Xavier Football

Persick helps boot Saints to semifinals

Ryan Persick has been kicking a ball for as long as he can remember, but it was always a soccer ball.

Football came later.

"I think it was my freshman year," he said Monday. "They needed a kicker, so I came out. And I was pretty good."

Actually, "pretty good" is putting it mildly.

Persick, a 165-pound junior, has broken three records at Xavier High School this season and ranks among the Class 4A leaders in three departments.

He kicked two clutch field goals in a 28-7 victory over Prairie last Friday to help the third-ranked Saints reach the semifinals of the Class 4A playoffs.

Xavier (12-0) will face Cedar Falls (11-1) at 7:06 p.m. Friday night in the UNI-Dome.

Persick booted a 46-yard field goal in the second quarter against Prairie to snap a 7-7 tie. "It was a pretty special moment right there," he said. "It changed the momentum a little bit."

Persick also delivered a 38-yarder to give the Saints a 13-7 edge in the third quarter and kicked two extra points in the game.

"He's been a real valuable contributor," Xavier Coach Duane Schulte said Monday before practice. "We've found over the years, when you have a good kicker it helps in a lot of things."

Persick has kicked 63 PATs this season, giving him two school records for the price of one. He's broken the single-season mark of 49 PATs set by Joe Bedard when Xavier won the Class 4A state title in 2006 and he's also snapped the career mark of 59 PATs set by Chad Gilmer in 2010 and 2011.

Persick is 7-for-10 on field goals this year and has scored a total of 84 points, topping the school record for most points in one season by a kicker. The old mark was 73 points by Bedard in 2006.

Persick ranks second in the state in Class 4A in most PATs (63 of 65), he's tied for third in kickoff yards (4,087 yards on 80 kickoffs for a 51.1 average) and he's tied for fourth in most field goals (7).

"It's gone pretty good," he said modestly. "We can improve on things."

Persick credited Drew Scott, the snapper on field goals and PATs, and Corbin Woods, who holds for all the kicks. He said they practice "quite a bit" as a unit.

Persick grew up with soccer and plays at Xavier, but it's no longer his favorite sport.

"I like football a little more than soccer," he said. "It's a little more of a team sport. More disciplined."

Xavier defeated Cedar Falls, 24-7, during the regular season, but the Saints expect a stiff challenge and a close game in the semifinals Friday night in the rematch. In fact, it could come down to a field goal.

Persick smiled at the thought.

"I'm trying not to think about that game now," he said.

Gardner sparks No. 3 Saints by Hawks, 28-7

The Xavier Saints hopped aboard a red-headed comet Friday night and soared into the semifinals of the Class 4A playoffs.

Wes Gardner rambled for 173 yards and scored two touchdowns as the third-ranked Saints topped Prairie, 28-7, before an overflow crowd of approximately 4,500 fans at Saints Field.

Xavier (12-0) will play Cedar Falls (11-1) in the semifinals next Friday at 7:06 p.m. in the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls. Ankeny (12-0) will meet Southeast Polk (10-2) in the first semifinal at 4:06 p.m.

The Saints got off to a sluggish start against Prairie and trailed 7-0 in the second quarter when Gardner replaced Brendan Miller at tailback. They took off from there, with Gardner attacking the line of scrimmage.

The Saints were a different club with the red-headed tailback in the ballgame.

"Wes played a great football game," Xavier Coach Duane Schulte said. "The offensive line started to get off the ball a little better and get a little more surge and he took advantage of it. That helps."

Gardner did not begin the season as a tailback. He was strictly a defensive back when practice began in August, but began working in the offensive backfield after Cal Stovie suffered a torn ACL during a 48-14 victory over Prairie in Week 3.

Gardner had run for only 187 yards all season, but he nearly matched that in the biggest game of the year so far.

"I'm just excited to keep playing hard and get to the Dome," said Gardner, a 5-10, 165-pound junior. "Work hard for the seniors. Get them there."

Gardner scored on a 5-yard run with 4:38 left in the first half to get the Saints on the scoreboard and Ryan Persick's PAT made it 7-7.

Persick gave Xavier a 10-7 lead with he drilled a 46-yard field goal with 21 seconds left in the half. Persick made it 13-7 when he hit a 38-yard field goal with 8:35 remaining in the third quarter as the Saints scored on three straight possessions.

Meanwhile, Xavier's defense tightened the screws on Prairie quarterback Jace Hanna and made it tougher and tougher for the Hawks to move the ball. Hanna finished 17 of 47 for 190 yards and absorbed several strong hits from the Saints.

"We knew what their routes were going to be," said Gardner, who played the entire game on defense in addition to his work at tailback. "Good job by our line to get up there and pressure him."

