Saint Xavier University's football team, including locals, heading to NAIA semis

Griffith's Drew Rogowski and 90 of his closest friends are taking a trip this weekend to Sioux Falls, S.D., and not to hunt pheasant or ski the slopes.

Rogowski plays football for No. 4-ranked Saint Xavier University of Chicago and will meet No. 1 University of Sioux Falls, the defending champion, in an NAIA semifinal shootout at the Sanford Sports Complex.

Both teams are 13-0 and a scorekeeper's nightmare.

Saint Xavier averages 49 points, 350 yards passing and 183 yards rushing per game.

Sioux Falls averages 54 points, 257 yards rushing and 236 yards passing per game.

You can almost smell the fireworks.

Lindenwood (12-0) of St. Charles, Mo., travels to Carroll, Mont. (13-0) in Saturday's other semifinal. The NAIA championship game is Dec. 19 at Barron Stadium in Rome, Ga.

"Obviously, Sioux Falls is a great team so we have to respect everything about them," said Rogowski, a junior cornerback. "All year, people have been promoting the game around campus."

College football has been a transition for Rogowski, who played halfback at Griffith and scored six touchdowns against Bishop Noll in his varsity debut as a junior.

"Either way, you got to play as hard as you can," he said. "Here, we're not really a running team so whatever was going to get me on the field, I was willing to play."

Saint Xavier quarterback Anthony Kropp has 42 touchdowns and 10 interceptions; USF counterpart Lorenzo Brown 37 TDs and just four picks.

These high-profile games are what made NAIA football so appealing to Rogowski.

"When I first came here, I remember seeing a list, like 10 or more pages, of (NAIA) players who've been in the NFL. Not too many were big names, but it's the fact they've been there," Rogowski said. "NAIA is not D-I, but it's still a great level of competition. We're in the Final Four now, and hopefully we can keep it up for many years to come.

"To me, it doesn't matter where you play, long as you're still playing football."

Backup quarterback and redshirt freshman Joe Rizzi from T.F. South is quick to agree.

"There's a lot of kids I went to high school with and I'm the only one playing. I talk to them all the time and they're really jealous of me," Rizzi said.

Two more wins and Saint Xavier will claim its first national title.

"This is all so cool," Rizzi said. "The offense we run is pretty hard to stop; a really quick pace. No huddle, a lot of throwing and running, spreading the ball around to everyone, mixing it up and trying to make the defense tired.

"I knew they had a good program here and now we're one of the best in the nation every year."

Rizzi missed four games with a separated shoulder but still threw for 199 yards and ran for another 164.

"If nothing's there, I'm not afraid to lower the shoulder and get what I can," he said. "There's a lot of guys who'll just slide but I actually like taking the hits sometimes."

There will be plenty dished out on Saturday.

Three-time national champion Sioux Falls has won 27 straight games and 41 in a row at home.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

NAIA semifinals

Saturday

Lindenwood (12-0) at Carroll, Mont. (13-0), 1:07 p.m.

Saint Xavier (13-0) at Sioux Falls (13-0), noon

Championship

Where: Barron Stadium, Rome, Ga.

When: 11 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 19.

Local players

Saint Xavier

Drew Rogowski (Griffith), Jr., DB, 24 tackles, 4 INT, 3 breakups