St. Xavier scores 50 in first half, routs CovCath 57-7
St. Xavier scored 23 points in less than five minutes of game time and went on to rout CovCath 57-7 in the first game of Friday night's doubleheader as part of the Skyline Chili Crosstown Showdown at Cincinnati's newly renovated Nippert Stadium.
St. Xavier scored on its first nine possessions of the game, and opted to let time run out during its 10thpossession with a 50-0 lead heading into the locker rooms at halftime. CovCath didn't pick up a first down until its final drive of the first half, and the Bombers outgained the Colonels 346-21 in total offense.
"This game definitely shows what we can do," St. Xavier quarterback Sean Clifford, a Penn State commit, said. "But we have great strides to make over the next week and the rest of the season. We know where we stand, and I think we showed the state and the country what we can do tonight."
The game started off in nightmarish fashion for the Colonels. After a quick three-and-out on offense to start the game, St. Xavier senior defensive back Griffin Buczek blocked their punt attempt and the ball rolled out of the end zone for a safety.
St. Xavier senior running back Sean Prophit scored on a 12-yard run to cap a five-play, 51-yard drive on the ensuing possession.
CovCath's next three possessions ended with a fumble, an interception, and a turnover on downs at the Colonels' own 31.
St. Xavier sophomore Cameron Specht caught a quick pass from junior Pete Rumpke after the Colonels' fumble, and made a CovCath defender miss with a nifty juke move on his way to a 14-yard touchdown.
Bad quickly turned to worse for CovCath. St. Xavier's Andrew Homer, a Miami (OH) commit, picked off sophomore quarterback AJ Mayer at the Colonels' 30 on the next play from scrimmage. Two plays later, Clifford found senior tight end Brock Davin for a 22-yard score.
A penalty on a punt attempt gave the Colonels a 4th-and-1 opportunity at their own 31 on their next possession, but Mayer was stuffed on the quarterback sneak. St. Xavier senior kicker Connor Maciag split the uprights on a 24-yard field goal a few plays later to increase the Bombers' lead to 26-0.
Prophit ripped off a second touchdown run, this one a 33-yarder on 4th-and-2, to make the score 33-0 at the end of the first quarter. Prophit finished the game with six carries for 62.
"Obviously when you block a punt, that's devastating," St. Xavier coach Steve Specht said. "They had a lot of turnovers and jitters. We had a lot of recoveries deep in their territory. It's hard to recover from that. It's a good start, but we have to get better."
Rumpke subbed back in for Clifford on the first play of the second quarter and reeled off a 64-yard touchdown run, and then, when CovCath fumbled the ensuing kickoff, Clifford needed just two plays before finding senior tight end Noah Davis for the 6-yard score to make it 47-0.
Senior Nick Arcuri capped the Bombers' longest drive of the half (12 plays) with a 30-yard field goal to make it 50-0 before halftime.
The Bombers' offensive line dominated CovCath's defensive front, giving their backs room to run and Clifford time to throw. Clifford took full advantage as he completed 9-of-11 passes for 102 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions before being removed from the game late in the second quarter.
"We put up 50 points in the first half, and that's what we want to do every game," Clifford said. "The offensive line is unbelievable this year. For me, having three, four or five seconds in the pocket… that's a lot. They did outstanding today."
St. Xavier's defense was just as impressive as its offense, sacking Mayer twice and piling up 11 tackles for losses in addition to forcing six turnovers.
The Bombers added their final score of the game on a 35-yard pick-six by junior linebacker Brady Stoll. The entire second half was played with a running clock.
One of the lone bright spots for CovCath came on the first play of the fourth quarter when junior defensive lineman Josh Galvin knocked the ball loose from a St. Xavier ball carrier and teammate Jake Steins fell on it at the Colonels' 18. They scored their only points on a 2-yard toss from Mayer to sophomore Logan Beagle after a six-play drive.
"There's a lot of season left," CovCath coach Eddie Eviston said. "That's a great team. They have a great shot of probably winning the GCL. We didn't set out this season to beat St. X. Obviously, we want to win, but that's not our overall goal. We have other things to work towards."
St. Xavier – 33 17 7 0 - 57
CovCath – 0 0 0 7 - 7
X – Buczek safety (blocked punt)
X – Prophit 12 run (Maciag kick)
X - Specht 14 pass from Rumpke (Maciag kick)
X – Davin 22 pass from Clifford (Maciag kick)
X – Maciag 24 field goal
X – Prophit 33 run (Maciag kick)
X – Rumpke 64 run (Maciag kick)
X – Davis 6 pass from Clifford (Maciag kick)
X – Arcuri 30 field goal
X – Stoll 33 interception (Malof kick)
C – Beagle 2 pass from Mayer (Kloska kick)
CCH 0-2, ST. X 1-0