On Saturday, November 21, the Saint Xavier men’s football team traveled to Sioux City, Iowa to take on the #1 seeded Morningside College football team in the first round of the NAIA Football Championship Series.
The Cougars would engage in a shootout with the Mustangs, but would lose the game in quadruple overtime to end their championship hopes. With quarterback John Rhode back under the helm for this crucial playoff game, the Cougars’ offense would return to form, scoring on their first drive of the game to take a 7-0 lead in under two minutes.
The touchdown was scored on a 16 yard pass from Rhode to wide receiver Dennis Vilimek. With the Cougars being such heavy underdogs as a 16 seed play a 1 seed, they knew that they would need to take risks if they wanted to have any chance of winning this first round game.
They would take one of those risks on the ensuing kickoff when they would attempt an onside kick. The Cougars would recover the onside kick, and give the Cougars the ball back at their own 49 yard line.
The Cougars’ offense would not let this prime opportunity to score slip from their grasp as the drive after the onside kick recovery would result in a second touchdown and extend their lead to 14-0 with 11:13 left in the first quarter. The touchdown was a 14 yard pass from Rhode to wide receiver Randall Wells.
However, this game would show signs of being a back and forth contest that would feature a plethora of offense. This would start on the Cougars first defensive drive, as the Mustangs would score a touchdown with 9:14 left in the quarter to cut their deficit to 14-7.
On the ensuing drive, the Cougars’ offense would look to once again drive down the field and score a touchdown. They would accomplish that goal, as Rhode would throw a 3 yard touchdown pass to wide receiver to extend their lead to 21-7 with 6:10 remaining in the quarter. Simms was the go-to receiver on that drive as he would total three catches for 75 yards.
The Cougars’ defense would once again be tested, as Morningside would drive all the way down to the SXU 25 yard line. Once again though, like so many other times this season, the Cougars’ defense would make a massive play to escape what looked to be certain danger with an interception from cornerback Matt Johnson to keep the score at 21-7.
After a scoreless drive from the Cougars’ offense, the Cougars would find themselves up by that score at the end of the first quarter. At the start of the second quarter, the Mustangs would end their drive that started at the end of the first quarter with a field goal to cut the Cougars’ lead to 21-10.
The Cougars next drive would end really quickly as Rhode would throw an interception on the second play of the drive and give Morningside the ball at the SXU 27 yard line. On the very next play after the interception, the Mustangs would score a touchdown to make the score 21-17.
This bad stretch for the Cougars would continue as Wells would fumble the ensuing kickoff and give the Morningside another prime opportunity to score. They would not waste this opportunity, scoring a touchdown to take their first lead of the game at 23-21.
On the ensuing extra point attempt, the kick would be blocked and returned by the Cougars’ special teams to tie the game at 23-23, capping off a wild and chaotic first three minutes of the second quarter. At this point, the Cougars looked to get something good out of their offensive drive after starting the game so well.
Unfortunately, the Cougars would turn the ball over again due to a fumble by running back Mike Ivlow. Once again, the Mustangs would capitalize on a turnover as they would score a field goal to re-take the lead at 26-23 with 8:33 left in the half.
Once again though, the Cougars’ offense would stall and be forced to give the ball back to Morningside without adding any points to their total. For the fifth straight drive, the Cougars’ defense would allow their opposition to score. The Mustangs would go on a long, methodical drive that would result in a touchdown and extend their lead to 33-23 with 2:51 left in the half.
With the game starting to feel like it was about to get out of reach, the Cougars’ offense would step up, scoring a touchdown with 1:21 left in the half to put themselves within striking distance at 33-30. The half would end at that score and the Cougars seemed to gain back some of the momentum that they had earlier in the game.
The Mustangs would start the second half with the ball, looking to add to their lead. However, the Cougars’ defense would make another big play as safety Doug Ruggles would force and recover a fumble to give the Cougars the ball at their own 41 yard line.
