump his senior year of football), running backs Jake Hosch and Ben Bryant, and receiver Payton Quagliano all returning. In my view, the Bobcats have to be the favorite in D-4 this season, and having the home field in their matchup against Xavier only strengthens their chances.
So, another little change this season to keep in mind - remember last year when the IHSAA brought the RPI calculation to bear, to determine at-large playoff qualifiers who did not win their district? In the first season of that system, the deal was all teams that tied for a district title automatically qualified for the playoffs, regardless of their RPIs. That could have potentially knocked some pretty strong contenders out of the playoffs entirely. With 16 slots and 7 districts, let's say two districts ended in three-way ties. Last year that would have meant 11 automatic qualifiers and only five at-large spots ... the sixth-strongest at-large RPI would have stayed home, with potentially a 5-4 team that tied in a weak district going to the playoffs instead. Well, that won't happen this year. Only district champions will be automatic qualifiers - if there's a two-way tie for a district, the team that won head-to-head gets the bid; if it's a three- or four-way tie, the highest RPI is considered the district champion. The other teams involved get thrown into the at-large pool with all the other non-winners of their districts. That guarantees only seven automatic qualifiers and the nine next-best RPIs get selected. I think that's a good move that better serves the purposes of the playoff field.
What that also means, though, is if Xavier loses to Western Dubuque this season, but the Bobcats drop another district game to, let's say, Marion. With both teams at 4-1 in the district, WD gets the automatic bid with their head-to-head win, regardless of how their RPI matches with Xavier. The Saints get put in the at-large pool, which likely gets them in (they had the third-best RPI in Class 3A last year, and no team with only one loss finished below 12th in RPI), but could very well mean road games in the playoffs. With the Saints' recent successes, the last road (non-Dome) playoff game Xavier had was their 2011 loss to Pleasant Valley - so it's been a while since the Saints had to go on the road in the playoffs.
But there's a long way to go before that first-round game November 1. In the meantime ... football is almost back! I can't wait!
