The Xavier Saints reached the championship game of the Class 4A football playoffs for the second year in a row this season, then a month later the school declared it would stop playing in the Mississippi Valley Conference next year and compete at the Class 3A level instead.

Xavier's march to the Class 4A finals and its subsequent decision to stop playing MVC football after 16 years is this observer's choice as the No.1 story in the Metro area this year.

The Saints will be going from Class 4A underdogs to Class 3A behemoths, ushering in a new era for the school and the Mississippi Valley Conference.

This has been an eventful year on the Metro scene with many big stories. Here is the rest of the top 12, followed by Honorable Mention:

2. TONY LOMBARDI - The former Washington football coach had his coaching license suspended until at least Aug. 1, 2014 following an 18-month investigation by the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners for ethics complaints. Lombardi resigned at Washington in August.

3. BYRON BUXTON/KERNELS - Buxton captured the imagination of Cedar Rapids baseball fans with his tremendous ability and was named the Minor League Player of the Year. The Kernels won 88 games, the second-most in franchise history, and reached the Midwest League playoffs as the new affiliate of the Minnesota Twins.

4. STEPHANIE JENKS - Jenks won two state track titles as a freshman for Linn-Mar and established herself as one of the top triathletes in the country. She  represented the U.S. in triathlons in Brazil and London, and competed successfully against collegiate runners in open cross country meets in North Carolina, Wisconsin and Oregon.

5. JOSH EVANS - Evans won the Triple Crown in distance races at the Drake Relays, the state track meet and the state cross country meet for Linn-Mar and helped the Lions win the team championship in track.

6. KIRKWOOD SOFTBALL - The Eagles won 50 straight games and reached the semifinals of the NJCAA Division II national tournament before finally losing and finishing with a 57-5 record.

7. XAVIER GIRLS BASKETBALL - The Saints caught fire at the state tournament and nipped Harlan, 53-52, for the Class 4A title behind a magnificent performance in Des Moines by Kayla Armstrong, who was named captain of the all-tournament team. Coach Tom Lilly won his fourth title since 2003.

8. WASHINGTON UPSETS XAVIER - The Warriors, who got off to a slow start in football this season, stunned top-ranked Xavier, 26-10, at the Saints Field. Paul  James returned as Washington's head coach this year after Tony Lombardi resigned under pressure and led the Warriors to the playoffs.

9. XAVIER GIRLS SOCCER - The Saints breezed through the state tournament and blanked Sioux City East, 5-0, in the finals for their unprecedented eighth title in a row, this time under new coach Bailey Dorrington.

10. XAVIER BOYS SOCCER - The Saints won their third state title in four years with a 2-1 verdict over Storm Lake.

11. PRAIRIE BOYS CROSS COUNTRY - The Hawks captured their second state title in four years with a strong team performance in Fort Dodge.

12. LINN-MAR POOL - The Linn-Mar school district opened its new $11.7 million aquatics center to rave reviews for the state-of-the-art facility.

HONORABLE MENTION

• Teresa Kehe, a Hall of Fame coach who won six state titles at Tripoli, is named the new volleyball coach at Linn-Mar.
• Bob Fontana resigns as Kennedy boys basketball coach after 16 years to become the coach at the new Ankeny Centennial High School. Jon McKowen, from a famous basketball family, succeeds Fontana at Kennedy.
• The Prairie softball team, which won eight games in 2012, goes 29-16 under new coach Joe Yegge and reaches the state tournament for the first time in school history.
• The Kennedy boys golf team finishes second at the state tournament for the third time in four years.
• Tim Lewis, the winningest football coach in school history, resigns at Kennedy after 14 years to focus on serving as the school's strength and conditioning coach.
• Doug Wagemester, who won 409 games in 15 years at Kirkwood, steps aside as the men's basketball coach at Kirkwood to concentrate on being the school's athletic director. Bryan Petersen, who played at Kirkwood and Iowa State, succeeds him.
• Shelby Hembera scores all 40 of her team's points in a basketball game and cracks the 1,000-point plateau as just a junior at Cedar Valley Christian.
• Kelsey Drake wins two silver medals at the state swimming meet as a freshman at Jefferson.
• Derek Jacobus of Kennedy wins the state long jump title.
• The Jefferson girls track team captures the 4x200 meter relay at the state meet.
• Carly Berutti of Xavier wins a national trapshooting title and hits 100 straight targets at the tournament.
• Kiah Stokes, a former "Miss Basketball" at Linn-Mar, becomes an NCAA champion at the University of Connecticut.
• Matt Nelson, an all-state defensive end at Xavier, commits to play football at the University of Iowa.