Corbin Woods loves baseball and has dreamed for a long time about playing baseball in college, but football is moving up on the outside.

Woods has enjoyed a terrific season as a receiver and punt returner for the third-ranked Xavier Saints and undoubtedly could play football in college. He still thinks he'll play baseball, but now he's not 100 percent sure anymore.

"I'm weakening a little bit on that," he said Wednesday. "I've definitely been thinking about it. Right now I'm just trying to wait until after football to make up my mind for sure."

Xavier (11-0) hosts Prairie (8-3) in the quarterfinals of the Class 4A playoffs at 7 p.m. Friday at Saints Field in northeast Cedar Rapids.

Woods is focused entirely on football. Baseball can wait.

"I just love to compete. I love both sports," he said. "I'm kind of like season-to-season. But growing up with baseball, I definitely love the game."

Woods excels at catching a ball as an infielder during the baseball season and as a receiver during the football campaign. He's caught 44 passes for 938 yards and 14 touchdowns this year to rank among the state leaders.

Xavier Coach Duane Schulte said Woods has really matured as a football player.

"He's always been a hard-working kid," Schulte said. "I've seen him grow up since he was 4 years old.

"His first love has always been baseball, but you could see him develop a passion for football and develop an inquisitive mind about the game of football too, and appreciate all the nuances of football just like I know he understands and appreciates the nuances of baseball.

"It's been fun to have football X-and-0 conversations with him," the coach said. "I don't know if we would have seen that or predicted that when he was a 7th or 8th grader."

Woods has a special bond with Xavier quarterback Reggie Schulte, his neighbor and the coach's son. They've been friends for years and played football and baseball in Schulte's back yard since they were little.

Some of the Schulte family's passion and knowledge of football rubbed off on Woods.

"It doesn't hurt growing up across the street from the head coach," he said. "I've learned a lot from Reggie and Coach Schulte."

There will be lots of talent on the field Friday night at Xavier for both teams. The Saints have breezed to their 11-0 record and whipped Prairie, 48-14, in Week 3, but the Hawks are a vastly different team now.

Prairie stunned second-ranked Iowa City West, 49-28, in the second round of the playoffs in Iowa City on Monday, handing the Trojans their only loss of the season. Now Prairie is going on the road again, trying to slay another undefeated giant.

"Anytime you're still playing football and it's late October or early November, it's a good thing," Prairie Coach Mike Morrissey remarked. "We're pretty excited about that. If you start believing in each other, you can do some special things."

The game will feature two premier quarterbacks with Reggie Schulte at the helm for Xavier and Jace Hanna calling the shots for Prairie. Both clubs have premier receivers, and Prairie has developed a running game since earlier in the year with tailback Mitch Christensen now a weapon for the Hawks.

Prairie's defense also has improved during the season and features defensive backs who have a nose for the ball. They'll be tested by Schulte, the most accurate passer in the state.

"We'll be trying to play mistake-free, fundamentally sound football and not beat ourselves with little things like penalties," Morrissey said.

"They're so talented, they're so disciplined on both sides of the ball. You can't give them any freebies. That's a big part of it."

Duane Schulte is wary of Prairie, with Hanna throwing to talented receivers like Jarred Edmonds and Demetrius Harper and Christensen running the ball.

"They're dangerous," Schulte said. "They can score on almost any play. The way they run thngs, they're a tough team to defend. They've made things happen on both sides of the ball."

The winner between Xavier and Prairie will face Pleasant Valley (11-0) or Cedar Falls (10-1) in the semifinals on Friday, Nov. 9 at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls.