Saints not feeling generous in first-round home playoff win

CEDAR RAPIDS — It was Halloween, but Cedar Rapids Xavier wasn’t giving out treats.

Class 4A’s top-ranked Saints (10-0) allowed just one first down and 24 yards of offense, dominating every facet of the game in a 47-0 first-round home playoff win against Waverly-Shell Rock (4-6) on Friday.

“You’ve got to give credit to our defensive coaches,” Xavier head coach Duane Schulte said. “Jim O'Connell is a farmer. He's been with me for 32 years. You’ve got to start with him, his assistants and all our assistants — then the players have to buy in and execute the game plan. And they pretty much did.”

A 66-yard opening drive set up an Owen Vasquez 31-yard field goal, putting the Saints on the board early in the first quarter.

Less than two minutes later, Carter Hoffmann punched in the first of his two 10-yard touchdown runs.

Hoffmann rushed for 96 yards on 10 carries.

“I was just reading my blocks, saw the holes and went to them,” Hoffmann said. “Honestly, the defense, they just don't know if we're going to run it or throw it, and it's nice we can do both of those. It helps out a lot.”

  Buy Photo

Quarterback Cash Parks got into the scoring column with a 60-yard touchdown pass to Sam Leuck on Xavier’s next possession.

Parks then added a 5-yard score and Hoffmann another 10-yarder early in the second quarter.

“Our scout team gives a great look all week. I mean, they've been doing it for 10 straight weeks now, so we know both the run and pass are going to be there,” Parks said. “My O-line gave me great blocks, and my receivers were able to get open. And Carter obviously runs hard on the ground every single play.”

Parks completed 8 of 9 passes for 166 yards and ran twice for 21 more.

Dustin Cook’s 14-yard touchdown run with 8:11 remaining in the second quarter gave the Saints a 38-0 lead and triggered the continuous clock rule.

“It was kind of a balancing between offense, defense and special teams … just a football game where all three phases played a part,” Schulte said.

Dawson Doyle drove in for a 1-yard score late in the second as Xavier led 45-0 at halftime.

“I thought our guys came out and executed for the most part, did their job,” Schulte said. “It's hard to win a playoff game, so we're just happy to win the game, to be honest.”

This season marked Xavier’s 20th consecutive state playoff appearance.

“We just try to be consistent, everything we do is pretty much the same,” Schulte said. “The head coach at this program isn't smart enough to really come up with a bunch of new stuff, so we just kind of keep doing the same thing.”

The Saints will host No. 7 Adel ADM in the quarterfinals.

“We just have to do what we've been doing the whole year and keep it the same,” Hoffmann said. “It's getting better every single game.”