The Cedar Rapids Xavier Saints had never defeated the Cedar Falls Tigers at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls before last season. Then they did it twice in one year.

First in the regular season, 24-7. Then in the semifinals of the Class 4A playoffs, 27-6.

They were breakthrough victories.

"For that group last year, it certainly was," said Xavier Coach Duane Schulte. "I don't know if it matters to this group, because each year is different."

The eighth-ranked Saints (6-1) host Cedar Falls (5-2) Friday night. As far as Schulte is concerned, last year's games are dead and buried.

"I hope these guys, at the snap of the ball, are not thinking about last year," he said. "They better be thinking about what they have to do in the next two seconds.

"It doesn't matter what they did last year. It's what you do now," he said. "But for last year, we wanted to win those games. And thank God we did."

Xavier finished 13-1 last year after falling to Ankeny in the state finals. Cedar Falls finished 11-2, with both of its losses to the Saints.

Cedar Falls owns an 11-3 lead in the all-time series against Xavier, so victories over Hall of Fame Coach Pat Mitchell have been hard to find over the years.

Schulte liked the way his club bounced back last week after losing to Cedar Rapids Washington, 26-10, the week before. The Saints built a 40-0 lead at Waterloo West and came home with a 40-14 victory.

"They had a great attitude in practice last week and it carried over last Friday night," he said. "To be honest, we expected it. They carried through.

"I did sense a little bit more sense of urgency from our leaders and captains on down. Everybody bought in.

"Sometimes people say a loss is good. I don't know if I buy into that," said Schulte. "You never want to lose. It just ended up being what it was and we had to deal with it."

Xavier was ranked No.1 in the state and had allowed only seven points all season when the Warriors stung them, 26-10, at Saints Field.

"I think it was a wakeup call," said Xavier defensive end Hunter Baldus. "I think we all knew what we did (against Washington). I think it helped us the next week in practice."

Baldus scored a touchdown in the playoff game against Cedar Falls last year when he intercepted a pass at the 6-yard line and stepped into the end zone for six points.

Baldus is a strong guy at 6-foot-1 and 210 pounds, and he could have quite a battle Friday night when he faces Cedar Falls offensive tackle Ross Pierschbacher, a 6-4, 295-pound all-stater who has committed to Alabama.

"He was good last year," said Baldus. "I just tried to use my strengths against his strengths and try to overcome him. He's a good ballplayer."

Baldus and Matt Nelson, Xavier's other defensive end, sometimes flip sides during games, which means the 6-8, 250-pound Nelson — who is committed to Iowa — could face Pierschbacher from time to time. "You can anticipate they'll see each other," said Schulte.

Piersbacher originally committed to Iowa, then switched to Alabama. "I've seen guys as big as him," said Schulte, "but I don't know if I've seen guys as talented."

Xavier quarterback Quinton Scholer suffered a minor injury against Waterloo West last week, but Schulte expects him to start against Cedar Falls. "We're counting on him playing," said Schulte.

Freshman Bryce Schulte, the coach's son, completed three of four passes for 60 yards and a touchdown for the varsity against Waterloo West. He also ran twice for 31 yards.