It was a beautiful afternoon in Southfield, Michigan when the Saint Xavier Cougars came into town to play the Lawrence Tech Blue Devils. This was the first game of the year for both teams.
The Cougars ended last year with a 9-4 record, while the Blue Devils ended last year with a 5-3 record. Saint Xavier entered this game ranked as the fifth best team in the NAIA, putting them among the top teams in the country.
The game kicked off with an unsuccessful drive from the Blue Devils. Saint Xavier got the ball back and immediately made Lawrence Tech pay when running back Vance McShane got the ball, found an open hole, and ran 60 yards for a touchdown to put SXU up 7-0. After another Lawrence Tech drive that went nowhere, the Cougars got the ball back in great field position thanks to a terrible punt from the Blue Devils. Once again, Vance McShane came up clutch and ran into the endzone for a five yard touchdown to put SXU up 14-0. Another unsuccessful drive from Lawrence Tech ended the first quarter.
The second quarter started when Saint Xavier quarterback Alex Martinez threw a three yard touchdown to wide receiver Harold Davis to put the Cougars up 21-0. A few drives later, Martinez threw another touchdown, this time to wide receiver Justin Pringle to put SXU up 28-0. The Blue Devils just could not get anything going yet again and were forced to punt. This time, the Lawrence Tech defense did hold the high-powered SXU offense in check and forced the Cougars to kick a field goal that put them up 31-0.
The Blue Devils finally got on the board late in the second quarter, when they were able to charge down the field and kick a 36 yard field goal that cut the SXU lead to 31-3. Saint Xavier immediately responded with a 35 yard touchdown pass from Alex Martinez to Justin Pringle that put SXU up 38-3. One failed Lawrence Tech drive later, the second quarter was over.
The second half started with a big 48 yard touchdown pass from Alex Martinez to wide receiver Chris Simmons that put the Cougars up 45-3. Lawrence Tech finally scored their first touchdown on the next drive, when quarterback Tyler Kulka threw a 22 yard touchdown to Derrick Hinton that cut the SXU lead to 45-10. Both teams’ defenses took over from here, with the only remaining scoring coming from a Lawrence Tech field goal that cut the SXU lead to 45-13.
Neither team scored in the fourth quarter, with both the SXU and Lawrence Tech defenses completely taking over. The clock expired and the Cougars won 45-13 in a dominant performance from the SXU offense. The Cougars improved to 1-0 with the win, while Lawrence Tech fell to 0-1 with the loss.
Saint Xavier kicks off their home schedule next Saturday when they play the Wisconsin-Whitewater Warhawks at Deaton Field at 1:00 PM.