It's Sort Of A Dynasty ...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

547 completions in 870 attempts, 62.9% completion rate

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

105 passing TDs versus only 27 interceptions

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

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

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

And We're Off ...

It's hard to know whether any of us were ready - I'm not sure I was - but the 2017 high school football season arrived Friday night regardless. With weather more suited for late September than August (a beautiful cool day, sunny comfortable evening), players all over the state jogged out onto the green grass fields to kick off another season of gridiron competition.

Now that I'm done with the poetic John Facenda-like portion of this post ... Xavier appeared to pick up about where they left off in 2016 by throttling the Class 1A top-ranked Iowa City Regina Regals 23-6. These teams have played the last four years, with each of them being taut, competitive matchups. Last night wasn't quite as back-and-forth as previous games, but certainly was a good test for the Saints to get going and measure themselves as they rebuild an entire offense unit.

The first quarter was both sides mainly testing the other, each offense moving the ball a little but with no real threats developing. Xavier's defense chalked up the first notes, forcing a fumble on Regina's first play and then seeing Jon Ball block a Regal punt on the second possession. That block set up the Saints at the 20 yard line, but a motion penalty prevented a first down and Ben Conrad's 30-yard field goal try missed just right.

In the second quarter Regina's offense started to control the ball a little more. After taking over at their 11, QB Michael Conlon and RB Isaac Vollstedt combined to pick up 4 first downs and drive into Xavier territory. The Saints held at around the 40, though, forcing a punt and taking the ball at their own 9.

Welcome to the backfield, Braden Stovie. On the first play of the series and his first carry of the night (over halfway through the second quarter), Stovie blasted off-tackle, found daylight and a lot of open space, and dashed down the field for a 70-yard run to Regina's 21 yard line. Three plays later, Stovie hammered the ball in from 8 yards out behind a strong offensive line surge, and Xavier led 7-0.

I think the Saints defense took even more inspiration from that lightning-quick drive. Regina's next possession started at the 33, but ended at the 15, thanks to losing yardage on a pass and a big sack of Conlon by Jacob Hines. That forced a poor punt by the Regals, giving Xavier great field position at the Regina 37. Quinn Schulte, the third Schulte brother to step into the Xavier quarterback spot since 2011, showed some good speed and shifty moves running for 32 yards on the second play, and Stovie took it in from the 4. Now it was 14-0 Xavier late in the first half.

Defense wasn't done, although they happily took the mistakes Regina handed them. After the Regals kickoff return was stopped at the 10, the next snap slipped through Conlon's hands and he was lucky to get on the ball just before it crossed the goal line. After an incompletion, another botched snap nearly bounced out the back of the end zone before Conlon corralled the ball - same result, though, as Xavier chalked up a safety to go up 16-0. After the free kick, with about a minute left on the clock, the Saints started at the Regina 41 and were trying to get more, but a sack of Schulte on 2nd down kind of put the kibosh on that plan.

Regina's offense tried to turn the page in the third quarter. After a Xavier three-and-out, the Regals put together another drive (again led by Vollstedt and Conlon, the two big Regina offensive stars of the game) into Saints territory. Another mistake, this time a holding call on a big Conlon run, kept them out of the red zone and forced a turnover on downs.

Xavier again hit with a big play, a 39-yard sprint from Schulte (with a horse-collar penalty tacked on) to get into the red zone. Six running plays followed, with Schulte sneaking into the end zone from a yard out to put the Saints up 23-0 with 4 minutes to go in the quarter.

Regina's next two possessions were their most productive. Vollstedt broke away for a 45-yard dash, then carried the bulk of the load as the Regals drove inside the Xavier 10. On 4th and 1 at the 5, Regina was whistled for another false start penalty, and on the next play, Conlon's pass was tipped and then intercepted by Justin Schneider in the end zone (who made the curious decision to try to run it out, getting only to the 3). After a Saints punt as we move into the fourth quarter, Regina put together another strong drive, mixing Conlon passes and Vollstedt runs (plus a pass interference call on Xavier) to once again move inside the 10 yard line. The Saints defense held firm again; the last four plays of the drive (starting at the 8 yard line) were incompletion, loss of 2, incompletion, sack.

