Following a week in which the football team traveled over 1,000 miles to Lake Wales, Florida, Saint Xavier found itself far from home once again on Saturday, September 24 in a match up against Siena Heights University. Adrian, Michigan was the host city for what turned out to be an exhilarating contest that went down to the wire.
Despite a masterful showing from senior Stephen Simms, the number 17 Cougars suffered a crushing 30-29 defeat in the final seconds. The difference turned out to be an eight-yard touchdown reception by the Saints of Siena Heights with 13 ticks left on the clock.
Saint Xavier spent the evening playing catchup, but continued to claw back into the game. The Cougars rallied from nine points down early in the fourth quarter to grab their first lead of the night, 29-23, with 2:46 remaining. However, Saint Xavier’s defense could not contain a 12 play, 78-yard game-winning touchdown drive by Siena Heights.
Senior quarterback John Rhode was still feeling the effects of an injury suffered early this season, so it was up to the Saint Laurence product, Alex Martinez, to line up under center for his third consecutive start.
Martinez threw for 235 yards and three touchdowns on 16 of 27 passing. He also had two interceptions — a stat that hurt him in Florida a week prior.
Overall, the freshman signal caller showed poise on the road while spending most of the game trailing. His favorite target continues to be Simms, who compiled two touchdowns and 136 yards receiving on eight catches. Simms finished the night with a game-high 295 all purpose yards.
Senior wide receiver Dan Ladd got himself on the scorer’s sheet with a touchdown of his own in the second quarter. He finished with three catches for 47 yards.
The Cougars wanted to implement a balanced rushing attack with their backfield consisting of freshman Jamarri Watson and junior Mike Ivlow. The two fought throughout the night and combined for 116 yards on the ground, with 15 carries going to Watson and 13 for Ivlow.
Trailing 16-7 in the third quarter, Saint Xavier’s defense came through in a big way by forcing a Siena Heights fumble. With favorable field position, Alex Martinez tossed a strike to Stephen Simms for a 30-yard touchdown that pulled the Cougars within two after the Abdul Mahdi extra point.
Saint Xavier’s defense came up big again on the next possession by stopping the Saints’ drive in its tracks on fourth down. The turnover set the Cougars up at their own 29-yard line, but their offense suffered from a three-and-out.
With momentum seemingly in the Cougars’ favor, the winds suddenly changed after Mike Ivlow’s punt was blocked. As a result, Siena Heights took over at the Cougar 40-yard line and took advantage with a late third quarter touchdown to extend their lead to 23-14.
With 12:49 remaining in the fourth quarter, Alex Martinez and the Cougars mustered a 15 play, 79 yard drive that ended with a Mike Ivlow one-yard touchdown run. Saint Xavier pulled within two with the score 23-21 and 6:38 left.
The Cougars’ defense showed a lot of life late in the game, as the group of 11 shut down Siena Heights on the following drive and allowed their offense a chance to take its first lead of the game.
Martinez completed a huge 40-yard pass to Simms that took Saint Xavier down to the Saints’ 14-yard line. A steady rushing attack of Jamarri Watson, along with a pretty touchdown completion to Simms in the end zone gave the Cougars a 29-23 lead late after a successful two-point conversion.
Unfortunately, a methodical Siena Heights drive that began with 2:38 left in the game turned out to be the difference.
Saint Xavier was forced to endure a long four hour plus bus ride home from Michigan with the thought of their 17 overall rank potentially falling even further. That, as well as other things, likely clouded the minds of several players and coaches, as the Cougars are now 2-3 (1-0) on the season and have dropped their last two contests in dramatic fashion.
Saint Xavier looks to get back on track this Saturday, October 1, at home against Davenport University beginning at 1:00 PM.
Mike Rankin
Senior Sports Editor