Xavier Football

No. 1 Pella stuns No. 2 Saints on final play

CEDAR FALLS - They called it the semifinals of the Class 3A playoffs Thursday night, but don't be fooled by that.

Top-ranked Pella and second-ranked Xavier arguably played for the state title Thursday night in the UNI-Dome in one of the greatest and most dramatic playoff games in state history.

Pella quarterback Nick Finney threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Van Wyk on the final play of the game as the Dutch stunned the Saints, 34-30, in a terrific contest between the two best Class 3A football teams in Iowa.

"That WAS the state championship," declared Xavier tailback Maliki Wilson, who scooted for 240 yards and cracked 2,000 for the campaign. "Back and forth, going like that.

"You don't have No. 1 and No. 2 on the same side of the bracket," he said.

Unfortunately, the Iowa High School Athletic Association put Pella and Xavier in the same bracket and prevented them from officially playing for the Class 3A crown. The Dutch (12-0) will face Webster City (11-1) for the official title next Thursday, but Pella will be heavily favored to win its third state title in a row.

Webster City topped Glenwood, 6-3, in the other semifinal Thursday night.

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Young coaches boost Xavier football

Duane Schulte jokingly refers to some of his assistant football coaches at Xavier High School as the "YCA."

That stands for "Young Coaches Association" and refers to former Xavier football players who have joined the staff over the years and contributed to one of the top programs in the state.

The "YCA" has blended with the "OCA" at Xavier - the veterans in the "Old Coaches Association" - to help the Saints reach the semifinals of the Class 3A playoffs against top-ranked Pella Thursday night in the UNI-Dome.

The Young Coaches Association features Michael Freeman, Dan Halter, Eric Gilmour, Nick Garland, Ben Slezak, Ben Helms and Reggie Schulte on Duane Schulte's staff. Freeman was a senior for the Saints in 2000, Halter in 2001, Gilmour in 2007, Garland in 2009, Slezak in 2010, Helms in 2012 and Reggie Schulte in 2012.

Reggie Schulte, the head coach's son, is actually an honorary member of the "YCA" and helps whenever he can break away from his duties as a quarterback at the University of Northern Iowa.

Brad Stovie, who played at Regis High School and was a senior there in 1983, is the group coordinator and honorary member of the "YCA," along with his many other duties with the coaching staff.

Duane Schulte considers the "YCA" as a critical part of his coaching staff. The members of the "OCA" thought calling them the "YCA" was funny and it stuck.

"All those guys played for us and they all know what Xavier football is about. That's the cool thing," said Schulte, who has been the head coach since the school opened in 1998.

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No. 2 Saints earn date with No. 1 Pella

The Xavier Saints peeked ahead a little when the Class 3A football brackets were announced two weeks ago and saw they would play top-ranked Pella in the semifinals if both clubs got that far.

They don't have to peek anymore.

The mighty clash between the No. 1 Dutch (11-0) and the No. 2 Saints (11-0) is all set for Thursday at 8:21 p.m. in the UNI-Dome.

Bryce Schulte heaved three long touchdown passes and Maliki Wilson broke another school record Friday night as Xavier ripped Waverly-Shell Rock, 38-14, in the quarterfinals of the Class 3A tournament at Saints Field to set up the meeting against Pella.

The Saints are certainly not complaining.

"I think the state did a pretty good job putting it (the bracket) together," said Schulte. "It makes sense, because they're not all the way across the state."

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Would Iowa put Schulte at tight end?

When Bryce Schulte attended the University of Iowa football camp this past summer, he was not auditioning for the Hawkeyes as one of the top high school quarterbacks in the state.

Schulte went to the camp as a tight end, even though he has never played the position in his life.

"That was the first time putting my hand on the ground. It was fun," said Schulte, who is a star quarterback for the Xavier Saints and a versatile athlete.

"The tight end coach (LeVar Woods) is really good at what he does. It was fun being physical with other kids at the camp and going up against them one-on-one. And it was fun catching balls, too, because I'm not used to that either."

From all accounts, Schulte performed very well as a tight end as a blocker and receiver at the UI camp. And if he doesn't get any offers to play quarterback at a major college, he'd gladly accept a chance to change positions if a major college would give him a chance.

"I would go for tight end," he said without hesitation. "Play as high as I can. I would play any position for my team, basically. I want to play Division I and that would be pretty cool."

Schulte has the size and athletic ability to play tight end at 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds. In addition to playing football at Xavier, he's an all-conference baseball player and was a key reserve on the Xavier basketball team that captured the Class 3A state title last winter.

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