It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. It was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness. It was the first half of the St. Xavier, - Moeller football game, it was the second half of the St. Xavier—Moeller football game.  Charles Dickens couldn't have written a more appropriate script for what transpired at Nippert stadium last Friday evening as the two halves couldn't have been more different.
 
The first quarter opened with the Bombers kicking off to the Crusaders.  Unfortunately for the Bombers, senior, Carrington Valentine (Kentucky commit) took the kickoff on his own one yard line and galloped 99 yards to open the game's first score.  After the ensuing kick after, the Bombers found themselves down 7 - 0.  Not to be dismayed, the Bomber offense started the next drive on their own 20 yard line and mounted an 80 yard drive on 15 plays that culminated in a fourth and 19 passing touchdown from senior, Matthew Rueve to fellow senior, Marshall Lang.  The point after sailed wide left and the Moeller lead was cut to 7 - 6.
 
Moeller opened their second drive on their own 27 yard line and marched to their own 47 yard line only to find senior quarterback, Drew Altemuhle sacked by senior, Jacob Duborg for a seven yard loss.  After a 48 yard punt, the Bomber offense took over on their own 12 yard line.  It took the Bombers six plays before Rueve found junior, Liam Clifford running down the sideline for a 72 yard strike for another Bomber touchdown.  The two point conversion pass failed but the Bombers owned a 12 - 7 lead.
 
On the next possession, it took Moeller only two plays before Altemuhle found junior wide receiver, Brandon White for a 66 yard touchdown pass.  The conversion was good and Moeller led 14 - 12.  The Bomber offense took over on their own 20 yard line, ran two plays and ended the quarter.
 
The drive stalled on the Bomber 31 yard line and, after a 39 yard punt by senior, Noah Taylor, the Moeller offense took over on their own 30 yard line.  In the blink of an eye, Altemuhle threw a beautiful fade down the Moeller sideline to a streaking wide receiver, senior,  so and so for a 70 yard touchdown pass.  Another extra point and Moeller led, 21 - 12.  The Bombers took the nex kickoff and marched into Moeller territory but had to punt.  The punt team, supplying the defense with much needed field position pinned Moeller back on their own eight yard line.  Aided by a beautiful quarterback power play by junior quarterback, Malik Verdon, the Crusaders marched the ball down to the Bomber 26 yard line but had to settle for a 43 yard field goal.  The Moeller lead was now 24 - 12..
 
The Bomber offense couldn't muster much on the next possession and punted, once again pinning the Moeller offense on their own five yard line.  The defense started to settle down and forced a quick, three and out that resulted in a poor Moeller punt that landed out of bounds at their own 27 yard line. With 3:44 left in the half, the Bomber offense took full advantage and in a quick strike running play to the right side, senior, Kellen Newman scampered 27 yards for a Bomber touchdown.  The extra point by sophomore, Mason Rohmiller split the uprights and the Moeller lead was cut to two, 21 - 19.
 
The Crusaders took over on their own 35 yard line but another three and out by the Bomber defense gave the offense the ball back with 2:27 on their own 27 yard line.  The Bomber offense couldn't generate much and punted back to the Crusaders.  With :53 left in the half, the Crusader ran three plays but, with the help of two St. Xavier timeouts was forced to punt with :35 left.  Once again, senior special team's standout, Tucker Hundley came off the left end and forced the Moeller punter to hold the ball resulting in an 1 yard tackle for a loss at the Moeller nine yard line.  It took the Bomber offense one play for Rueve to connect, once again, with Clifford for a nine yard touchdown.  Armed with a one point lead, the Bombers attempted a two point conversion that found Rueve rolling to his right only to find a three yard stroll into the end zone for the conversion.  After a back and forth first hal, the Bombers led the Crusaders, 27 - 24.
The second half couldn't have been scripted more differently.  Whereas the first half supplied offensive and special team's fireworks, the second half was a defensive battle.  Although the Bomber offense was able to generate a number of solid drives, they couldn't seem to find the end zone. 
 
After a back and forth number of punts from both teams, the game came down to Moeler's final drive.  With 2:24 left in the game, Moeller took over on their own 31 yard line.  On first and 10, the tried to run a draw to the left side of the line where senior, T.J. O'Malley stoned the ball carrier for a two yard loss.  On second and 12, the Bomber defense brought pressure off the left side where junior linebacker, Matthew Devine and junior nose tackle, Giovanni Albanese combined for a sack and a loss of 7 yards.  On third and 19, the Bombers once again brought pressure off of both edges where O'Malley and Albanese sacked the quarterback, forcing a fumble tha Albanses recovered at the Moeller 22 yard line.  The Bomber offense, aligning in victory formation took a knee to end the game with a Bomber victory, 27 - 24.
 
Although the Bombers offense more than doubled Moeller in offensive yardage (341 to 166) and held the ball over nine minutes longer (29:24 to 18:36) you can't over emphasize the importance special teams plays in a game like this.  Moeller's opening kickoff return for a touchdown may have set the early tone, but the Bomber punt team's tackle for a loss right before half changed the trajectory of the game.  And, with the first GCL South victory under their belts, The Bombers set their sights on next week's match up (the 100th anniversary) with the Elder Panthers at Tom Ballaban field!
 
 
Complete Game Statistics and Notes recorded and provided by Kurt Brinkman '78