WAVERLY – Cedar Rapids Xavier didn’t bring the school’s kitchen sink with them.
If the Saints had, maybe they would have thrown that at Waverly-Shell Rock in the second half.
After all, they had linebackers and running backs completing passes, a receiver running for a score and their all-state quarterback hauling in a touchdown pass.
Consider it a little funk more than the game plan being flipped upside down.
“Going into every season, you have contingencies for certain things,” Xavier Coach Duane Schulte said. “Everybody practices everything. It was good plays by those guys, trying to do their job.”
Cash Parks scored on a touchdown pass, rush and reception, Ty Weiss rushed and received a touchdown and Dawson Doyle surpassed 100 yards and passed for a score in the top-ranked Saints’ 31-13 victory over No. 5 Waverly-Shell Rock in a Class 4A District 2 high school football game Friday night at WSR.
The Saints claimed their 19th straight victory and 10th consecutive against the Go-Hawks.
“They had focus all week,” Schulte said. “They were mature enough to get on a bus and come up here and play a really good football team and get a win. That’s a good compliment for them.”
What promised to be a slobberknocker and slugfest turned into a shootout in the first half with a combined 34 points.
“You don’t know what to expect for each football game,” Schulte said. “Things kind of happen. Sometimes they bust and sometimes they don’t. Tonight those plays kind of busted.”
Xavier wasted little time with a big play on its second offensive play. Parks gave a subtle fake and hit a streaking Weiss down the center of the field. Weiss cut away from a defender and finished a 76-yard scoring strike for an early 7-0 lead.
With faint sounds of fireworks in the distance, the Go-Hawks provided some of their own. Jayden Stephens took a swing pass from Tate Lalk and out-ran the Xavier defense for an 80-yard TD, tying the score at 7-7 with 3:04 left in the first quarter.
Xavier answered with Weiss again. He received a pitch on a reverse and bolted 80 yards for a TD run, making it 14-7 still in the opening frame. Weiss finished with 207 offensive yards, including 111 receiving on three catches.
WSR’s defense pitched in points. After penalties backed Xavier to its own 5, Elijah Wheeler cut in front of a short out pass and returned it 7 yards for a score. The extra point was no-good, keeping Xavier up by one.
Like the previous Go-Hawk score, Xavier responded. The Saints went 87 yards on six plays, including a 35-yard catch for a third-down conversion by Brady DeCamp and a 48-yard screen pass to Doyle, setting up a 2-yard sneak for Parks and making it 21-13 at the half.
The opening drive of the second half was a difference maker. The Saints marched 80 yards on 12 plays, melting almost five minutes off the clock. It was the way they extended and closed the drive that made it quirky.
Facing fourth-and-9 from Xavier’s 37, up-man Sam Schimberg snagged the snap and hit a wide open Jackson Owens for a 29-yard gain.
“That was a lot of coaches watching film and us (players) watching film,” said Schimberg, a starting linebacker who noted that he hadn’t completed an in-game pass since two years ago. “If we saw a look we knew it would be open. … We just executed.”
Owens had to hustle and stretch out a bit to haul in Schimberg’s pass and turned into a runner. He was ready when Schimberg made the call, but the starting defensive back had to switch to receiver mode.
“Stretch out my arms and watch the ball into my hands,” Owens said. “Tuck the ball and run.
“There’s not much difference besides the fact that I’m trying to get the ball and not letting them get the ball. It was an awesome play, an awesome moment.”
Xavier followed with a steady diet of Parks and Doyle runs. Then, Parks pitched to Doyle, who ran right, and stopped to pass to a wide open Parks in the end zone for an 8-yard TD and a 28-13 lead.
Parks finished with 291 total yards, passing for 227 and rushing for 56.
“It’s nice to be able to do what I need to do for my team to win,” Parks said. “Coaches call the plays and we just execute them. The scout team gives us a great look all week, so we know we’re going to be able to execute them.”
Weiss added a 39-yard field goal in the fourth to close the scoring. Doyle finished with a tough 102 rushing yards on 21 carries.
Xavier’s defense shut out the Go-Hawk offense the last three quarters. The Saints held WSR to 15 yards on the ground and 164 total yards. They made key adjustments, especially at halftime.
“All that credit goes to coaches,” Owens said. “They’re seeing stuff constantly throughout the game. They’re making changes, allowing us to feel comfortable with what we’re doing but then put us in successful spots.”
Xavier improved to 6-0 over and 2-0 in the district. WSR is 4-2 overall and 1-1. With three games remaining, the Saints are in position for a district title. The win is a springboard into the final third of the season.
“It’s a morale boost, for sure,” said Schimberg, who had an important fourth-down sack to turn WSR away early in the final quarter. “A win is always good. You can’t overlook any opponents coming up. We have to continue with our process.”
| C.R. XAVIER 31 | |
|---|
| WAVERLY-SHELL ROCK 13 | |
| AT WAVERLY | |
| CRX | WSR |
First downs | 18 | 8 |
Rushing-yards | 39-257 | 17-15 |
Passing yards | 264 | 149 |
Att-comp-int | 19-13-1 | 23-15-0 |
Total yards | 521 | 164 |
Fumbles-lost | 0-0 | 0-0 |
Punts-avg. | 3-41.0 | 7-47.1 |
Penalties-yards | 9-75 | 0-0 |
C.R. Xavier | 14-7-7-3—31 | |
Waverly-Shell Rock | 7-6-0-0—13 | |
CRX — Ty Weiss 76 pass from Cash Parks (Weiss kick)
WSR — Jayden Stephens 80 pass from Tate Lalk (Gavin Bockholt kick)
CRX — Weiss 80 run (Weiss kick)
WSR — Elijah Wheeler 7 interception return (kick failed)
WSR — Parks 2 run (Weiss kick)
CRX — Parks 8 pass from Dawson Doyle (Weiss kick)
CRX — FG Weiss 39
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING – C.R. Xavier: Doyle 21-102, Weiss 3-96, Parks 12-56, Dusty Cook 2-3. Waverly-Shell Rock: Easton Jorgenson 10-34, Grady Harris 1-3, 2-(minus 1), Stephens 2-(minus 7), Lalk 2-(minus 14).
PASSING – C.R. Xavier: Parks 11-17-1-227, Sam Schimberg 1-1-0-29, Doyle 1-1-0-8. Waverly-Shell Rock: Lalk 15-23-0-149.
RECEIVING – C.R. Xavier: Weiss 3-111, Doyle 1-48, Brady DeCamp 1-36, Connor Clark 3-31, Jackson Owens 1-29, Parks 1-8, Cook 3-1. Waverly-Shell Rock: Stephens 6-106, Quinn Lockard 1-13, Wheeler 1-12, Harris 5-10, Cash Ryan 2-8.