Xavier High School - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

No. 4 Saints swept by No. 3 Wahlert

DUBUQUE - The fourth-ranked Xavier Saints were swept by third-ranked Dubuque Wahlert, 25-18, 25-18, 25-23, in a battle of premier Class 4A volleyball teams in a Mississippi Valley Conference match Tuesday night in Dubuque.

Charlotte Richards led Xavier (23-5) with 15 kills. Jess Callahan collected 18 assists.

Wilson sparkles as Saints tame Lions

You can stop Maliki Wilson for one quarter, you can stop him for two quarters and you might even stop him for three quarters, but nobody can stop Maliki Wilson and his horde of blockers for an entire game.

Linn-Mar tried Friday night and failed.

Wilson put on a dazzling display of running in the fourth quarter with touchdown runs of 71, 97 and 66 yards during a span of 4 minutes, 18 seconds as the Xavier Saints ran by the Lions, 45-17, at Linn-Mar Stadium.

Wilson tied one school record (the 97 yarder) and broke another with 26 points in the ballgame.

Wilson had rushed for only 34 yards heading into the final period and the Saints appeared to be in trouble with Linn-Mar ahead 17-14, but Wilson galloped for 233 yards in that memorable last quarter to shatter the Lions and deflate the large crowd.

Xavier scored 31 straight points in the final 8 minutes, 55 seconds of the game to win convincingly.

"My old high school coach Tom Kopatich used to say, sometimes a bomb goes off and you get on a roll," Xavier boss Duane Schulte remarked. "That's kind of what happened tonight."

Wilson caught a 7-yard touchdown pass from Bryce Schulte in the first quarter Friday, but he did not accomplish a great deal again until he broke loose for those three long runs in the fourth period.

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Easy win is music to Xavier's ears

Zach Barish and Tom Pudil are helping the Xavier Saints play some sweet music this season.

Barish and Pudil are members of the Xavier football team that is ranked No. 1 in Class 3A with a 6-0 record after dismantling Independence, 45-0, Friday night in a district game at Saints Field.

They're also members of the delightful Xavier marching band that performs at halftime during home games, trading their shoulder pads and helmets for musical instruments while their teammates head to the locker room for a break.

On some days they have band practice before school, football practice after school and more band practice after football.

"Some days you get up about 5 and get home about 10," said Pudil, a 230-pound lineman who plays the trumpet. "You just have to make time. You've got to do it all to support your team, both the band group and the football team.

"Sometimes you lose sleep, but you have to do it for the group."

Barish and Pudil helped the Saints roll by Independence, but their weekend performances are hardly finished. They'll both perform in the Five Seasons Invitational marching band contest at Kingston Stadium Saturday afternoon, then they'll put on their dress clothes and play at the homecoming dance Saturday night.

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Rocca helps Saints rock 3A foes

The last thing Xavier Coach Duane Schulte told his players following their victory at Decorah last Friday was to make sure they volunteered as sand-baggers over the weekend to help fight the flood back home.

Lineacker John Rocca and the rest of the Saints took it seriously.

Rocca helped with the sand-bagging efforts at one of his coach's apartment complex, then he helped a teammate's family that lives in the affected area, then he went out to Palo to help there.

"I'd say the majority of us were downtown helping out," he said Tuesday. "We were all spread out."

Rocca lives in Marion, well out of harm's way, but said all of the Saints wanted to pitch in. "We're all together as a community," he remarked.

The Saints are a tight-knit group, on the field and off, and it's one of the reasons they are enjoying another fine season this year.

Xavier has a 5-0 record and is ranked No. 1 in Class 3A heading into Friday night's homecoming game against Independence, which has an 0-5 record and has scored only one touchdown all year.

The Saints are 3-0 in district games, outscoring their district opponents 120-27 in three blowout victories. South Tama, Waverly-Shell Rock, Charles City and Benton Community are all tied for second place in the district at 2-1. Only the top two teams from the district are assured of making the playoffs.

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