The Xavier Saints played the Class 1A Regina Regals (6-0) in Iowa City on October 16 in a non-conference match-up. The Saints (6-0) struggled to get going in the first half against the five-time defending state champions. Regina scored a touchdown on the first drive, but the Saints answered on the following drive with a touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Blake Whitten, making it 7-7. After Xavier’s first touchdown, they remained scoreless the rest of the half. The Regals rushed for 300 yards in the first half while the Saints were held to 118 rushing yards.
Regina scored four consecutive touchdowns to end the first half with a score of 35-7. When the Saints took the field for the second half, there was a different energy within the team.
“We went into halftime not knowing what hit us because we didn’t come out ready to play,” senior Sean Murphy said. “We’ve done that a couple times this year but we find a way to turn it on in the second half.”
The Saints started the rally in the second half with a rushing touchdown by junior quarterback Bryce Schulte. During the Regals’ next few possessions, they ended up having to punt the ball back into the hands of the Saints’ offense.
“The coaches just stressed our normal team staple about doing our jobs,” Murphy said. “They asked us how we wanted to be remembered and so we came out inspired and motivated in the second half.”
The Saints got the ball with little time remaining in the third quarter, but junior running back Maliki Wilson was able to score on a 17-yard run to close the gap to 35-21. Schulte then added two more rushing touchdowns in the fourth quarter, tying the game with 3:20 left.
The Saints got the ball back after Whitten intercepted a pass at the goal line, returning it near midfield. Murphy ran a fullback draw to the 18-yard line putting the Saints in the position to seal the win.
With three seconds left on the clock, the Saints decided to allow senior Dallas Klein to kick a field goal. With time expiring, the ball sailed between the two goal posts. The Saints had completed one of the greatest comebacks in Xavier football history.
“The field goal team tried to treat the play like any other kick and there was a good snap and hold so it all went well,” Klein said. “It was crazy when we won but everyone had faith in each other and had faith in our team to make the comeback.”
With this victory, Klein won the Metro Spotlight Award after his late game heroics.
The Saints then played their last regular season game against Marion and prevailed with a 55-0 shutout on October 23. This is only the third time in school history that a team has entered the playoffs with an undefeated record (2006, 2012). The Saints started their postseason on Wednesday, October 28 against Waverly Shell-Rock(6-3) at Saints Field.