Xavier Football

No.1 Saints slay No.5 Assumption

DAVENPORT - The top-ranked Xavier Saints collected their first victory as a Class 3A football team Thursday night by pounding No.5 Davenport Assumption, 30-6, in a non-district game at the Brady Street Stadium in Davenport.

Jay Kortemeyer carried the ball 27 times for 184 yards as the Saints (1-1) rolled up 300 yards on the ground. The Xavier defense limited Assumption (0-2) to four first downs and just 107 yards of total offense.

Xavier quarterback Bryce Schulte scored on three short runs of 4, 1 and 4 yards. Dallas Klein kicked three field goals of 22, 24 and 21 yards and also was 3-for-3 on PATs.

Sean Murphy ran six times for 55 yards and Nic Ekland carried the ball six times for 52 yards for Xavier. The Saints ran the ball 60 times and threw it only seven times in the ballgame. Schulte hit 4 of 6 passes for 53 yards and no interceptions.

Xavier hosts No.3 Solon next Friday night.

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Saints drop rematch to No.1 Dowling, 24-2

WEST DES MOINES - The season-opener between Xavier and Dowling Catholic played out much differently than last year's state championship game in the UNI-Dome, but the end result was very much the same as the Maroons put a stranglehold on a new-look Saints offense throughout a 24-2 victory.

Although the Saints owned more than a five-minute edge in time of possession and first-year starting quarterback Bryce Schulte got plenty of reps against one of the best defenses in the state, the sophomore threw a pair of costly interceptions to Dowling's Dante Campero and Xavier never really threatened against the Maroon defense.

It was a marathon day for a Saints team that traveled two hours to central Iowa, only to deal with an hour-long rain delay late in the second quarter.

"They're a well-coached team with great players, but I think our kids battled hard," said Xavier Coach Duane Schulte. "They had to go to school all day, get on a bus and come down here with the weather the way it was. They tried to stay focused and play the number-one ranked team in the biggest classification."

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Saints drop rematch to No.1 Dowling, 24-2

WEST DES MOINES - The season-opener between Xavier and Dowling Catholic played out much differently than last year's state championship game in the UNI-Dome, but the end result was very much the same as the Maroons put a stranglehold on a new-look Saints offense throughout a 24-2 victory.

Although the Saints owned more than a five-minute edge in time of possession and first-year starting quarterback Bryce Schulte got plenty of reps against one of the best defenses in the state, the sophomore threw a pair of costly interceptions to Dowling's Dante Campero and Xavier never really threatened against the Maroon defense.

It was a marathon day for a Saints team that traveled two hours to central Iowa, only to deal with an hour-long rain delay late in the second quarter.

"They're a well-coached team with great players, but I think our kids battled hard," said Xavier Coach Duane Schulte. "They had to go to school all day, get on a bus and come down here with the weather the way it was. They tried to stay focused and play the number-one ranked team in the biggest classification."

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Saints bracing for big changes in 2014

There are big changes in store for the Xavier football team this year after two straight trips to the Class 4A championship game.

First of all, the Saints are now a Class 3A team following the break-up of the Mississippi Valley Conference and the shift to district football for everyone.

Secondly, most of the outstanding players who led Xavier to the 4A finals in 2012 and 2013 have graduated, putting Coach Duane Schulte in "rebuilding" mode for the first time in several seasons.

And finally, the Saints appear to have a challenging schedule even though all of their traditional 4A opponents in the Metro area declined to play them this year.

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