Xavier's offense was only able to run off a couple of three-and-outs after that, sandwiched around a Schulte interception of Conlon's pass, but that did serve to run time off the clock. Regina just did get on the board and break the shutout with 13 seconds left, when Conlon connected with Patrick Clark from 20 yards away (the extra point try was low and bounced off the onrushing line push).

So almost a 23-0 blanking of one of the top teams in Class 3A, but still a convincing 23-6 win for Xavier. The Saints gave up a lot of yardage - Vollstedt had around 150 yards, and Conlon threw 41 passes for almost 150 more - but also forced three turnovers and blocked a punt without making a turnover themselves. You could almost see the offensive line put things together in front of your eyes, as the holes developed better and got bigger after the first quarter. Schulte was smart and efficient throwing the ball, and showed some good running skills as well. Stovie's big run lit the fire, and he rolled to a 100-plus yard night with two TDs.

Next week the Class 4A Linn-Mar Lions come to Saints Field, for the 17th meeting of these former MVC foes (only Prairie and Kennedy have played Xavier more times in the past 20 years). Paul James, the longtime coach at Cedar Rapids Washington, is in his first year at Linn-Mar, and we'll see if he's able to build a new tradition at a place that was a football powerhouse 30-some years ago.

A Look Ahead At District 3

With less than six weeks until the 2017 high school season kicks off, I thought it might be worthwhile to take a look at Class 3A District 3 and get a feel for what we might expect this fall. I make no predictions and expect no wagers - I've been around long enough to know I don't really know anything, and you never can tell who's going to exceed expectations and who's going to disappoint. Heck, I remember one media person last year tabbed Vinton-Shellsburg to finish 2nd in the district and make the playoffs; their only district victory turned out to be over winless Independence on their way to a 2-7 season.

So that's why I don't predict. Here's a quick look at District 3 and who comes back for each squad, listed in the order of their 2016 finish.

XAVIER (7-0, 2-1 in playoffs, 11-1 overall)

The Saints had a record-breaking year in 2016, with school records set in all sorts of offensive categories. Xavier never trailed between the third quarter of the Linn-Mar game in Week 2 and Vinton-Shellsburg's opening drive in Week 8, so that was 21 consecutive quarters where the Saints were never behind. But, high school players are also students, who graduate and move on to other things - so long, Maliki Wilson. We'll miss you, Bryce Schulte. Best of luck, Nolan Butkowski. We're going to miss you, John Rocca, Max Johnson, Sam Meyers, Ryan Jasper, Josh Gerke, etc, etc, etc. Only one starter returns for Xavier on offense (Quinn Schulte, who will be a junior this year, was the leading receiver in 2016 with 52 catches for 526 yards and 5 TDs; he might end up moving to quarterback in the footsteps of his brothers Reggie and Bryce). Just four are back on the defensive side (Jacob Hines on the line, McClain Burger and Jack Lemke, who was the team's second-leading tackler, at linebacker, and Quinn Schulte in the backfield). Xavier has always had a strong feeder program and a terrific sophomore squad (I can't remember the Xavier sophomores losing more than one game in a season for the past ten years), and with Coach Duane Schulte entering his 20th year as Saints head coach, you can expect Xavier to reload more than rebuild. But it could be a challenging season.

BENTON (6-1, 0-1 in playoffs, 7-2 overall)

The Bobcats had a surprisingly effective year in 2016, running the table with six straight district wins after losing to Xavier in September. They've got some talent returning; Spencer Touro threw for 1086 yards and 9 TDs, while Maurice Williams ran for 1307 yards and 14 TDs. Luke Wiebel spelled Touro at quarterback, going 17-37 for 207 yards. Both Touro and Williams were strong on the defensive side, as well. Vance Bartelt is the district's best returning kicker, scoring 52 points last season.

