Metro Sports Report

Local players in pro baseball

RYAN SWEENEY (Xavier, Chicago Cubs) - Started in center field Saturday and was 1-for-4 in the Cubs' 3-1 win over the Braves. Season stats: G - 63, Avg. - .267, AB - 172, H - 46, HR - 6, RBI - 19, SB - 1.

Snitker carries Wash past Linn-Mar

It has been a long time between wins for Paul James as a head coach.

James returned to the Cedar Rapids Washington sideline this season after a seven-year hiatus.  In the first three games this season, his Warriors had ample opportunity to get a victory. They weren’t about to let that chance slip away in Friday night’s showdown with Linn-Mar at Kingston Stadium.

Washington scored a pair of touchdowns in the third quarter to break a 14-14 deadlock, then held off a final drive from the Lions to come away with a hard-fought 26-21 win.

Refs' calls blur Prairie loss to IC West

Their names are Joel Hibbs, Troy Hibbs, Neil McCubbin, John Koop and Brian Crawford.

If you cheer for the Cedar Rapids Prairie football team, keep their names in mind and don't invite them to any of your parties or offer them a free bag of popcorn.

They were the officials at John Wall Field Friday night and if you were there, you know it was a night filled with mass confusion due to missed calls, overturned calls, no calls and calls that left you scratching your head.

The referees may not have cost Prairie a chance to upset No.6 Iowa City West, but they sure did not help in any way, shape or form.

Iowa City West escaped, 21-14, in a Mississippi Valley Conference battle that had Prairie fans booing the officials much of the night.

Saints suffocate Wahlert, 38-0

DUBUQUE -- It's a proven scientific football fact no defense is impregnable, but Cedar Rapids Xavier is sure challenging the theory.

Everyone's got weaknesses hidden in the cracks. It might be trouble recognizing the option read. It might be a suspect secondary or a lack of speed.

Xavier defenders will be the first to tell you they're not perfect. The Saints are indeed a human high school unit with holes.

Thing is, no one has come close to discovering any deficiencies in Xavier's gold-plated defense over the first half of the season. How do you solve a unit yielding less than a field goal of offense per week (2 points) and getting better and sharper by the game?