The Xavierite
Saint Xavier is one of the final four teams in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Football Championship Series.
With the Cougars’ 30-17 defeat of No. 6 Lindsey Wilson College on Saturday, they moved into the semifinal round of the playoffs.
A pair of upsets in the quarterfinal round made Saint Xavier the highest-ranked team still in the FCS, as No. 8 Southern Oregon University defeated No. 1 Carroll in come-from-behind fashion and No. 7 Marian University knocked off No. 2 Grand View University.
With the upsets, the Cougars will host their semifinal game on Saturday.
“I can’t tell you how happy I am for our players and our fans,” said head coach Mike Feminis. “With everything we’ve accomplished over the years here, the one thing we haven’t done is host a semifinal.
“It’s going to be a tremendous atmosphere here next week. I can’t wait and I’m just so happy for all of our guys.”
It took a thrilling 38-35 win over Campbellsville University in the opening round on Nov. 22 to get to the game against Lindsey Wilson.
Now, Saint Xavier football is just a win away from appearing in its second national championship game in the last four years.
Scarlet and Gray Down Blue Raiders
The Lindsey Wilson Blue Raiders came into town looking for a similar game to their Kentucky brethren, Campbellsville. But the Saint Xavier defense tightened up against an even better offense.
The Cougar defense, which was one of the best in the NAIA at putting pressure on the quarterback all year, did not get a sack against Blue Raider quarterback Branden Cresap. But the Cougars got close enough to disrupt his timing.
Saint Xavier finished with 11 quarterback hits during the game, with senior defensive lineman Greg Hayward leading the charge with three.
The Cougars had one of their best games in coverage. Junior cornerback Mark Williams led the team with 12 tackles, including one for a loss. Williams also broke up two passes, forced a fumble and picked off a pass.
The Xavierite
Junior linebacker Dan Fitzgerald had a day as well, making six tackles, recovering a fumble, breaking up a pass and making an interception that gave the ball back to the Cougar offense to run out the clock.
That same Cougar offense did plenty in the win. Sophomore quarterback John Rhode completed 22 of 28 pass attempts to rack up 298 yards and four touchdowns. Seven Cougar ballcarriers combined for 234 yards on the ground.
Rhode was a big part of the running game, picking up 25 yards and keeping plays and drives alive with his scrambling.
Late in the first quarter, Rhode took off on third-and-13 and motored 14 yards for the first down, which later led to a touchdown pass to sophomore receiver Stephen Simms.
“On those third downs and six-plus, it hurts [the defense] when they have everyone covered and you get a first down with your legs,” said Rhode. “It’s a huge play.”
Rhode’s first score came on a fly route to junior receiver Austin Feeney on the Cougars’ first offensive possession of the game.
He followed that score up with the Simms touchdown, a second-quarter strike over the middle to redshirt freshman receiver Mark Strbjak and a third-quarter 56-yard catch-and-run by junior receiver Randall Wells.
Up 27-17 in the third quarter, the Cougars found themselves in a tough spot. They could not convert a third-and-one, so Feminis was faced with the decision of whether to go for it or punt.
That decision seemed to be all but taken out of the Cougars’ hands when they incurred a delay of game penalty, making it fourth-and-six at their own 13-yard line.
That was when sophomore Marco Scalzetti, one of the blockers in the backfield in the punt formation, called for the direct snap. He picked up the first down yardage and then some with his 22-yard run.
Scalzetti said the punt fake was not on when it was fourth-and-one.
“We were going to punt the ball before the delay,” said Scalzetti. “Then they came out in a little bit of a different look and then we took it.”
The fake punt helped keep the drive alive for the Cougars. They moved down into Blue Raider territory and freshman kicker Abdul Mahdi kicked a 33-yard field goal to ensure that Lindsey Wilson could not tie the game up with a touchdown and a field goal.
On the Blue Raiders’ next play from scrimmage, they tried a trick play with a lateral from Cresap to backup quarterback Dylan Beasley, who was lined up behind a wall of blockers as if it were a screen pass. Instead, Beasley heaved the ball down the field. After a tip, the ball fell in the awaiting arms of Fitzgerald.
“I was confused,” said Fitzgerald of his interception. “We’d barely lined up.
“I saw [a receiver] running up the sideline and I kind of followed him. Then [senior safety Danny Lombardo] tipped it and it fell in my hands.”
The Cougars were then able to run out the remaining 3:03 of the game.
Scouting Southern Oregon
Defensively, Southern Oregon is in the middle of the NAIA pack. They rank 45th in scoring defense, allowing 27.4 points per game to opponents.
Southern Oregon is anything but mediocre on offense. They rank second nationally after Morningside College with 43.7 points per game.
Much of the Raiders’ success this year has come through the air. They have averaged an NAIA-best 373.5 passing yards per game.
Senior quarterback Austin Dodge has accounted for 362.8 passing yards per game, including 470 yards and three touchdowns in the blizzard conditions of the Raiders’ quarterfinal game against Carroll in Montana.
Southern Oregon boasts a strong running game as well. The Raiders rank 29th in the NAIA with 184.2 rushing yards per game.
When the Raiders do choose to run, they have great success. They have averaged 5.1 yards per carry.
The Raiders spread the ball between three running backs. Melvin Mason is a big sophomore back who carried the bulk of the load with 817 yards on 144 carries this season.
Mason is joined in the backfield by another big back, freshman Keegan Lawrence, who ran for 514 yards on 73 carries.
Finally, the smallest of the backs is Sean Tow, who ran for 587 yards on 91 carries in limited action this season.
While mainly a passing threat, Dodge has shown that he can break off a few big runs. He has 73 rushing yards on the year, but that statistic is distorted by yards lost due to sacks. Dodge had runs of at least 11 yards in six of his first 12 games this season.
That could be a scary point for the Cougar defense, which has struggled mightily against mobile quarterbacks.
The Cougars gave up 158 rushing yards to Trace Wanless of the University of Saint Francis (Illinois) on Sept. 27, 118 rushing yards and three touchdowns to Grand View’s Derek Fulton on Oct. 4, 91 yards to Trinity International University’s Stephen Anderson on Nov. 8 and 52 yards on four carries to Tajh Milliken, Campbellsville’s backup quarterback, on Nov. 22.
Given that it is crunch time and both teams will be poring over tape of previous games, do not be surprised to see Dodge or another Raider run the zone read offense.
Time and Place
The Cougars host their first semifinal game on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Saint Xavier got very lucky with its first two rounds of the playoffs, playing in great conditions for the time of year.
The initial forecast (as of Monday) calls for another beautiful day for football—partly sunny and lower 40s.
This biggest game of the Cougar football season to date will be broadcast over the radio on WXAV 88.3 FM Chicago.
Tim Carroll
Senior Sports Editor