The Xavierite
The Playoff Picture
The Saint Xavier Cougar football team improved to 8-2 with a 36-6 win over Olivet Nazarene University Saturday.
It was the final regular season game of the season for the Cougars, who entered play ranked No. 6 in the NAIA coaches’ poll.
By Sunday evening, when the final poll and the first round playoff schedule were released, the Cougars had moved up to No. 3.
The leap in the polls means Saint Xavier will take on No. 17-ranked Campbellsville University in the first round of the NAIA Football Championship Series on Saturday. If the Cougars win that matchup, they will host their second-round matchup.
The jump came thanks to losses by former No. 1-ranked Morningside College (now No. 4) and then-No. 4-ranked Georgetown (now No. 10) in the final week of the season.
Of course, Saint Xavier’s third sound win in a row encouraged voters to move the Cougars ahead of the one-loss Morningside Mustangs.
In addition to the Cougars’ win on Saturday, they beat Trinity International University 45-23 on Nov. 8 and Saint Ambrose University on Nov. 1.
The Xavierite
The Olivet Game
Saint Xavier began the game firing on all cylinders. By the time 15 minutes elapsed, the Cougars were up 21-6.
The Cougars put points on the board in their first offensive possession. On the fourth play of the drive, sophomore quarterback John Rhode threw a 33-yard strike down the field to junior receiver Randall Wells, who made the catch in the corner of the end zone to set the tone for the rest of the game.
Rhode finished the game with 20 completions on 31 attempts for 232 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in just over two quarters of play. Wells finished with nine catches for 108 yards and a pair of touchdowns in similar playing time.
The kicking tone was set early, too, as holder Patrick Kelso could not handle a poor snap on the extra point attempt. Freshman kicker Abdul Mahdi could not get a kick away.
The offense would make up for the special teams mishaps, but the defense was the next unit to step up.
After a poor pitch from Tiger quarterback Gage Buckley to Antonio Tyson tumbled into the end zone, senior defensive end Greg Hayward and the defense swarmed to force Tyson to pounce on the ball and take a safety.
Up 8-0, the Cougars received the free kick. Wells returned the short kick 31 yards to start the drive on the ONU 29-yard line.
On a run-heavy drive, Saint Xavier drove down to the 3-yard line. That was where senior running back Khary Ferguson plunged through the left side of the line for his fifth touchdown of the year.
Saint Xavier gave the Tigers the ball in good field position after Mahdi’s kickoff sailed out of bounds. It would be the only ONU drive on which the Cougars struggled.
Buckley did not take long to move his squad down the field. He completed a 33-yard pass to Adam Glanders. Buckley then scooted 27 yards off the left side of the line to score what would be the Tigers’ only score of the game.
Senior Cougar defensive lineman Marcus Maas got a hand on the extra point attempt to keep it a 15-6 Saint Xavier lead.
The Cougars’ next score, which came at the tail end of the first quarter, was a quick one.
Junior running back Joshua Hunter took a handoff 29 yards to the ONU 29-yard line. Then Rhode found senior receiver Nick DeBenedetti streaking down the left sideline for another long passing touchdown. Mahdi mishit the point after touchdown attempt, so the score sat at 21-6.
Just before the first quarter ended, the Cougars got the ball back. After a six-yard run by Buckley, junior linebacker Michael Mettille forced a fumble that the Cougars recovered.
Given the ball back, Rhode again passed the ball deep. This one went back to Wells, who caught his eighth touchdown of the season. (Wells also had one rushing touchdown and one kick-return touchdown during the regular season.)
The Cougars took the foot off the gas pedal just a bit in the second half. After some poor kicking by Mahdi in the first half, he had the opportunity to redeem himself early in the third quarter.
After the drive stalled at the Olivet Nazarene 7-yard line, Mahdi and the kicking team came on the field. The snap, hold and kick were true from 24 yards out.
Saint Xavier concluded the scoring late in the third quarter. In his third series after Rhode checked out of the game, redshirt freshman quarterback Mark Strbjak took a snap and powered through the left side of the line for a touchdown. Mahdi hooked the extra point, so the scoring was capped at 36-6.
A Big Dual-Threat
The Cougars gave up their fair share of yards on the ground to yet another mobile quarterback. Buckley gained 41 yards and lost 17 (mostly on his two sacks) over his seven carries. He also scored the only Olivet Nazarene touchdown.
Last week, Trinity International quarterback Stephen Anderson had 91 yards on 14 carries. Derek Fulton of Grand View rocketed past the Cougars for a 78-yard score and finished the game with 118 yards and three touchdowns. Saint Xavier also allowed 158 yards to Trace Wanless of the University of Saint Francis (Illinois).
As Saint Xavier goes through the playoffs, one area where they are vulnerable is stopping dual-threat quarterbacks.
Campbellsville by the Numbers
Campbellsville will provide a very tough test for Saint Xavier’s secondary.
The Tigers come in ranked 27th in scoring offense at 30.5 points per game, but the passing offense has put up 303.2 yards per game (good for 3rd in the NAIA). Saint Xavier allowed 171.6 passing yards per game (tied for 19th)
Campbellsville has not been quite so good on the ground. They ranked 79th in the nation with 101.4 yards per game. The Cougars struggled against the run, allowing 198.2 rushing yards per game (ranked 59th).
In comparison, the Cougars are the No. 9 team in scoring offense at 39 points per game through the regular season, with the passing offense accounting for 279.3 yards per contest. That matchup favors the Cougars, as Campbellsville has allowed 185.1 passing yards per game (28th).
Saint Xavier checks in at No. 52 in rushing offense with 158.1 yards per game. That matchup favors the Tigers, who allowed just 99.3 rushing yards per game (5th).
Defensively, Campbellsville can take the ball away. The Tigers forced 26 takeaways to the Cougars’ 23. The Tigers also limited turnovers better, coughing the ball up 21 times to Saint Xavier’s 24.
The Tigers are also very good at keeping opposing offenses from scoring. They tied for seventh in the NAIA with Grand View by allowing just 17.4 points per game. The Cougars gave up 24.7 points per game during the regular season (33rd).
Time and Place
The round-one matchup between the Cougars and Tigers will be Saturday at 1 p.m. at Deaton Memorial Field.
If you are unable to get to the field on Saturday, the radio broadcast can be heard on WXAV 88.3 FM Chicago and over wxav.com.
Tim Carroll
Senior Sports Editor
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