The Xavier Saints don't have to avoid the urge to peek ahead anymore.

The big game is finally here.

The fourth-ranked Saints will face the second-ranked Cedar Falls Tigers at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls Friday night at 7:30.

Both clubs are 7-0. Both clubs are aiming for the Mississippi Valley Conference Valley Division title. And both clubs are gunning for high seeds in the Class 4A playoffs.

For the Saints, it's their biggest game of the regular season by far. Many fans circled Oct. 12 on their calendar a long time ago, but the players had to be patient and take care of business.

"We knew it was coming," linebacker Craig Murtha said Monday afternoon, "but we have to take it game by game and not look ahead."

They've done a good job of that.

Xavier's average margin of victory has been 45-9. Nobody has scored more than 14 points against the Saints all year and their closest call was a 22-point victory over Washington.

The Saints picked them off one by one, always with Cedar Falls lurking on the horizon for anyone who cared to look.

If Coach Duane Schulte was looking ahead, he did a good job Monday of denying it.

"I don't think beyond the next game. Literally," he insisted. "That's just how it is. I'm not that smart."

Neither team has played a robust schedule. Xavier's opponents have a combined record of 12-37, while Cedar Falls has feasted on opponents with a composite mark of 19-30.

The Saints have beaten only one team with a winning record. That was Prairie, which is sitting at 4-3.

Cedar Falls has defeated three teams with 4-3 marks in Prairie, Iowa City High and Waterloo East.

The Saints whipped Prairie, 48-14, and dominated that game from start to finish. The Tigers defeated Prairie, 41-30, but had to rally from a 28-7 halftime deficit.

Xavier appears to have better balance than Cedar Falls on offense, but the game will be played in the climate-controlled environment in the UNI-Dome where the Tigers play all their home contests.

"Everybody who plays there will tell you, it's a different experience," said Schulte. "The air is drier, so it seems like you're hotter, even though you might not be. And it's harder to hear.

"And despite what Pat Mitchell might say, there's an advantage for them because they're used to playing in there. So you have to face that uphill battle, too."

Mitchell is the Hall of Fame coach at Cedar Falls who was won 334 games in his illustrious career, including a state title in 1986. Schulte won a state title himself in 2006, right there in the UNI-Dome.

Xavier has a potent offense that features quarterback Reggie Schulte, wide receiver Corbin Woods and tailback Brendan Miller.

Schulte has completed 72.9 of his passes with 24 touchdowns, making him No. 1 in both categories among all quarterbacks in Class 4A. He's broken the school record for most career TD passes with 36 and makes the offense tick.

Woods holds school marks for most touchdown grabs in a season (10) and career (15). Miller has rushed for 576 yards and five TDs since becoming the No. 1 tailback after Cal Stovie injured his knee against Prairie.

Cedar Falls quarterback Brayden Longnecker has hit 63.8 percent of his passes for seven touchdowns, but doesn't throw the ball as much as Schulte. When he does, his favorite target is 6-foot-5 receiver Ike Boettger, a future Iowa Hawkeye who was the team's quarterback last year when they reached the state semifinals.

The Tigers prefer to run the ball with Jake Buck (616 yards), Nick Clark (514 yards) and Eli Berregaard (314 yards). They average 220 yards on the ground, so the Saints know what's coming.

"They have a good offensive line," said Murtha, who has made 19 tackles for losses this season. "We just have to read our keys."

Murtha said he won't have any trouble focusing on school this week, even with the big game on the horizon.

"It's just a game," he said. "If you blow it out of proportion, it's not going to be nearly as much fun.

"I try not to pay attention to any of the polls, because I don't think they matter nearly as much. We're just trying to get better every day."

This will be the first time the Saints have left Cedar Rapids for a game all season. Their only previous road trips were to Kingston Stadium (twice) and Prairie.

They'll ride a chartered bus to Cedar Falls instead of taking a couple of yellow school buses.

After all, it is a big game.

It's OK to peek.