Metro Sports Report

Wilson snaps record as Saints roll

WAVERLY - Here's a friendly note to the public address announcer at Waverly-Shell Rock High School.

The name of the Xavier tailback is Maliki Wilson, not Malik, and he's now the most prolific runner in Saints history.

Wilson dashed for 172 yards Friday night and broke the school record for career rushing as the top-ranked Saints dismantled Waverly-Shell Rock, 42-0, in another lopsided Class 3A district game.

Wilson raised his career rushing total to 2,548 yards, snapping the old mark of 2,498 set by Brendan Miller in 2012 and 2013.

The public address announcer did a fine job most of the night, but he kept calling the Xavier tailback "Malik" instead of Maliki.

Wilson heard what the P.A. guy was saying, but brushed it off with good humor after the game.

"Yeah, please get it right," he remembered thinking during the game, "because I might become the all-time leader at my school."

Wilson ran for 1,273 yards last season and now has 1,275 this year. All told, he's lugged the ball exactly 300 times in his career and has averaged 8.5 yards per carry in a Xavier uniform with 26 rushing touchdowns.

"He's tough, man," said Xavier quarterback Bryce Schulte. "He can run by you, he can blow you over, he can juke you out. His line creates holes for him and he does the rest. He's just one heck of a running back."

Scott gets his kicks with Saints

It's not unusual for brothers to grab a football and toss it around in the back yard, but the Scott family of Cedar Rapids can form the guts of its own place-kicking team.

Drew Scott, the eldest brother, is a long-snapper for the Kansas State Wildcats in the Big 12 Conference. Shane Scott, the middle brother, is the top place-kicker for the Xavier Saints. And Jack Scott, the youngest brother, is a back-up quarterback for the Saints and certainly capable of being the holder.

Here's the snap ... Here's the placement ... Here's the kick ... It's goooood!

Drew Scott starred at Xavier before heading to Kansas State, where he's a fifth-year senior. Shane Scott, a senior, has made all three of his field goals this season, including a 44-yarder two weeks ago against Decorah. And Jack Scott, a junior, is an important reserve and member of the Scout Team at Xavier.

And if the Scott brothers need any tips, their father Andrew Scott can steer them in the right direction as a former coach at Regis Middle School (and a former player at Regis High School).

"It's neat to have the whole family aspect with the three Scott boys," Xavier Coach Duane Schulte said this week.

Like many football players at Xavier, Shane Scott had to wait his turn to play for the varsity. He was the No. 2 place-kicker last year behind Dallas Klein, who's now playing in college.

Tough schedule fuels Kirkwood volleyball

The Kirkwood women's volleyball team has a simple philosophy when it comes to playing the toughest opponents they can find in weekend tournaments.

Bring 'em on!

The Eagles have compiled a 7-4 record against teams that have been ranked in the national polls this season, including the top-ranked junior college team in Division II (Parkland) and the second-ranked team in Division I (Iowa Western).

Kirkwood whipped four straight ranked teams during a two-day swing in the Kirkwood tournament last month and the Eagles also have faced stiff competition in tournaments at the Wisconsin Dells, Norfolk (Neb.), Champaign (Ill.) and Overland Park (Kan.).

"Just jumping into it 12 years ago when I came here, I learned that if you want to hang with the Joneses you have to go do what the Joneses are doing," Kirkwood Coach Jill Williams said Wednesday night. "That's what the top teams are doing.

"It gives us a good perspective of where we're at."

Kirkwood finished seventh at the national Division II tournament last year and is currently ranked No. 9 in the country.

The Eagles stepped away from tournament competition Wednesday night and swept Southwestern Community College, 25-12, 25-12, 25-19, in a conference match at Johnson Hall to remain undefeated in the league.

3 more players join MSR softball league

Three players in Week 1, three more players in Week 2.

That's the score so far as college softball players begin to register for the Metro Sports Report summer league that will begin operations next year.

Lexi Kinnaird of Kirkwood, Maddy Ryan of Coe and Mallory McArtor of Coe are the three latest players to enroll in the program. They join Tianna Drahn of Northern Iowa, Erin Kuba of Indian Hills Community College and Peyton Baskerville of Mount Mercy.

That makes six players to join the league since we announced the new program just two weeks ago.

(CLICK HERE TO REGISTER)

Kinnaird, who played at Clear Creek Amana High School, helped the Kirkwood Eagles finish fifth at the junior college national tournament last season as a freshman as one of their star pitchers.

Ryan, who starred at Linn-Mar High School as a pitcher and outfielder, is now a sophomore at Coe. She received all-state honors in high school and is pitching and chasing fly balls for the Kohawks.

McArtor was an all-state shortstop at Mid-Prairie High School and helped the Golden Hawks finish 5th, 3rd, 6th and 5th at the state tournament during her career. She's now a senior at Coe and would like to continue playing after she finishes her career with the Kohawks this spring.

Kuba, who was an all-state third baseman at Cedar Rapids Jefferson, is now a freshman at Indian Hills. Drahn, who was an all-state center fielder at Kennedy, is a freshman at UNI. And Baskerville, who was an all-conference catcher at Kennedy, is a freshman at Mount Mercy.