CEDAR FALLS - In all those backyard games with his pals, Reggie Schulte imagined he was Brett Favre as he led his team to a dramatic victory in the closing seconds.

But in all those games at his house, there was never anyone who messed up the down box and told everyone it was first down when it was really fourth down.

Bedlam and confusion plagued the final seconds of the Class 4A state championship game Friday night as the underdog Saints suffered a heartbreaking 23-17 loss to top-ranked Ankeny before a boisterous crowd of more than 12,000 fans in the UNI-Dome.

The Saints thought they had a first down at the Ankeny 40-yard with 39 seconds left in the game after the Hawks were called for a personal foul for a late hit on Schulte. The man who operates the down box on the field flipped the cards to first down, but it was actually 4th-and-10 at the 40-yard line instead of an automatic 1st-and-10 at the 40.

In high school football automatic first downs are awarded for only four specific fouls - roughing the passer, roughing the kicker or holder, roughing the snapper and pass interference. Schulte, Xavier's quarterback, had just attempted to catch a pass from Corbin Woods when he was hit after the play by an Ankeny defender. The dead-ball foul meant the down counted and a penalty was assessed.

When the play started it was 3rd-and-25, so it became 4th-and-10 with 39 seconds remaining in the game after the 15-yard penalty was marched off.

"We were all mixed up and confused because the down marker had first down on it," Xavier Coach Duane Schulte said. "We were going with the idea that it was first down. Then the ref told us it was fourth down.

"After Reggie got hit it was first down. The next thing we know it's fourth down."

Duane Schulte said one of the officials told him it was fourth down right before the Saints ran their final play, which turned out to be an incomplete pass. Reggie Schulte said he was told on the field that it was fourth down, but it's not clear exactly when he was told.

"I wasn't sure of the rules," Reggie Schulte said. "In the NFL, I figured it was 1st-and-10. But we did know it was fourth down."

All sorts of stuff happened after the refs put the ball at the 40-yard line, in addition to the mixup with the down box.

The Saints were called for illegal procedure, which put the ball at the 45. Then they were called for another five-yard penalty for illegal substitution when Jim Moore ran onto the field and Brendan Miller tried to race to the sideline in time.

That put the ball at the 50-yard line, and then another five-yard penalty put the ball at Xavier's 45-yard line and actually made it 4th-and-25. Schulte threw a long pass toward Corbin Woods, but the ball sailed out of bounds and Ankeny took over on downs.

The confusing finish marred an exciting game between undefeated teams that scratched and clawed all night. It was not a perfect game, with 26 penalties and five turnovers, but it was a dramatic game with the state championship hanging in the balance.

The third-ranked Saints (13-1) led for much of the game and owned a precarious 17-15 advantage when Ankeny (14-0) got the ball at its own 48-yard line with 4:16 left. The Saints needed one more big defensive stand to claim their second state title in six years, but Ankeny had other ideas.

Marshall Clark caught a short pass from Ankeny quarterback Joel Lanning, broke two tackles and raced 34 yards to the 12-yard line. The Saints were called for a five-yard face mask penalty on the play, putting the Hawks at the 7-yard line with lots of time.

Lanning scored on a 5-yard run and vaulted into the end zone to give the Hawks a 21-15 advantage, then he hit Ian Begg with a two-point conversion pass to make it 23-17 with 3:16 left.

Wes Gardner returned the ensuing kickoff to the 22-yard line, and that's where the Saints went to work. Schulte drove his team to the Ankeny 38-yard and completed a 20-yard pass to Gardner to the 18-yard line, but the play was nullified by an illegal formation.

That made it 2nd-and-13 at the 43-yard line instead of 1st-and-10 at the 18 with 1:22 left to play.

"I have no doubt we could have punched it in if we had gotten that completion, but I guess we didn't have enough guys at the line of scrimmage," Reggie Schulte said. "I thought we were going to get it done, but I guess it wasn't meant to be."

Ankeny took a 2-0 lead when it blocked a punt out of the end zone for a safety, an unsual start for a state championship game.

Xavier tailback Brendan Miller, one of the stars of the game, gave the Saints a 6-2 lead with a 10-yard touchdown with 3:52 left in the first quarter and Ryan Persick's PAT made it 7-2. Schulte hit Woods with a 63-yard pass play to set up the touchdown.

Ankeny pulled within 7-5 with a field goal and took a 12-7 lead when Lanning ran for a 15-yard touchdown with 5:57 left in the first half, but Lanning lost a fumble on their next possession and the Saints took over at the Ankeny 26-yard line. Miller scored on a 7-yard run and Xavier had a 14-12 lead at intermission.

Persick gave the Saints a 17-12 edge with a 31-yard field goal with 5:43 left in the third quarter. Ankeny pulled within 17-15 with a field goal with 10:38 left in the game.

Xavier stopped Ankeny one time after that, but not the final time and it slipped away.

"I'm just really proud of all the guys, all season long," Reggie Schulte said. "We weren't even expected to be in this position, let alone even playing with Ankeny.

"They're freaking three times as big as we are. We're just little old Catholic boys, just scrapping away. I'm so proud of every single guy on this team."

Ankeny is the second-largest high school in Iowa and Xavier ranks 48th, but for most of the night you couldn't tell who was Goliath and who was David.

The Saints won the state title in 2006 with a 13-0 record, but this time 13 wins was only good enough for second place with the expanded playoffs.

"In 2006, thirteen wins meant you were the state champion. But things are different now," Duane Schulte said."In the coaches' minds, our kids are like state champions. It was a great group to work for. I felt like we were working for them, instead of the other way around. That's how fun they were to coach."

Miller carried the ball 22 times for 123 yards and two touchdowns for Xavier and went over the 1,000-yard mark for the season. Woods caught five passes for 82 yards.

Lanning ran 19 times for 164 yards and two touchdowns for Ankeny. He completed 6 of 15 passes for 122 yards with one interception. Lanning got his yards, but also paid a price at times against Xavier's aggressive defense.

"They're the most aggressive team we've played all season," he said. "We knew it was going to happen all week. They played a great game."

ANK -- Safety
CRX -- Brendan Miller 10 run (Ryan Persick kick)
ANK -- FG Heath Naylor 43
ANK -- Joel Lanning 15 run (Naylor kick)
CRX -- Miller 7 run (Persick kick)
CRX -- FG Persick 31
ANK -- FG Naylor 33
ANK -- Lanning 5 run (Ian Begg pass from Lanning)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing
ANK - Joel Lanning 19-164, Ian Begg 12-78, Drew Carlson 4-12, Luke Gibbs 3-11, Stephen Goforth 1-(-1), Team 1-(-2)
CRX - Brendan Miller 22-123, Reggie Schulte 10-37, Corbin Woods 1-7, Matt Thorsteinson 2-2

Passing
ANK - Lanning 6-15-1-122
CRX - Schulte 14-24-2-127, Woods 0-1-0-0

Receiving
ANK - Marshall Clark 3-79, Sam Pickard 1-28, Begg 1-17, Josh Davis 1-(-2)
CRX - Woods 5-82, Bryce Grimm 4-26, Wes Gardner 4-15, Matt Nelson 1-4