Metro Sports Report

No.1 Warriors, No.1 Saints face new foes

The Washington Warriors and Xavier Saints are facing new challenges and new opponents with the advent of district competition for all the Metro football teams this year.

Both squads have fared very well so far and are ranked No. 1 in their respective classes, but more new challenges await both clubs Friday night in home games.

The Warriors entertain Ottumwa in a Class 4A district battle at Kingston Stadium and the Saints host Western Dubuque in a Class 3A district contest at Saints Field.

In other games Friday night, the Marion Indians will be hunting for their second victory of the season at Maquoketa and the Cedar Valley Huskies host Midland of Wyoming at LaSalle Middle School.

OTTUMWA at WASHINGTON

Kingston Stadium, 7:15 p.m.

Records:

Ottumwa 4-1 overall, 1-0 4A District 6
Washington 5-0 overall, 1-0 4A District 6

Schaefer sets record as Kohawks roll

Rachel Schaefer tried to keep her pursuit of the Coe College record for most kills at arm's length, but a text message Wednesday morning from her oldest brother Jake touched her deeply and got her thinking about it.

Schaefer, a 5-foot-10 senior from Waterloo, needed only two kills against Loras Wednesday night in an Iowa Conference volleyball match to break the all-time mark, so the chances were very good she'd get it.

Her paternal grandfather, who used to come to all her games in a variety of sports, passed away when she was a freshman at Coe and Jake wanted his sister to know how delighted their grandfather would have been about her impending school record.

"Jake said, 'I know he would be very proud of you, and we're all very proud of how hard you've been working,'" she related. "It's more sentimental than anything."

J-Hawks look to take next big step

The Jefferson J-Hawks snapped a couple of serious losing streaks last week when they defeated Kennedy in overtime at friendly Kingston Stadium, but now comes an even bigger challenge for the J-Hawks.

Jefferson will try to beat the Cedar Falls Tigers in the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls Thursday night, giving the J-Hawks a tougher opponent in an environment that can be imposing for visiting teams.

The kickoff is scheduled for 7:15 p.m.

In other Metro games Thursday night, Linn-Mar visits Kennedy at Kingston Stadium and Prairie plays winless Iowa City High at Bates Field in Iowa City.

Jefferson is 3-2 overall and 1-0 in Class 4A District 5. Cedar Falls is 4-1 overall and 1-0 in the same district.

Patrick leads Pinter in Metro rushing

Washington tailback Tavian Patrick has jumped to the top of the Metro rushing derby with his 212-yard outburst against Muscatine last Friday night at Kingston Stadium.

Patrick has carried the ball 48 times for 589 yards in five games for a remarkable average of 12.27 yards per carry. He has a slight lead over Prairie tailback Keagan Pinter, who has rushed 84 times for 584 yards.

Jefferson quarterback Jesse Furrow leads the Metro in passing. He has completed 40 of 70 passes (57.1 percent) for 832 yards. Furrow has thrown nine touchdown passes in five games with only two interceptions.

Linn-Mar quarterback Ryan Schmidt and Xavier quarterback Bryce Schulte are locked in a tight battle for the Metro scoring lead. Schmidt has run for 10 touchdowns and 60 points, while Schulte has scored nine touchdowns for 54 points.