News

Xavier College Prep’s historic season comes to an end in the semi-finals

Published November 17, 2018 2:25 AM

Xavier College Prep’s historic football season fell just short of the championship game. The Xavier Saints had a chance to reach the championship game in Division 12 but could not get passed Temecula’s Linfield Christian, the top-ranked team in the division. Linfield Christian came out on top 57-13.

The Saints were the lone local high school football team still standing in the playoffs, eight local teams in total made the playoffs this year.

The 2018 season was the 2nd-year for head coach, and former NFL Player, James Dockery. Before this season, the program that had never made the playoffs.

The Saints were missing their heart and soul on defense tonight as Senior captain Tommy Branconier was out with a torn ACL. Despite the important loss, the team did not quit, fighting all the way to the finish, but in the end, Linfield Christian was just the better team.

The Saints played for more than just school pride, as during the middle of the season, three Xavier Prep students were injured in a rollover crash. Two of those students were football players. All three students continue to recover and were honored before opening kickoff last month.