It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon in St. Louis, Missouri when the Saint Xavier Cougars came to town to play the Missouri Baptist Spartans. The Cougars entered the game with a 3-2 record and were ranked as the 13th best team in the NAIA football conference. Meanwhile, the Spartans entered the game with a 2-5 record.
The game kicked off with SXU getting the ball. However, that drive was short-lived as SXU quarterback Alex Martinez threw an interception to Missouri Baptist defensive back, Michael Malone. Thankfully, the Cougars defense stood firm and stopped the Spartans offense dead in their tracks. Alex Martinez then immediately made up for his first drive, leading the Cougars down the field.
Martinez threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Justin Pringle to put SXU up 6-0. The Spartans soon responded by marching down the field and getting into the red zone. However, the SXU defense once again stood strong and forced the Spartans to kick a field goal to make it 6-3 in favor of the Cougars. Both defenses stood strong for the rest of the quarter.
The second quarter started with the Spartans kicking a 22-yard field goal to tie it up at six. The Cougars immediately responded with a quick touchdown pass from Alex Martinez to running back Vance McShane to put Saint Xavier up 13-6. After two failed drives, one from each team, the Spartans took advance of a missed SXU field goal when their quarterback, John Lux, threw a big 64-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Isaiah King to tie the game at 13 all.
The Cougars tried to respond, but fumbled the ball, which put the Spartans in good field position. Missouri Baptist took advantage of that and scored another touchdown to put them up 20-13. Right before halftime, the Cougars finally struck back when Alex Martinez threw a touchdown pass to wide receiver Harold Davis to tie the game up at 20, which was the final score before halftime.
The second half started with the Cougars defense intercepting John Lux, which put the SXU offense in position to score a touchdown that put them up 27-20. The Spartans almost immediately responded with a touchdown of their own which tied the game back up at 27. After a long, failed SXU drive, the Spartans got back on the field and immediately took advantage by scoring another touchdown, which put them up 34-27 and ended the third quarter.
The fourth quarter started with Alex Martinez leading the SXU offense down the field and eventually running the ball into the endzone to make it 34-33 in favor of the Spartans. The Cougars then successfully converted the two-point conversion to make it 35-34 in favor of Saint Xavier. After a failed drive from the Spartans and a field goal from SXU that made it 38-34, the Spartans had one last chance to win it. However, John Lux fumbled the ball, the SXU defense recovered it, and the SXU offense eventually scored, putting the Cougars up 45-34.
The Cougars defense stood strong the rest of the game and the clock expired, giving the Cougars a 45-34 victory. Saint Xavier improved to 4-2 with the win, while Missouri Baptist fell to 2-6 with the loss.
The Cougars come back home to Deaton Field next week to play the St. Francis (IL) Fighting Saints at 1:00 PM. If you cannot make it to the game, WXAV/88.3 FM will be broadcasting it.