Saints start season 2-0 with win over Western Dubuque

CEDAR RAPIDS — It never appeared that top-ranked Cedar Rapids Xavier was in trouble.

The numbers told a little different story.

Coach Duane Schulte's team could never quite put away visiting Western Dubuque on Friday night at Saints Field.

"They are a well-coached football team," Schulte said after his team came away with a hard-fought, 21-13, victory. "Coach (Justin) Penner is a great coach. They are big and have great athletes. For us to come out and play them tough, is a credit to our guys."

For the Saints, now 2-0 after last week's season-opening win at North Scott, it came down to making the big plays when needed on both sides of the ball.

"It was all about the team tonight," junior linebacker Beau Morio said. "Our scout team gave us a great look all week in practice. We went out tonight and we were very confident in our ability to pursue every play.

"They had a few big plays on us," he continued, "but we kept our heads on straight and got the job done."

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Xavier started fast. After stopping the Bobcats on their first drive, the Saints needed just eight plays to score. Junior quarterback Cash Parks hit senior Sam Leuck in stride on a 44-yard scoring strike midway through the quarter for the game's first score.

The Saints offense bogged down some after that point for the rest of the half. Parks was dynamic as a rusher, keeping several drives alive with dashes around both ends. He finished with 121 yards on 17 carries, but could not get his team into the end zone the rest of the half.

"Our fullback, Dusty Cook, really leads the way for me on those," Parks said. "I just kind of fall in behind him and our offensive line. We had a good read all week in practice on that play so I really knew where the hole would be."

The second half started like the first for the Saints. They took the opening kick and took almost half the third quarter to move 65 yards to score on a 1-yard plunge from Parks.

Schulte is a firm believer that it takes a team effort to win games. However, he did say that Parks has made big improvements from last year.

"I'm sure when (talking) to him he gives all the credit to his offensive line, backs and receivers," Schulte said of Parks. "That doesn't discount anything from his growth. He's still a young quarterback and he is getting better."

The growth in Parks showed after the Bobcats responded to Xavier's score with a drive of their own, capping it with a 5-yard run from Drew Bergfeld late in the third quarter. Xavier got a great kick return from Ty Weiss to the Bobcat 40. Xavier's drive appeared to stall, but on a fourth-and-goal from the 18, Parks rolled out and hit Ryan Kelley with a strike in the back of the end zone, pushing the lead back to 21-7.

Western Dubuque put together another scoring drive late in the game. Brett Harris connected with Bradley Brosius with just over two minutes remaining to make it a one score game. Xavier then recovered the onside kick and was able to run out the clock.

It doesn't get any easier for the Saints next week as they will host No. 7 Clear Creek Amana. The Bobcats (0-2) return home, hosting Waverly-Shell Rock.