Maroons Take Rematch in Odd Opener

by Paul Yeager and Romelle Slaughter

The highly anticipated rematch between Dowling Catholic and Cedar Rapids Xavier did not become another blowout, but Mother Nature nearly washed everything out.

The defending champions in Class 4A, Dowling, defeated the Saints, 24-2, here at a wet-soaked Valley Stadium in West Des Moines Friday night.

The old adage of offenses being behind defenses to start the season played true to form as neither team found points in the first quarter.

The Maroons struck first with a 29 yard field goal for Nick McLellan. Just two minutes later, sophomore Cole Deskin scored his first varsity touchdown on a 14-yard scamper. The score was set-up after Xavier Bryce Schulte’s pass was intercepted by Dante Campero.

Then Mother Nature took center stage with a bolt of lightning that drove fans out of the stands. Forty-five minutes later, the game would resume, but it was more of the same for Dowling Catholic. Ryan Boyle would find his childhood teammate Charlie Schulte for a 42 yard touchdown pass to put the Maroons up 17-0.

A shortened halftime just added to the oddity of the evening. The Saints offense would spend a lot of time on the field, but it was the defense that put the only points on the board on a safety to make it 17-2.

“We got outplayed tonight,” Ryan Boyle told the Central Iowa Sports Network after the game. “We had it taken to us tonight.” The Iowa Hawkeye recruit would finish 12 of 17 passing for 150 yards and 1 TD.

Isaiah Patton would cap the scoring late in the 3rd quarter on a 3 yard run to make it 24-2. The senior in his first start at tailback finished with 8 carries and 33 yards. Rushing yards were hard to come by for the Maroons, as they tallied 35 rushes for 81 yards. Xavier ‘s running game mirrored Dowling’s, gaining 74 yards on 34 rushing attempts.

“It is always nice to beat a team like Xavier, but didn’t play well,” Dowling Catholic Head Coach Tom Wilson told CISN reporter Jim Kirby after the game. “We had a lack of discipline,” added Wilson. The coach was referring to the 11 penalties worth 120 yards. Three of them were unsportsmanlike calls on plays headed out of bounds.

The Maroon defense held Xavier to 122 yards on 60 plays. The Saints were 8 of 26 passing for 48 yards behind sophomore quarterback Bryce Schulte in his first varsity start.

The Maroons head to Urbandale for a match up with the J-Hawks who escaped a resurging Hoover Huskies team, 35-28.

Xavier plays Thursday night on a short turnaround for another long road trip to Davenport to play Assumption at Brady Street Stadium.

The video team of Central Iowa Sports Network will be back at Valley Stadium as the 0-1 Tigers come home for another east-west match up as Iowa City West comes to West Des Moines.