Xavier steamrolls Maquoketa, 49-6

CEDAR RAPIDS — Cedar Rapids Xavier's cheerleaders sprint down the track in front of the home fans after every touchdown.

They received a workout. They might have been as tired as some of the football players and the chain gang by the time Friday night ended.

Second-ranked Xavier made their way down the field early and often and didn't give up any points until late, dominating Maquoketa, 49-6, in a Class 3A District 4 prep football game last night at Saints Field.

The Saints played solidly all-around, racking up 292 yards offensively and allowing less than 90 to the Cardinals (0-5, 0-3).

'As a team, you just try to execute in all three facets of the game,' said Schulte, noting special teams made a bigger impact last week. 'We tried to get whatever third is out there — offense, defense and special teams — to get better and execute.'

The Saints (4-1, 3-0) ran like a well-oil machine in the first half, scoring touchdowns on their first six possessions.

Bryce Schulte helped lead the opening onslaught. He had two touchdown passes and two rushing scores, putting the Saints up, 28-0, one play into the second quarter. Once Xavier was out to another quick start, they rolled.

'It definitely gave us momentum, but we're never satisfied,' Bryce Schulte said. 'We just keep getting better.'

He connected on a 4-yard TD to Noah Clasen to start the scoring. Bryce Schulte capped consecutive drives with touchdown runs of 4 and 9 yards. On the first play of the second quarter, he hit Nick Stark on a quick hitch in the flat and Stark made a defender, bolting 30 yards for the end zone.

Stark had 85 receiving yards on five catches.

'He's a fast player,' Bryce Schulte said of Stark. 'He can make some moves in the open field.'

Bryce Schulte finished with his first 100-yard passing game this season. He finished with 105 yards on 8-of-10 passing. His previous high was 93 against Solon in the district opener. He also rushed for 43 on the ground. He doesn't favor his legs over his arm. He will use whatever assists the Saints down field.

'I really don't care,' Bryce Schulte said. 'Just as long as we score touchdowns.'

Nic Ekland and Sean Murphy, who ended with a team-high 65 rushing yards, added touchdown runs. Murphy scored on a 54-yard run, which was the lone play of the Saints' sixth drive. None of Xavier's scoring drives were more than seven plays, starting in Maquoketa territory three straight times.

The defense added its own points to the mix. Matt Downey picked up a fumble and dashed 52 yards for a touchdown, making it 42-0. The Saints were stout defensively. Maquoketa did not earn a first down until 7:30 to play and scored with 2:22 left on the clock. They managed just two first downs the entire game. Xavier has allowed just nine points in three district contests.

'We just try to make plays,' Xavier's Thomas Ickes said. 'We try to fly to the ball.'

The Saints rallied around assistant coach John Tursi and quarterback Sam Tursi. They missed a couple practices this week due to the death of their grandmother and great-grandmother.

'Coach Tursi was going through a hard time,' Ickes said. 'He really coached us up and we all got behind him.'

Maquoketa finally got on the board when backup quarterback Lincoln Aunan hit Matthew Ambrosy for a 4-yard touchdown. Aunan threw for 51 yards, converting a 4th-and-14 from the 40 with a 36-yard strike to Skyler Bronson, who made a leaping catch.

'I like how we played with a little more attitude and enthusiasm in the second half,' Maquoketa Coach Kevin Bowman said. 'We know it was against reserves, but the fact is we did play with a little attitude.

He said an assistant coach noted the team was intimidated at the start. Bowman said they will find positives and get better.

'Our seniors have never won a game,' Bowman said. 'We're trying to change that attitude.

'We have a tough group here. We're trying to work through it.'

Xavier hosts Western Dubuque next week at Saints Field. Maquoketa plays Marion at home in Week 6.

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C.R. Xavier 49

Maquoketa 6

AT SAINTS FIELD

MAQ CRX

First downs 2 10

Rushes-yards 30-34 25 - 176

Passing-yards 54 116

Comp-att-int 5-9-0 10-12-0

Punts-avg. 8-31.8 3-41.3

Fumbles-lost 2-2 1-1

Penalties-yards 2-10 4-35

Maquoketa 0 0 0 6 — 6

C.R. Xavier 21 28 0 0 — 49

CRX — Clasen 4 pass from Schulte (Dallas Klein kick)

CRX — Schulte 3 run (Klein kick)

CRX — Schulte 9 run (Klein kick)

CRX — Stark 30 pass from Schulte (Klein kick)

CRX — Ekland 2 run (Klein kick)

CRX — Matt Downey 52 fumble return (Keane Kennedy kick)

CRX — Sean Murphy 54 run (Klein kick)

MAQ — Ambrosy 4 pass from Aunan (rush failed)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing — Maquoketa: Jordan Rapp 16-24, Lincoln Aunan 4-10, Jacob Kloft 5-6, Justin Snyder 5-(-6); C.R. Xavier: Sean Murphy 2-65, Bryce Schulte 4-43, Jay Kortemeyer 6-31, Nic Ekland 4-21, Andrew Steffensmeier 7-18, Gabe Smith 1-3, Team 1-(-5).

Passing — Maquoketa: Aunan 4-6-0-51, Snyder 1-3-0-3; C.R. Xavier: Schulte 8-10-0-105, Sam Tursi 2-2-0-11.

Receiving — Maquoketa: Skyler Bronson 2-43, Matthew Ambrosy 3-11; C.R. Xavier: Nick Stark 5-85, Skeeter Jasper 2-13, Ekland 1-9, John Hovda 1-5, Noah Clasen 1-4.