Xavier High School - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Saints win historic volleyball match

Xavier High School should just go ahead and cancel all of its classes on Thursday and declare it a sports holiday.

Lots of students will have trouble concentrating on school Thursday with the volleyball and football teams participating in the semifinals of their state tournaments that day.

Get some rest and get ready to cheer.

The Xavier volleyball players carved their names into the record books Tuesday night when they clipped the Marion Indians, 27-25, 25-18, 22-25, 26-24, at the U.S. Cellular Center for the first victory at the state tournament in school history.

The Saints (32-9) will face Dubuque Wahlert (26-6) in the semifinals of the Class 4A tournament at noon Thursday.

And in a rare day-night doubleheader, the Xavier football team will play Pella in the semifinals of the Class 3A tournament at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls Thursday at 8:21 p.m.

"They are giving us a half-day off," said Xavier kill-shot artist Charlotte Richards, who rolled up 29 kills against Marion. "I think they are dismissing us at 11."

Richards would like to see the Xavier football team play top-ranked Pella Thursday night, but not if she and her teammates upset Wahlert and reach the state finals Friday at 12:15 p.m.

"If we have a match on Friday I will not be going to the game," she announced. "I've got to get some sleep."

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No. 2 Saints earn date with No. 1 Pella

The Xavier Saints peeked ahead a little when the Class 3A football brackets were announced two weeks ago and saw they would play top-ranked Pella in the semifinals if both clubs got that far.

They don't have to peek anymore.

The mighty clash between the No. 1 Dutch (11-0) and the No. 2 Saints (11-0) is all set for Thursday at 8:21 p.m. in the UNI-Dome.

Bryce Schulte heaved three long touchdown passes and Maliki Wilson broke another school record Friday night as Xavier ripped Waverly-Shell Rock, 38-14, in the quarterfinals of the Class 3A tournament at Saints Field to set up the meeting against Pella.

The Saints are certainly not complaining.

"I think the state did a pretty good job putting it (the bracket) together," said Schulte. "It makes sense, because they're not all the way across the state."

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Would Iowa put Schulte at tight end?

When Bryce Schulte attended the University of Iowa football camp this past summer, he was not auditioning for the Hawkeyes as one of the top high school quarterbacks in the state.

Schulte went to the camp as a tight end, even though he has never played the position in his life.

"That was the first time putting my hand on the ground. It was fun," said Schulte, who is a star quarterback for the Xavier Saints and a versatile athlete.

"The tight end coach (LeVar Woods) is really good at what he does. It was fun being physical with other kids at the camp and going up against them one-on-one. And it was fun catching balls, too, because I'm not used to that either."

From all accounts, Schulte performed very well as a tight end as a blocker and receiver at the UI camp. And if he doesn't get any offers to play quarterback at a major college, he'd gladly accept a chance to change positions if a major college would give him a chance.

"I would go for tight end," he said without hesitation. "Play as high as I can. I would play any position for my team, basically. I want to play Division I and that would be pretty cool."

Schulte has the size and athletic ability to play tight end at 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds. In addition to playing football at Xavier, he's an all-conference baseball player and was a key reserve on the Xavier basketball team that captured the Class 3A state title last winter.

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Young Saints roll to state volleyball

Austin Filer does not show a lot of emotion during Xavier volleyball matches, but the first-year head coach had to battle back some tears after the young Saints earned a spot in the Class 4A state tournament Monday night with another impressive performance.

Filer sat alone on the Xavier bench while his players celebrated on the floor at Ron Thillen Gymnasium, his face a little flushed and some moisture around the eyes.

The sixth-ranked Saints swept eighth-ranked Clinton, 25-11, 25-12, 25-22, to claim the fifth trip to the state tournament in school history and the first since 2012.

"It's been a great season," Filer said after collecting his thoughts. "It's great to know that it's not over, but it's always fun to hit goals. I'm really, really proud of my group tonight."

Xavier (31-9) will face Marion (34-9) in the quarterfinals of the state tournament next Tuesday, Nov. 8 at 6 p.m. at the U.S. Cellular Center in downtown Cedar Rapids. The semifinals are scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 10 at noon and the finals are Friday, Nov. 11 at 12:15 p.m.

Filer inherited a club that finished with a 15-22 record last season and completely turned things around despite having only two seniors on the varsity.

"It's a great feeling to have, just knowing that our team put everything out there and gave everything we have," said Charlotte Richards, the kills leader for the Saints as a junior. "Knowing that we're going to state now is a great feeling that I'll never forget."

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