WAVERLY-SHELL ROCK (5-2, 1-1 in playoffs, 6-3 overall)

The Go-Hawks have a long tradition of football success, which continued in 2016. While losses to Xavier and Benton knocked them out of the automatic playoff spots, Waverly-Shell Rock still qualified as one of the two at-large 3A teams in the entire state. They then proved they belonged by upsetting West Delaware in the first round before Xavier knocked them out of the playoffs in the second round. Leading rusher Gabriel Santoiemma is back this fall, pounding out 1032 yards and 11 TDs last year. Receiver Jack Seward also returns, who had 18 catches for 336 yards to go along with 3 interceptions on defense. Brady Leonard and Braden Holmquist also return on the defensive side, as well as punter Jordan Gayer (34.8 yards per punt).

DECORAH (4-3, 5-4 overall)

The Vikings edged into the playoffs in 2015 and ended up getting all the way to the third round by upsetting Xavier 30-21 in a second-round game. Last season wasn't quite as successful, but if anything, Decorah has an even stronger football tradition than Waverly-Shell Rock. The Vikings return Brannan Hogan at quarterback, who passed for 718 yards last year, while running back Jake Muhlbauer ran for 525 yards and 7 TDs. Andy Lillegraven had 21 tackles on the defensive side, while Jared Redenius and Dawson Holkesvik each recovered two fumbles.

CHARLES CITY (3-4, 3-6 overall)

The Comets had a rough go of it in 2016, and did it with a crew made up mostly of seniors. If I remember right, I think injuries really took a toll on that squad. Dylan Koresh ran for 392 yards as a sophomore last season, while Tre Walker caught 24 passes and scored 3 TDs. Derek Milligan will be back as kicker, and Theo Arndt was the primary punt returner in 2016 - they will find a regular place for him on the field this fall.

SOUTH TAMA (2-5, 3-6 overall)

The Trojans turned from a successful 2A program to a struggling 3A squad in 2016, but they were pretty young in most positions. Plenty of experience will come back for South Tama this year, with most of these guys playing both ways. Isaac Judge ran for 426 yards and had 60 tackles with 54 sacks; Brady Fritz caught 19 passes and had 40 tackles; Tanner Probasco caught 18 passes and added 62 tackles. Mario Moncada (56 tackles, 3 sacks) and Colton Vest (36 tackles) were strong on the defensive side.

VINTON-SHELLSBURG (1-6, 2-7 overall)

The second of two teams in District 3 nicknamed "Vikings," Vinton-Shellsburg had a rough go of it last year. They only defeated new 3A squad Center Point-Urbana and winless district foe Independence over the course of the season - but they also had the distinction of being the only district team to hold a lead over Xavier, and that for almost the entire first half. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately, we will see) the Vikings return almost nobody from 2016. Blake Bohnsack threw for 367 yards and 2 TDs, and Justin Bartz should punt again, but there's not much else.

INDEPENDENCE (0-7, 0-9 overall)

The Mustangs were coming off an 8-1 regular season and a playoff appearance in 2015 (only losing to powerhouse West Delaware by 4 points), so it was kind of a shock to see the program drop off so dramatically. Independence scored only one touchdown in their first seven games, finishing with a total of 29 points for the entire season. There are quite a few players who earned a good amount of playing time and are coming back this fall; Kenyon Hosch threw for 251 yards (and 11 interceptions); Zach Snyder caught 17 passes for 234 yards; Seth House caught 14 passes and added 50 tackles; Sam Graeser had 40 tackles and 3 interceptions while sharing punting duties; and Hunter Shannon and Cyrus Butters returned kicks and punts (Butters, I believe, started out with some good games receiving, then must have gotten hurt and missed most of the rest of the season).

So there you have it, as far as some of the experienced names coming back in District 3 this fall. Of course, there will be plenty of last year's sophomores (as well as juniors who didn't see the field much in 2016) making their marks and leading the way, so obviously one can't make predictions based solely on last year's performance. What we can expect, though, is another solid year from Xavier; contention from Benton, Waverly-Shell Rock, and Decorah; and probably some improvement from South Tama and Independence. Charles City and Vinton-Shellsburg, well, I think we have to wait and see.

