Xavier does everything well in 41-6 shellacking of Wahlert

CEDAR RAPIDS - This is a good football team, folks. A really good football team.

It's hard to find a weakness with these Cedar Rapids Xavier Saints. Oh, there's got to be one or two around somewhere because no one is perfect.

But you sure couldn't find one Friday night in a 41-6 blowout of Dubuque Wahlert at Saints Field.

Xavier ran the football, passed the football, defensively stuffed every single thing Wahlert tried to do, kicked a pair of field goals and even scored a touchdown on special teams (a Nick Stark punt return).

That's as complete as it gets.

'We played really well,” said Xavier linebacker Bryce Charipar, who seemed to be in the Wahlert backfield the entire game. 'We didn't have as many penalties tonight. We're just trying to get better, and I think we have been getting better. That's a good thing.”

Coach Duane Schulte was asked if this was his third-ranked team's best overall performance this season.

'That's a good question,” he said. 'We had a couple of turnovers that I'd like to have back. But, of course, coaches always seek perfection. Other than that, I'll give you another old coach's cliche and say I've got to watch the film.”

Xavier (6-0) took a 24-0 lead after the first quarter. Malaki Wilson had a 10-yard touchdown run, then one from 52 yards.

Dallas Klein kicked a 21-yard field goal to make it 17-0. Quarterback Bryce Schulte hit wide-open tight end Ryan Stulken for a 6-yard score and a 24-0 lead.

'Tonight, it really got away from us early,” said Wahlert Coach Travis Zajac. 'Coach Schulte's got a great program, good players. They are crisp and solid in everything they do. We got behind the eight-ball, and it was really hard to overcome.”

Wilson had the night's most electric TD in the second quarter, taking a pass in the flat behind the line of scrimmage from Schulte, finding no room, cutting back to the other side of the field and running it to the house for a 62-yard run. He pointed at Schulte, who was blocking well downfield for him, as he hit the end zone.

Wilson finished with 209 yards rushing on 18 attempts.

'I just saw a big line of guys there on that side,” he said. 'Thankfully my guys were over on my side in a straight line. All I had to do was cutback, run around one guy, and there was, like, six guys down there blocking for me. Including Bryce, which is crazy because he threw the pass to me.”

Stark's punt return made it 38-0 Saints at the break. The second half went very quickly because of the continuous clock, with reserves playing most of it for Xavier.

Klein kicked a 32-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter. Sophomore Kolton Bartow broke loose in the dying seconds on an 80-yard run for Wahlert, and ran it over a couple plays later from 5 yards out to complete the scoring.

Wahlert finished with 148 total yards. The Golden Eagles had just 23 varsity players, five sophomores.

'Give those 23 kids credit,” Schulte said. 'They're playing the game of football. It takes a lot of effort to play this game, and they're doing it. There are probably some kids in that school that should be playing but aren't. These guys are playing.”

And his guys are playing, very well.

'We've been challenging them this year to stay focused, don't have distractions,” Schulte said. 'Whether it's a girlfriend or school or whatever, don't have any distractions. When you come to these games and practice, stay focused. I thought for the most part they did that tonight.”

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