A look back at 'The Immaculate Recovery'

CEDAR RAPIDS - This had to be an instance of divine intervention. Just had to be.A Catholic school football team is about to give up a go-ahead touchdown with two minutes left in its state playoff semifinal game. The opponent is at the 2-yard line.There's a handoff to a running back, who takes a step and is met by a defender, who doesn't tackle him but swipes at the ball and knocks it loose. It goes directly sideways and into the arms of another defender, who runs it all the way back for a 95-yard TD and 21-14 victory.Believe it or not, it's been seven years since what Cedar Rapids Xavier fans call "The Immaculate Recovery.""This is the God's honest truth," Xavier Coach Duane Schulte said. "My mom and dad didn't make it to that game, so they were listening to it on the radio. My mom was saying a rosary and told my dad to join her and say one, too. He didn't want to do it, but my mom ordered him 'You get up right now and light a candle for the blessed Mother Mary.' That play was the very next play."Greg Schulte passed away over the summer, but that moment with he and Jean Schulte - who were married 59 years - surely came up when family members and friends gathered to celebrate his long life. You've got a feeling he'll be watching Xavier's Class 4A semifinal Friday from somewhere above.The opponent again is Bettendorf, the first time the teams have met since Nov. 10, 2006. Kickoff at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls is 4:06 p.m., the same time as that game seven years ago."I think it's awesome they're playing again, very exciting," said Josh Lorenson. "That's a play that's still talked about in the state. I think it'd be really cool if this team does something that overshadows it and creates their own legend."Lorenson was the guy who punched the ball away from Bettendorf's Jake Eikenberry. Playing defensive tackle, he said he shifted at the last second, which confused Bett's offensive line and helped him have a free ride to the backfield."The funny thing is I missed the tackle," said Lorenson, a teacher, football and wrestling coach at Staley High School in North Kansas City, Mo. "Somehow I was able to knock the ball loose. It was a case of a bad play by me turning out good."David Drahozal sneaked up from his defensive back position but really was nowhere near the play, which literally came to him. Give him credit for having good enough reactions to catch the fumble cleanly and take off.He ran down the sideline with a pair of teammates joining him, then cut back to the middle of the field for the final 20 yards."The ball never hit the ground," said Drahozal, a test engineer at John Deere in Ottumwa. "You just react in that situation. I know there were a couple of guys there with me, Michael Peterson was one of them. We had enough guys running interference to help me score.""I just remember thinking to myself 'We've got to figure out a way to get the ball in the end zone on offense,'" Schulte said. "The next thing you know ..."A dubious roughing-the-kicker penalty put Bettendorf in prime position to take the lead. Schulte said video showed a Xavier player had gotten a piece of a missed field goal, which should have negated the call.After "The Immaculate Recovery," Bettendorf had 1:54 to get the tying touchdown, but Xavier forced a four-and-out to ice the game. The following week, the Saints beat Southeast Polk, 21-6, for the 4A title."The locker room was pretty chaotic," Drahozal said. "But at the same time, I don't think it had really sunk in, yet. At the time, I just remember feeling fortunate we were able to play for a state championship."After Xavier beat Cedar Rapids Kennedy last Friday night in a 4A quarterfinal, 21-0, Drahozal sent a text to younger brother, Nick, that simply said "Rematch." Nick Drahozal is a starting cornerback for the Saints."I was in fifth grade, sitting down low in the bleachers with a bunch of friends," Nick Drahozal said. "I remember I was getting way too nervous, so I got up and walked to (the concourse). I was walking down the steps back to my seat right when the play happened.""I don't remember much of the first part of that game, but I sure remember the last part," said Xavier defensive tackle Daniel Vega.He was a waterboy for the 2006 team, which featured his older brother, Domingo."I remember I was running right down the sideline with (Drahozal) when he caught the fumble," Vega said.West Des Moines Valley played the following semifinal in 2006 and will again Friday against West Des Moines Dowling. Valley fans sat on the same side of the UNI-Dome as Xavier fans.Yeah, that will happen again Friday. So many parallels."The nice thing is our staff has gotten to know Bettendorf's staff pretty well since that game," Schulte said. "They're very classy people.""I just feel like this is one really big coincidence," Nick Drahozal said.Though he won't mind if history repeats itself in this coincidental case.Here is video of "The Immaculate Recovery," taken off YouTube and shot by a Xavier supporter: