PHOTOS & VIDEO: Saints roll on new Turf

CEDAR RAPIDS - Colin O'Connor was the first hero on the new turf.  O'Connor hauled in three touchdown passes from Joe Sayre and Cedar Rapids Xavier held Cedar Rapids Jefferson to 91 yards of total offense in a 28-0 Mississippi Valley Conference football triumph on the plush surface at Kingston Stadium last night.“(Sayre) put the ball right on my chest,” said O'Connor, who caught eight passes for 145 yards. “All I had to do was put my hands on the ball and catch it.”In years past, the Kingston field would have been chewed up as a result of the rain that hit the area the past two days.Not now.   The FieldTurf, installed this summer as part of a $2.8 million renovation project, made for prime playing conditions.“It was really nice,” O'Connor said. “I thought it was going to be really slick. But it was really soft, really fast.”Xavier Coach Duane Schulte de-emphasized the surface in the days leading up to the game.“We didn't even talk about it,” he said. “I didn't want them to freak out about it.”The Sayre-to-O'Connor show began on the Saints' second possession of the game.  Sayre, who finished with 12 completions in 15 attempts for 159 yards, pump-faked and hit O'Connor on the fly down the right sideline for a 37-yard score.

Video from KCRG-TV9Later in the first quarter, Sayre located O'Connor in the slot with a quick pass. O'Connor did the rest, motoring 35 yards for the touchdown.  O'Connor outjumped the defensive secondary for a 17-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter, then Dylan Martin capped the scoring with a 2-yard run in the fourth period.  Xavier's defense ruled throughout. Jefferson's Tyler Evans, a 1,000-yard rusher last year, was held to 23 yards on 17 carries.“They say defense wins games,” Schulte said. “I was really scared of those guys. They have some good backs. I thought our guys did a really nice job.”The “First on the Turf” T-shirts sold by each school raised more than $6,000 for the Tim Davis family. Davis, a Cedar Rapids policeman, was severely injured in the line of duty this year.