Despite the good field position, the Cougars’ offense would eventually punt the ball back to their opponents, still down 33-30. Morningside would go on another long, methodical drive but this time, they would not score as the Cougars would stop their drive and force them to punt.
This defensive stop would prove to be pivotal as the Cougars would score two plays after the punt to retake the lead at 37-33. The touchdown was scored on a 40 yard pass from Rhode to wide receiver Ryan Carroll.
On the ensuing kickoff, the Cougars’ special teams would force a fumble which was recovered by Ruggles, his second fumble recovery of the game, giving the Cougars more momentum.
They would capitalize on this turnover, making a 28 yard field goal with 3:32 left in the third quarter to extend their lead to 40-33. The quarter would end with the Cougars up 40-33 and in the midst of a drive that put them deep in Mustang territory.
Starting at the MC 26 yard line, the Cougars would not waste their chance to extend their lead as Drey Devereaux would run into the endzone for 18 yards to give themselves a 47-33 lead.
Normally, a 14 point lead would be a big enough lead for the Cougars to hold onto and win a game. But, Morningside would immediately cut into that lead, scoring a touchdown to make the score 47-40 with 12:08 left in the game.
Up 47-40, the Cougars would put together a masterful 13 play 65 yard drive that saw them take up almost six minutes of game time and was capped off by a Simms one yard touchdown run to extend their lead to 54-40 with 6:10 left on the clock.
It seemed inevitable that the Cougars would win the game after they put together what could have been considered a game-winning drive. However, the Cougars’ normally stout defense was anything but in this game.
This showed on the very next drive, where MC would drive right down the field and score a touchdown to cut the lead to 54-47 with 4:17 left in this crucial first round playoff game. The Cougars’ offense would get the ball back looking to kill the rest of the clock and go on to the next round of the NAIA Football Championship Series.
However, they would not be able to do so and were forced to give the ball back to the Mustangs with 2:46 left in the game. On so many occasions this season, the Cougars’ defense would come up with a big play in a situation like this where they needed to rely on that group to get them a win.
Unfortunately, they could not get that crucial stop or turnover that they have gotten so many times in the past and they would allow Morningside College to tie the game at 54-54 with 58 seconds left. The Cougars would kneel the ball on offense and the game would go to overtime.
In the first overtime, the Cougars’ offense would start with the ball. They would either need a field goal or a touchdown to force the Mustangs’ hand when they got the ball on offense. However, the Cougars’ offense would turn the ball over on downs and give the Mustangs the ball back, needing only a field goal to win.
Thanks to a penalty on the Mustangs offense, they would have to attempt a long 50 yard field goal to win the game. Fortunately for the Cougars, the kicker for MC would miss the field goal and the game would go into double overtime.
The Cougars would once again start with the ball. Unlike last overtime, the Cougars would score a touchdown and take a 61-54 lead. The touchdown was scored on a seven yard pass from Rhode to Carroll. Now the Cougars would need their defense to make one more stop to seal the victory.
Once again, they could not and they would allow the Mustangs to tie the game at 61-61, forcing the game into a triple overtime. On the first play of the third overtime, the Cougars would score a touchdown and convert a two point conversion to take a 69-61 lead.
The touchdown was a 25 yard pass from Rhode to Simms. Again, the game would rest on the defense, as a stop would give them the upset victory that they desperately craved. Again, they would give up a touchdown and a two point conversion to tie the game at 69-69 and sending the game into quadruple overtime.
In the fourth overtime, the Cougars offense, which had been fantastic the entire game, would not be able to come through when it mattered most as they would turn the ball over on downs and give the Mustangs the ball back tied at 69.
The Cougars’ defense would desperately need a stop, this time to save their season. But, unfortunately, that stop would not come as they would give up a touchdown and send the Cougars home with a 75-69 loss. The Cougars’ season would end with a 7-4 overall record and a conference record of 4-1.
John Romando
Senior Sports Editor