The Saint Xavier football team is coming off a solid season with a disappointing ending. Although their 2018 record was 9-4, they were ranked 6th in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics preseason coaches’ poll and lost 51-14 in the quarter finals of the NAIA playoffs to the eventual national champions, the Morningside Mustangs.
Can they rebound?
Coaches across NAIA certainly think so, ranking them even higher this year at 5th. To meet these lofty expectations the Cougars are going to have to navigate a tough schedule, including back-to-back games against the NCAA Division 3 powerhouse, Wisconsin Whitewater, and Concordia University, who is ranked 6th in the NAIA coaches’ poll.
In order to perform up to expectations, they’re going to have to rely on their star players. On offense that means getting the ball to 2018 NAIA all-American honorable mention, Harold Davis.
Last year, Davis caught 86 passes for 1273 yards and ended up with 8 touchdowns. His production should improve even more going into his senior year. Defense will likely hinge on linebacker Josh Hettiger. Also coming off an NAIA AA honorable mention season, Hettiger had 9 sacks and 20 tackles for loss as linebacker. He is going to need another great season to replace the Cougar’s best defensive player last year in defensive linemen, Joe Dmitri.
Another key to success this year will be a more consistent running game. Last year, the Cougars had a stable of running backs without a single 1,000 yards. Their best chance at a bell cow this year will be Vance McShane, who is coming off a freshman with 774 yards and 4 touchdowns in 143 attempts, while averaging a whopping 5.4 yards per carry. These stats provide an easy solution: get this man for touches. If he can put up those stats with limited touches, imagine what he could do getting 20-25 carries a game.
However, while a strong running game is important, the key to every offense is the starting quarterback. Last year, this was Justin Hunniford, a consistent senior quarterback, who was able to play in all 13 games. His graduation means that SXU is going to have to break in a new signal caller. The starter seems like it will be Alex Martinez, who played in 5 games last year. He contributed 5 touchdowns and threw for 850 yards – far and away the best stats of any backup quarterback last year. Other potential starters include freshmen Ben Mazurkiewicz and John O’Sullivan.
My prediction for this Cougars season is a 9-1 regular season record. While I belive SXU will be great, it is unlikely that they’ll be able to beat Wisconsin Whitewater and Concordia in consecutive weeks, and will likely lose one of these two games. Their great regular season will propel them to a Mid States Football Association Conference Championship and give them a top seed in the playoffs, where they will progress to the championship game.
However, I don’t think SXU will win a championship. While they will be excellent, I don’t think the offense has enough firepower to get revenge on likely championship opponent Morningside. While the game will be much closer this time around, I think they’ll come up just short.