Hanna normally hits 59 percent of his passes, but he completed only 36 percent against the stingy Saints. Xavier kept changing its assignments in the defensive backfield, giving Hanna different looks all night.

"We mix it up, because they're such great athletes and Jace Hanna is a great quarterback," said Xavier defensive back Trey Sampson. "We had to keep moving around and switching it around."

Xavier quarterback Reggie Schulte, the most accurate passer in the state at 75 percent, also had a tough night and finished 11 of 20 for 106 yards, but he made several big plays and scored on a 12-yard run in the fourth quarter for a 19-7 lead. Gardner's conversion made it 21-7.

Gardner sealed the victory with a 2-yard touchdown with 6:21 left in the game.

Corbin Woods caught eight passes for 82 yards for Xavier, including a sensational 20-yard grab when he leaped between two defenders to help set up a touchdown.

Schulte and Hanna had combined to throw 63 touchdown passes this season, but neither QB had a touchdown pass Friday.

The Hawks hurt their chances by committing seven personal fouls in the contest, mostly for a series of late hits. Three of those personal fouls by the Prairie defense came on one drive and helped Xavier march 88 yards for the tying touchdown in the second quarter.

Prairie was whistled 10 times for 110 yards, a big factor in the outcome.

The Hawks looked like the sharper team in the first quarter, but they couldn't sustain it and their surge through the playoffs came to an end. Prairie (8-4) upset Dubuque Senior in the first round and shocked No. 2 Iowa City West in the Sweet 16, but they ran out of steam on Saints Field.

Prairie Coach Mike Morrissey held an emotional meeting with his players on the field after the game and broke down in tears as he hugged his players. He told the Hawks to be proud of their accomplishments this season after finishing with a 2-7 record last year.

"Thank you from myself and the rest of the coaches for letting us be part of it," Morrissey told his club.

Jarred Edmonds caught seven passes for 128 yards for the Hawks.

Xavier defeated Cedar Falls, 24-7, in the UNI-Dome on Oct. 12. A big contingent of approximately 1,500 Saints fans made the trip to Cedar Falls that night and know the way.

"It will be a tough game," Coach Schulte said. "It's tough to beat Cedar Falls in the Dome.

"We were able to do it before and we'll try and do it again. But they're a good football team, obviously. We'll give it a shot."

Cedar Falls rallied to defeat Pleasant Valley, 28-21, in the quarterfinals Friday night at Pleasant Valley.

The Class 4A championship game will be played in the UNI-Dome on Friday, Nov. 16 at 7:06 p.m. The Saints won the state title in 2006 in the UNI-Dome to finish with a 13-0 mark that year.

CRP -- Mitch Christensen 6 run (Sam Drysdale kick)
CRX -- Wes Gardner 5 run (Ryan Persick kick)
CRX -- FG Persick 46
CRX -- FG Persick 38
CRX -- Reggie Schulte 12 run (Gardner run)
CRX -- Gardner 2 run (Persick kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing
CRP - Christensen 21-83, Hanna 5-(-1)
CRX - Gardner 23-173, Schulte 9-50, Miller 7-15, Steingreaber 2-7, Thorsteinson 2-6, Woods 1-(-1), Team 2-(-4)

Passing
CRP - Hanna 17-47-1-190
CRX - Schulte 11-20-1-106

Receiving
CRP - Edmonds 7-128, Smith 4-39, Harper 3-14, Dellamuth 2-11, Christensen 1-(-1)
CRX - Woods 8-82, Miller 2-11, Grimm 1-13

Woods, No. 3 Saints brace for surging Hawks

Corbin Woods loves baseball and has dreamed for a long time about playing baseball in college, but football is moving up on the outside.

Woods has enjoyed a terrific season as a receiver and punt returner for the third-ranked Xavier Saints and undoubtedly could play football in college. He still thinks he'll play baseball, but now he's not 100 percent sure anymore.

"I'm weakening a little bit on that," he said Wednesday. "I've definitely been thinking about it. Right now I'm just trying to wait until after football to make up my mind for sure."

Xavier (11-0) hosts Prairie (8-3) in the quarterfinals of the Class 4A playoffs at 7 p.m. Friday at Saints Field in northeast Cedar Rapids.

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Saints garner 6 spots on all-MVC

Cedar Rapids Prairie quarterback Jace Hanna has been named the Athlete of the Year in the Valley Division of the Mississippi Valley Conference for the 2012 campaign.

One of the people he topped for the award is Xavier quarterback Reggie Schulte, and they'll meet Friday night in the quarterfinals of the Class 4A playoffs at Xavier.

Xavier claimed six spots on the Valley Division's top unit with Schulte, Corbin Woods, Seth Fahnle, Emeliano Martinez, Craig Murtha and Ryan Persick.

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