The Xavierite
Even good football teams lose games. But the really good ones bounce back from those losses.
That’s what the Saint Xavier football team did on Saturday in defeating the University of Saint Francis (Ill.) Fighting Saints 28-13 on homecoming.
After Saint Xavier had faltered on Sept. 20 against the Robert Morris University, the Cougars knew they would be in for a fight against the No. 12 Saints.
The 3-0 Fighting Saints were in for a close one with the 2-1 Cougars. The two teams went into halftime with a 7-7 tie.
Before the game, Saint Xavier head coach Mike Feminis said he thought his squad had the advantage on both the offensive and defensive lines. The Cougars overmatched the Saints up front when they had the opening score of the game.
Saint Xavier got the run game going early in its second offensive possession of the game. Dual threat quarterback John Rhode picked up 21 yards on the ground to spark the drive.
All-purpose standout Stephen Simms then got in on the act by ripping off a 14-yard run to make it a first-and-goal.
Then it was time for a new weapon to be showcased. After sitting out the first three games of the season due to injury, redshirt freshman quarterback/receiver/punter Mark Strbjak came on to lead the offense.
The Cougars, who run the majority of the offense out of the shotgun, lined up quickly with Strjbak under center. He took the snap and threw his body across the goal line for an early touchdown lead.
“Offensively, when we gave our line the opportunity, I thought they moved them up front, and I thought we got some good yardage on the ground,” said Feminis.
And the success up front was not limited to the offense. The defensive line also got a strong push and disrupted the rhythm of the Saint Francis offense.
Defensive linemen Alex Hamilton and Nick Cemeno each had a sack, and linebackers Chris Friend, Alex Walters and Dan Fitzgerald combined for a pair.
The Cougars were disruptive even in the run game. They had a combined 10 tackles for loss, including 3.5 from senior defensive end Marcus Maas.
Opposing quarterback Trace Wanless racked up 158 rushing yards, but the Cougar defense kept him from making backbreaking plays.
“[Wanless] is a heck of a football player and I know he got some yards, but he never broke a long one,” said Feminis. “We were able to contain him. To hold them to 13 points is pretty darn good.”
After Wanless went down with an injury early in the fourth quarter, the Saint Xavier defense really went to work. They would not allow another point to Saint Francis.
But after the first-quarter score for Saint Xavier, the Cougars struggled offensively until halftime.
“We were just out of sync in the first half,” said Feminis. “We had some big plays, but then we’d have a penalty bring it back.”
The Saints had taken the lead after an early third-quarter field goal, but the Cougars came roaring back.
“We just told the guys to settle down and relax,” said Feminis of his halftime adjustments. “Everything in the game plan was there, they just had to start executing.”
The offense that had largely struggled in the first half suddenly came alive. The Cougars reclaimed the lead with a spectacular, one-handed 53-yard catch-and-run from Rhode to junior receiver Randall Wells.
Rhode then found confidence in his arm and accuracy on the deep ball. He completed another 53-yard pass on the next offensive possession, this one going to senior receiver Nick DeBenedetti. That set up an early fourth-quarter 3-yard Rhode touchdown run that extended the lead to 21-10.
After a Saint Francis field goal, it was time for one more deep pass and touchdown for good measure.
Always one to spread the ball around, Rhode looked to his left and saw the Saint Francis coverage had broken Simms was wide open deep. Rhode flipped the ball up and Simms ran the rest of the way for a 66-yard touchdown to seal the victory.
The tests are not over for the Cougars, especially because they play in what Feminis calls “The NAIA SEC.”
Next up is a road test in the NAIA’s version of the NCAA’s Southeastern Conference.
The Cougars travel to Des Moines, Iowa, this Saturday to play the defending NAIA national champion Grand View Vikings, who handed the Cougars 48-21 shellacking in last year’s iteration of SXU’s homecoming game.
But Feminis does not foresee quite the same result.
“I think [the Vikings] are going to see a different team next week in Des Moines than the one that they saw here,” he said.
Saturday’s contest is scheduled for 1 p.m. and the radio broadcast is available on WXAV 88.3 FM Chicago.
Tim Carroll
Senior Sports Editor
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