CEDAR FALLS - Reggie Schulte suffered through the worst game of his life against Cedar Falls last season when he threw five interceptions, but that's ancient history now.

Schulte completed 15 of 19 passes for 167 yards and two touchdowns Friday night as No. 4 Xavier stuffed No. 2 Cedar Falls, 24-7, in a battle of Class 4A unbeatens in the UNI-Dome.

"I wanted to redeem myself, I guess," he said.

He had lots of help.

Reserve tailback Wes Gardner ran for 115 yards and Xavier's defense limited the Tigers to 189 yards of total offense as the Saints clinched the third Mississippi Valley Conference title in school history with a rare victory over Cedar Falls.

Xavier began the night with a 1-11 record against Cedar Falls and had never defeated the Tigers in the UNI-Dome.

"It's huge," said Xavier Coach Duane Schulte. "For us to win against Cedar Falls in the Dome, it's a big thing for our program.

"This team we had to beat tonight was one of the premier teams on this side of the state, so to beat them in this facility is huge."

Reggie Schulte threw both of his touchdown passes in the second quarter. He hit Bryce Grimm with an 11-yard dart to snap a scoreless tie, then lofted a pretty 33-yarder to Corbin Woods in the corner of the end zone for a 13-7 lead.

It was a far cry from last year's game against Cedar Falls, when Schulte finished 6 of 20 for 77 yards and those five interceptions.

"That was probably my worst game of the year," he said. "I definitely looked at that film a couple of extra times."

The Saints raised their record to 8-0 and clinched the Valley Division title in the MVC with a 5-0 mark. Even if the Saints lose to Linn-Mar next Friday, they'll finish in a tie with Cedar Falls (7-1, 5-1) in the division and win the tiebreaker.

Gardner entered the game at tailback in the third quarter and immediately sparked the running game. He ran the ball like a Marine attacking a beach in battle, attacking the line of scrimmage and daring anyone to tackle him. He finished the game in style with a 16-yard touchdown with 1:20 left to play.

Gardner was not even on the depth chart at tailback when training camp opened in August. He was a rover back on defense, but switched to offense after starting tailback Cal Stovie suffered a season-ending knee injury in the third week of the season.

Gardner had carried the ball only 10 times all season for 87 yards, but he answered the call at a critical time in the UNI-Dome.

"I was just ready to go whenever they called my name. You've got to be ready," he said. "Just run hard. Follow the blockers."

Starting tailback Brendan Miller, more of a dancer than a banger, was held to 25 yards on 10 carries and yielded his spot to Gardner with the Saints nursing a 14-7 lead.

"We just went with someone we thought had a little bit different style or a little bit different feel," said Coach Schulte. "He happened to be the guy at this moment tonight."

Gardner also caught two passes for 17 yards, giving him 132 yards in the game.

Gardner sparked an 11-play drive that ended with a 30-yard field goal by Ryan Persick for a 17-7 lead with 6:06 left in the third quarter.

The Xavier defense kept stuffing the Tigers and didn't let the home team get a first down in the second half until there were nine minutes left in the game.

Xavier linebacker Craig Murtha recovered a Cedar Falls fumble to stop one possession and the defensive line made a living in the Cedar Falls backfield, tackling the Tigers 11 times behind the line of scrimmage.

"The front-four did phenomenal tonight. That was really key," said Murtha.

The Tigers, normally one of the best running teams in the Valley, finished with just 118 yards on the ground. Their passing attack sputtered as well, with quarterback Brayden Longnecker hitting just 7 of 23 passes for 71 yards and an interception by Sean Ickes.

"I can't say enough about the defense," said Reggie Schulte. "The defense picked us up the entire night. It's just a testament to those guys and the great job they did."

Schulte did not throw any interceptions after getting picked off five times last year. The Saints also did not lose any fumbles, finishing plus-2 in the turnover department.

Cedar Falls got the ball at its own 18-yard line with 2:15 left in the game, trailing 17-7 and needing two quick scores. Longnecker threw four straight incomplete passes and the Saints took over on downs at the 18 with 1:58 left.

The game was essentially over at that point, but Gardner made it official when he dashed for a 16-yard touchdown with 1:20 left to make it 23-7.

Xavier defeated Cedar Falls at Saints Field in the 2006 playoffs on its way to the Class 4A state title, but the Saints had never defeated the Tigers in the regular season and had never beaten them in the UNI-Dome.

Xavier will finish the regular season at home next Friday against Linn-Mar, then get ready for the playoffs. If they finish with a 9-0 record, they'll be a high seed in the eastern half of the state and one of the favorites to reach the UNI-Dome for the semifinals and finals in November.

These Saints know what it's like to win a game in the Dome, which could come in handy in the playoffs.

"It can't hurt," said their coach.

XAVIER 24, CEDAR FALLS 7

CRX           CF
First Downs          16            10
Rushing              40-130        31-118
Passing              15-20-0       7-24-1
Passing Yards        167           71
Punts                6-35.2        5-35.4
Fumbles/Lost         1/0           2/1
Penalties            10-73         5-39

Xavier             0   14   3   7 - 24
Cedar Falls      0    7   0   0 -  7

SCORING PLAYS

X - Bryce Grimm 11 pass from Reggie Schulte (Ryan Persick kick)
CF - Brayden Longnecker 2 run (Jacob Newton kick)
X - Corbin Woods 33 pass from Schulte (Persick kick)
X - FG Persick 30
X - Wes Gardner 16 run (Persick kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING
XAVIER: Gardner 19-115, Miller 10-25, Thorsteinson 3-5, Schulte 8-minus 15.
CEDAR FALLS: Berregaard 10-56, Buck 14-50, Clark 3-11, Geisler 1-3, Longnecker 3-minus 2.

PASSING
XAVIER: Schulte 15-19-0, 167 yards; Woods 0-1-0, 0 yards.
CEDAR FALLS: Longnecker 7-23-1, 71 yards; Buck 0-1-0, 0 yards.

RECEIVING
XAVIER: Grimm 6-70, Woods 5-78, Gardner 2-17, Miller 1-2, Thorsteinson 1-0.
CEDAR FALLS: Boettger 4-45, Mennen 2-18, Kramer 1-8.