Duane Schulte gets 200th win as Cedar Rapids Xavier tops Western Dubuque

CEDAR RAPIDS - As the final seconds ticked away, Duane Schulte's coaching life passed before his eyes.

'I was thinking about all the guys, all the way back to the LaSalle guys, who were a part of this,” he said.

The Class 3A fourth-ranked Xavier Saints were streak snappers and milestone makers, racking up a balanced 403 yards and downing No. 8 Western Dubuque, 38-21, in a non-district football game Friday night at Saints Field.

The victory was the 200th for Schulte. He is the 56th coach in state history to reach that milestone.

Schulte is 200-81 in 27 years overall, 175-67 in 23 seasons at Xavier.

All those years. All those wins. And all those people for Schulte to thank.

'It's not just me,” he said. 'It's our staff. It's my family - my wife Sherry, my kids ... I can't thank them enough.”

The defending 3A state champion, Western Dubuque saw its 13-game winning streak come to an end.

The Bobcats made it look easy on its first drive, but after that, nothing was easy.

Xavier turned a 7-0 deficit into a 31-7 lead by the end of the third quarter.

In his first start, Jaxon Rexroth completed 12 of 16 passes for 209 yards. He's got a quality target in Jack Breitbach, who caught eight passes for 177 yards.

'It all starts up front with our O-line,” Breitbach said. 'And Rex threw me some great passes.

'It's great to be a part of this tonight. I started coming out to Xavier football games when I was a little kid, and to be part of Coach's 200th win ... it's great.”

Jack Lux ran for 154 yards on 16 carries.

Lux's 27-yard TD run with 5:01 left in the second quarter - and a one-handed two-point conversion catch by Nicholas Kramer - gave the Saints the lead for good at 14-7.

Lincoln Oakley's 31-yard field goal with 0:04 left in the half made it 17-7.

Touchdowns by Rexroth and Lux made it 31-7 by the end of the third quarter, then Breitbach capped the Saints' scoring with a 35-yard TD grab with 9:38 left in the game.

Western Dubuque's Garrett Baumhover passed for 251 yards, with Dakota Lau and Tommy DeSollar going over 100 yards receiving apiece.

The game featured teams that combined for the last three 3A state championships. Xavier reigned in 2017 and 2018; Western Dubuque was crowned last year.

Xavier is at Linn-Mar next week; Western Dubuque hosts Dubuque Hempstead.

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