Xavier bounces back with 40-14 beatdown of Waterloo West

WATERLOO — Cedar Rapids Xavier gave Waterloo West no room to breathe when it mattered last night, and the Saints rolled to a 40-14 victory at Memorial Stadium.

The Saints, coming off their first loss of the season, found several paths to the scoreboard, especially in the first half while utterly smothering West with an aggressive, blitzing defense.

A 16-point burst in a two-minute span late in the first quarter sent fifth-ranked Xavier (6-1) on its way to victory.

First, the Saints rolled 72 yards, a long march finished by Brendan Miller's 2-yard run.

On West's next offensive series, a bad center snap got knocked away from quarterback Alex Young. Andrew Khairallah recovered, and Miller's 4-yard TD run concluded an 18-yard sprint to the end zone.

West got the ball back, and reeled backward. Finally, Young was sacked in the end zone, giving Xavier a safety and a 16-0 lead.

Quarterback Quinton Scholer, who hit 9 of his 14 passes in the first half, then sneaked a yard for a score.

Kicker Ryan Persick's line drive, 37-yard field goal with 10 seconds left ended the first-half scoring.

Miller finished with 142 rushing yards for the Saints.