Six Weeks And Counting ...

Actually, from today (Saturday, July 15), it's now less than 6 weeks until high school football takes to the field.

The Xavier Saints will be defending their Class 3A District 3 title, although with just one starter back on offense and four starters back on defense, it's anything but a foregone conclusion. The Saints have taken the district title in all three seasons in Class 3A, and advanced to the 3A semifinal game in two of those three seasons. The 2016 season ended in heartbreaking fashion when Pella scored a last-ditch touchdown with no time remaining to defeat the Saints 34-30 in what turned out to be a classic high school football game.

Once again, every game of the Xavier football season will be broadcast on KMRY radio, 1450 AM and 93.1 FM in Cedar Rapids. You can also hear worldwide on kmryradio.com, or with the TuneIn app on your mobile device. I'll be bringing you the play-by-play, and Mike Winker will be alongside with the analysis for his 20th consecutive season of Xavier Saints football on KMRY. Here's the 2017 schedule (times subject to change):

• Friday, August 25: Xavier at Iowa City Regina (tape delayed after Kernels baseball)
• Friday, Sept. 1: Linn-Mar at Xavier (tape delayed after Kernels baseball)
• Friday, Sept. 8: Benton at Xavier (game time TBA; possible Kernels playoff game)
• Friday, Sept. 15: Xavier at Charles City (pregame 7:10)
• Friday, Sept. 22: Decorah at Xavier (pregame 7:10)
• Friday, Sept. 29: Xavier at Independence (pregame 7:10)
• Friday, Oct. 6: Waverly-Shell Rock at Xavier (pregame 7:10)
• Friday, Oct. 13: Xavier at Vinton-Shellsburg (pregame 7:10)
• Friday, Oct. 20: South Tama at Xavier (pregame 7:10)
• Friday, Oct. 27: First round playoff game (kickoff 7:00)
• Friday, Nov. 3: Second round playoff game (kickoff 7:00)
• Thursday, Nov. 9: Semifinal playoff game, UNI-Dome (kickoff 5:36 or 8:06)
• Thursday, Nov. 16: 3A Championship game, UNI-Dome (kickoff 7:36)

As for a quick overview of last season: 

• Xavier and Regina have played three classics in the last three seasons; Drew Cook led the way in a close Regina win in 2014, Xavier came back from a 35-7 hole at halftime to win 38-35 on the final play in 2015, and Xavier's early goal-line stand and Maliki Wilson's school-record 291 yards rushing keyed a 35-26 Xavier win last year.
• In 2016 Linn-Mar became the first local, public 4A program to play Xavier since the Saints entered Class 3A in 2014 (West Des Moines Dowling played Xavier in 2014, and were on the 2015 schedule before lightning canceled that matchup). The Lions played a solid game and led Xavier 17-14 in the third quarter, but a combination of forced turnovers and an offense gone wild led to 31 unanswered points and a 45-17 Saints victory.
• The Saints handled Benton after a thunderstorm delay in Van Horne in 2016, jumping to a 41-0 lead and cruising to a 47-14 win. Benton ended up second in District 3 with a fine season overall, and return several playmakers from last year's squad.
• Xavier again jumped out on Charles City, leading 35-0 before finishing with a 35-7 win. The Saints also defeated Charles City in a first round playoff game in 2014.
• Decorah actually ended Xavier's season in 2015 with a surprising second-round 30-21 playoff victory at Saints Field. Xavier turned the tables on the Vikings last year, with Wilson going over 200 yards again in a 38-6 win at Decorah.
• Independence was coming off two strong seasons in 2014 and 2015, but the bottom fell out for the Mustangs in 2016. They'd scored just one touchdown in the five games leading up to the Xavier game, and failed to score then as well, with the Saints winning 45-0.
• Xavier had two hard-fought playoff victories against Waverly-Shell Rock in their first two years in 3A (33-20 in 2014 and 14-7 in 2015), and expected a strong district challenge from the Go-Hawks in 2016. Surprisingly, the Saints defense shut down Gabe Santoiemma and the rest of the Waverly-Shell Rock squad, allowing a school-record low 22 total yards and shutting out the Go-Hawks 42-0. Waverly-Shell Rock finished third in the district, and made the playoffs as one of two at-large entrants, winning their first round game and facing Xavier again in the second round. The Saints again jumped out to a 24-0 lead on their way to a 38-14 victory.
• Vinton-Shellsburg came into the Xavier game toward the end of a disappointing season, but the Vikings got out in front on their first possession and actually led the game until 31 seconds remained in the first half. Xavier got things going in the second half to win 32-8.
• South Tama re-entered Class 3A in 2016 after a strong couple of years in 2A, and had high expectations for the season. Their record wasn't strong, though, as they finished the season facing Xavier. The Saints went out to a 41-0 lead and coasted to a 48-12 win.

