Clock Stoppers

Comets finish with more competitive second half in 35-7 loss to top-ranked Saints

Staff Report

CEDAR RAPIDS — Xavier has an impressive high school.

It also has an impressive football team.

Yet Xavier’s football field is rather spartan in comparison as it doesn’t have play-clocks.

There is a game clock on its single scoreboard, and if the Charles City Comets can find any solace in their 35-7 loss to the Class 3A top-ranked Saints, it is that they stopped it from running continuously.

When Xavier quarterback Bryce Schulte hit Nolan Butkowski on a 8-yard slant TD pass after a fourth-and-three snap, that — with Shane Scott’s PAT kick — put the Saints up 35-0 with 7:15 left in the third.

According to Iowa high school football rules, a running clock has to be instituted whenever a team attains a 35-point lead.

Running clock or not, it appeared that Xavier was going to continue to pad its lead against its District 3A-3 foe when it recovered a fumble deep in Comet territory on Charles City’s ensuing possession.

But the Comets defense stiffened up and stuffed the Saints even with much of their offensive first team still in the game. And then after taking over on downs at the 17, Charles City quarterback Drew Mitchell — throwing from the far hash mark — threw the mother of all deep outs to fellow senior Jaden Foster, who made a brilliant over-the-helmet catch before nimbly turning up the sideline for a 83-yard catch-and-run touchdown.

It was the biggest play from the line of scrimmage thus far this season for the Comets (1-3), and it forced the game to go back to standard time-keeping.

The Saints (4-0) took control early when senior running back Maliki Wilson — who was among the state rushing leaders going into the game with more than 600 yards compiled in just three games — broke loose for a 43-yard TD run a little more than two-and-a-half minutes into the game.

Then Schulte, who had four TD passes on the night, connected with scoring passes to Brett Burns (5 yards), Butkowski (3 yards) and then Quinn Schulte on a 36-yard roll-out pass that helped put the Saints up 28-0 with a little less than five minutes left in the half.

The Comets will try to rebound when they travel to face winless Independence on Friday.