Xavier High School - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Sean Murphy wins Metro Spotlight Award

Xavier junior Sean Murphy has won the Metro Spotlight Award for high school boys this week, the Metro Sports Report announced Sunday.

Murphy, a 5-foot-9 junior, returned two kickoffs for a touchdowns Friday night as the Class 3A top-ranked Saints defeated DeWitt Central, 59-3, in a district game in DeWitt.

Murphy raced 96 yards for a touchdown with the opening kickoff. He was untouched behind a bevy of blockers for Xavier, which has a tradition of successful special teams.

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Slezak finds new home with Kohawks

Coe College junior Ben Slezak is easy to spot on a football field.

At 341 pounds, he's easily one of the biggest players on the gridiron.

He's also easy to spot off the field, with his long hair and thick, bushy beard.

Slezak, who graduated from Xavier High School in 2011, is starting at right tackle on a rebuilt offensive line for the Kohawks. He was one of their top blockers Saturday in a 37-21 loss to Wisconsin-Stevens Point at Clark Field.

Slezak attended Southwest Minnesota State for two years before deciding to come back home.

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Forster races to title in Cascade

CASCADE - Colton Forster of Marion won the Cascade Invitational cross country race in 17 minutes, 7 seconds on Friday.

Forster claimed the title by 15 seconds. Mount Vernon/Lisbon nipped Marion for the team championship in the Class 3A-4A standings, 37-42. The Xavier Saints placed fourth, led by Steven Culpepper in sixth place.

Madison Bach of Marion placed fourth in the girls race. Jenny Dickes of Xavier was fifth.

BOYS 3A-4A RESULTS

Team Standings

1. Mount Vernon/Lisbon 37, 2. Marion 42, 3. Western Dubuque 71, 4. Xavier 88, 5. DeWitt Central 163, 6. West Delaware 175, 7. Assumption 180, 8. Maquoketa 209.

Top 5 Individuals

1. Colton Forster, Marion     17:07

2. Nolan Teubel, Mt Vernon    17:22

3. Reid Smock, Mt Vernon      17:26

4. Isaac Connolly, W.Dubuque  17:35

5. Alex Behnke, W.Dubuque     17:40

Marion: 1. Colton Forster 17:07, 8. Myles Bach 17:50, 9. Austin Yirkovsky 17:55, 10. Jeremy Fopma 17:58, 14. Jacob Manderscheid 18:08.

Xavier: 6. Steven Culpepper 17:43, 16. Nick Koechner 18:22, 17. Johnathan Francois 18:25, 24. Evan Gradoville 19:06, 25. John Pape 19:16.

GIRLS 3A-4A RESULTS

Team Standings

1. Assumption 27, 2. Western Dubuque 74, 3. Xavier 107, 4. Marion 107, 5. West Delaware 108, 6. Center Point-Urbana 112, 7. DeWitt Central 122.

Top 5 Individuals

1. Joy Ripslinger, Assumption     15:45

2. Mallory King, Assumption       16:31

3. Julia Schumacher, Assumption   16:36

4. Madison Bach, Marion           16:41

5. Jenny Dickes, Xavier           16:57

Xavier: 5. Jenny Dickes 16:57, 17. Kiana Stanek 18:10, 18. Emiko Coffey 18:16, 31. Lydia Brown 18:54, 36. Faith Satern 19:20.

Marion: 4. Madison Bach 16:41, 20. Sydney Brase 18:22, 23. Skylar Dede 18:29, 27. Andrea Ertz 18:51, 33. Ellie Conzett 18:59.

No.1 Saints demolish DeWitt Central

DeWITT – Follow the train.

Cedar Rapids Xavier return man Sean Murphy says all he had to do to find the end zone on his dazzling 96- and 89-yard kickoff returns for touchdowns Friday night was follow the lead of the calvary of Saints blockers clearing and paving the road.

Perhaps only the president had a better security detail Friday as the top-ranked Saints pulverized DeWitt Central, 59-3.

“We got the best work out of our blockers,” Murphy said. “The blockers did all their jobs. I really had the perfect setup.”

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