The Saints set a bunch of school records last year. In addition to his school single-game record, Wilson ended up with record rushing totals for the season (2054 yards) and his career (3327 yards). He also set the regular-season scoring mark with 123 points, including 26 points in the Linn-Mar game alone. Bryce Schulte set career marks for pass attempts, pass completions, passing yards (4347), passing touchdowns (58), and total yards (5103). The team set school records in rushing yards and total yards (for all seasons with less than 14 games - the 2012 squad had more total yards).

Coming up next: a look ahead at District 3.

Basketball? Can I Do That?

If you wanted to hear me - a guy who's done football play-by-play for years, but only watched basketball once in a while - try to do basketball on the radio, well, you missed your chance.

I had to step in on KMRY to fill in for Morgan Hawk a few times this month, first for a regular-season girls' game at Prairie, and then three postseason tournament games. My schedule won't allow me to do any more (even though both the boys and girls are still alive in tournament play), so if you didn't hear - too bad.

I don't think I was terrible, but I was only okay at best. I think I did get better by my fourth try, the boys' district final at Mt. Vernon. Basketball is a lot different from football, as far as play-by-play goes, and statkeeping is tricky.

Enough about me on the radio. How about those Xavier basketball teams? The girls rolled into the tournament on an eight-game winning streak, then came from behind at halftime to beat Clear Creek-Amana handily in the regional semifinal (the Saints scored 40 points in the second half. Forty!). Xavier then took on a tough Waverly-Shell Rock team in the final, and freshman Caitlynn Daniels scored a layup with less than a minute left to break a tie, then stole the ball to ensure a win. The Saints are back in the girls' state tournament (not unusual for an odd-numbered year - Xavier has missed going to state in an odd year only once since 2005, with eight appearances and three state titles in that stretch). Xavier takes on Grinnell Tuesday night in their opening game in Des Moines (Grinnell knocked Xavier out of the postseason last year, so maybe the girls are looking for a little payback).

The boys, meanwhile, were just 10-11 in the regular season. Remember, though, they lost their last six games of the regular season in 2016, then caught fire and won the state 3A championship. They started out their defense of the title in a district semifinal at Mt. Vernon Monday against Central DeWitt, and the Saints ran away from the Sabers with a 70-30 win. Nolan Butkowski sank 4 three-pointers to lead the way with 16 points. In the district final on Thursday, Jackson Joens had 19 points and Butkowski, Matthew Mims, Quinn Schulte and Max Techau all scored in double figures to lead Xavier to a win over Mt. Vernon. The Mustangs held an 8-point lead in the first quarter, but Xavier turned it on and led by as much as 17 before winning by 8 themselves. The Xavier boys face Dubuque Wahlert Monday night at the US Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids for their chance to return to the state tournament - Wahlert lost the state championship game to the Saints last year, but had a rebuilding season this year (only 5 wins in the regular season). Wahlert then upset Solon and top seeded Davenport Assumption in district play to advance to this substate final.