Someone should tell the Iowa City West football team that the high school track season doesn’t start until the Spring.

Or, maybe not.

Led by quarterback Charles Rogers and speedy wideout Mondo Williams, the ninth-ranked Trojans sprinted past Xavier 49-19 at the West High Field on Friday night.

“Speed was a big factor,” said Xavier Coach Duane Schulte. “They have a bunch of really good athletes.”

Rogers, who recently committed to play football at Iowa State, was stellar. He went 10-of-15 through the air with 239 yards passing and three scores. He also made some big plays with his feet, adding 76 yards rushing and another touchdown.

“Rogers is really good,” said Schulte. “I mean he is a Division I athlete going on a full ride to Iowa State and everybody here tonight saw that he is pretty good.”

Rogers also received some help from his offensive buddies. Williams, a receiver, is almost as electrifying as the bright neon yellow socks he wears at games.

Williams only caught three passes, but two were for touchdowns, and he gained 151 receiving yards. Williams doesn’t squander opportunities when he touches the ball.

“They are really quick but we were hanging with them for a while,” said Xavier receiver/defensive back Jordan Weber. “We just have to do our jobs better, it is simple as that.”

West (5-1) took control of the game right away, marching 75 yards on the opening series. Xavier (3-3), which came into the game off of back-to-back losses to No. 2 Iowa City High and No. 1 Cedar Falls, looked sluggish.

“We didn’t come ready to play tonight in the first half and you could tell that West came ready to play,” said Schulte.  "You just got the sense that this game meant more to them than to our guys.”

After Richard Bryant’s 3-yard score on the opening drive for West, Xavier took over and wanted to make a statement.

The Saints looked primed to do just that when running back Carter Valentine burst 54 yards on Xavier’s third play, putting the Saints in field goal range. But they couldn’t punch it in, and settled for a 35-yard field goal by Chad Gilmer.

West and Xavier each scored their first two possessions of the game, but West’s scores were touchdowns and Xavier’s were field goals.

Gilmer connected on lengthy field goal early in the second quarter, when he split the uprights from 43 yards out.

West took out their shovels and kept digging Xavier into a first half hole.

West was up 27-6 late in the first half, and Rogers found Williams down the right sideline for a 63-yard score that seemed to be the dagger for the Saints. While many receivers probably would have been caught from behind, Williams turned on the jets and outran two close Xavier defenders.

But Xavier did not throw in the towel, and came out in the second half and produced a better showing.

“I don’t know if this game would have been any different but we played harder in the second half than we did in the first half,” said Schulte.

Valentine and fullback Matt Hansen found holes in the West defense. Hansen ran for two second half touchdowns. Valentine was a horse for Xavier. He ran 25 times for 137 yards. Hansen ran 11 times for 87 yards and was Xavier's second-half spark.

“We just did our jobs and read our keys better in the second half,” said Weber.

However, the lead that West built proved to be insurmountable, and Rogers and his friends ran away with the victory.

“Our guys better figure out that you have to come ready to play all of the time in this conference,” said Schulte.

After playing three top 10 teams in the past three weeks, Xavier gets a bit of a break next week when they host Waterloo East (4-2).

Iowa City West travels to Kingston to take on Cedar Rapids Kennedy (3-3) next Thursday.

IOWA CITY WEST 49, XAVIER 19

Xavier            3     3    0    13   -  19
ICW             14   20    8     7    - 49

CRX                                     ICW



First Downs                                                            15                                    11

Rushes                                                            42-256                                 28-169

Passing                                                            5-11-0                                  10-15-0

Passing Yards                                                       37                                    239

Fumbles-Lost                                                       2-1                                     0-0

Penalties                                                            3-30                                    4-35

Punts-Ave.                                                        1-32                                    1-41



ICW- Richard Bryant 3 run (Alex Troester kick)
CRX- FG Chad Gilmer 35
ICW- Mondo Williams 36 pass from Charles Rogers (Troester kick)
CRX-FG  Gilmer 42
ICW- Anthony Brown 3 run (kick failed)
ICW- Dondre Alexander 23 pass from Rogers (Troester kick)
ICW- Williams 63 pass from Rogers (Troester kick)
ICW- Roger 68 run (2pt conversion)
XAV- Matt Hansen 2 run (Gilmer kick)
XAV- Hansen 5 run (2pt conversion failed)
ICW- Bryant 3 run (Troester kick)

Individual Stats

Xavier
Rushing- Valentine 25-137, Hansen 11-86, Reggie Schulte 5-29, Jordan Weber 1-4

Passing- Schulte 5-11-0 37

Receiving- Weber 1-46, Jordan Hoffman 1-12, Corbin Woods 1-8, Valentine 1-2, Weber 1-(- 2)

ICW
Rushing- Bryant 12-49, Anthony Brown 9-43, Rogers 7-76

Passing- Rogers 10-15-0 239

Receiving- Jeremy Morgan 4-28, Williams 3-151, Alexander 3-54