ST. XAVIER –St. Ignatius jumped out to an early lead, but the connection of Brogan McCaughey and Liam Clifford stole the show to lead St. Xavier to a 62-37 win in the annual Jesuit Bowl.  In the regular-season finale in the abbreviated 2020 regular season, offense was center stage for the Long Blue Line.

"We started the year with three quarterbacks," said head coach Steve Specht.  "Brogan separated himself to earn the starting spot."
 
Tonight, Brogan McCaughey etched his name into the St. Xavier record books by completing a school-record 39-of-51 passes for 556 yards.  McCaughey also tied a record with five passing touchdowns to go with a pair of interceptions.

At the end of one quarter, St. Ignatius (1-3) jumped out to an early 17-7 lead.  Emmett Hanna's catch and run of Joe Pfaff's pass went 74 yards only 18 seconds into the game.
On the ensuing possession, Charles Kellom skirted 25 yards up the right sideline.  The point-after knotted the score, at 7-7.

Declan Mangan's 49-yard field goal made it 10-7.  Cole Smith registered a 30-yard interception return of a McCaughey pass to make the margin 17-7 with 4:02 remaining in the first quarter.

After back-to-back, short pass completions from McCaughey to Terrel McFarlin, the third time was a charm when McFarlin went 34 yards for a touchdown to cut the deficit to 17-14.

Two plays later, Dylan Fitzpatrick's interception gave St. Xavier possession of the ball at the St. Ignatius 27 yard line.  Rohmiller notched a 41-yard field goal to knot the score, at 17-17.

Following Mangan's 27-yard field goal, the visiting Wildcats led 20-17.

The Bombers (4-2) used the long pass to find their stride in the second quarter.  A McCaughey pass found Clifford open on the first play from scrimmage following the field goal and Clifford outran the field for an 80-yard pass and run to make it 24-20.

The combination of McCaughey and Clifford totaled 12 completions for a school-record 300 receiving yards.

Jalen Patterson tied a St. Xavier record with 13 receptions.  The wideout finished with 122 yards, including long catch of 30 yards.

"Liam Clifford is an impressive, young man," said Specht.  "That's what a Big Ten recruit is supposed to do against single coverage.  We have a lot of weapons.  If you double-team Liam, Jalen Patterson and Terrel McFarlin can be very effective.  "

After St. Xavier's special teams forced St. Ignatius to start at its own 1 yard line, Giovanni Albanese and Matthew Devine combined to tackle the ballcarrier in the end zone for a safety to make it a 26-20 lead.

With 1:47 to play in the first half, Chase Eary's 2-yard touchdown catch capped a methodical march that totaled 77 yards on 11 plays to extend the Bombers' lead to 33-20.

The Wildcats' Jaxon French connected with Alec LaSpina for a 33-yard touchdown reception.  The catch and run made it 33-27 with 40 seconds left in the second stanza.

After the intermission, the Bombers' McCaughey connected with Clifford for a 39-yard touchdown strike to make it 39-27.  In a role reversal, McCaughey was unable to catch Clifford's pass on the point-after.  The touchdown catch extended Clifford's school record to 22.

Following another St. Ignatius field goal by Mangan that made it 39-30, McFarlin collected a 36-yard touchdown catch to make it 45-30.  McFarlin totaled seven receptions for 78 yards, including two for scores.

Following Rohmiller's second field goal of the night, a 40-yarder, the Bombers led 48-30.  The kicker tied a school record with 12 points (6 from field goal, 6 PATs).

After a 30-yard pass from McCaughey to Clifford, Luke Vrsansky went seven yards around left end for a touchdown to make the score 55-30.  Vrsansky finished with 36 yards on nine carries.

"We have a nice, one-two punch with Charles Kellom and Luke Vrsansky", said Specht.  "The challenge has been for the offensive line to continue to grow and get better.  It's not where it needs to be, but we are all getting better."

Hard-running Marty Lenehan went seven yards on the ensuing St. Ignatius drive to make it 55-37.  Lenehan totaled a game-high 145 yards on 25 carries. 
Drew Britt's interception stopped the next drive at the Bombers' one yard line on their next possession.  The Bombers picked off three passes Wildcats passes in the game.

Two plays later, Kellom set the final tally with a 96-yard run through the middle to make it 62-37.  Kellom finished with 14 carries for 145 yards and two touchdowns.  The run trails only a Harry Bonner 99-yard run against Newport Catholic in 1970 for the longest run in St. Xavier history.

St. Xavier's 62 points are the most its ever scored against St. Ignatius.  The 99 combined points is also the most ever scored in the series and the most since St. Xavier's 50-33 win at St. Ignatius during the 1999 season.

"We take it one week at a time, obviously," said Specht.  "We accomplished a couple of goals.  We won the GCL South.  We went undefeated at home.  Now, we go into the second season.  It's game-by-game.  Anything can happen.  With COVID and injuries, you never know.  We just focus on next week and if the kids get better, we are going to be fine."

No. 3-seeded St. Xavier hosts Walnut Hills in the opening round of the OHSAA Division I Playoffs on Friday, Oct. 9.  Kickoff for the Division I, Region IV matchup is set for 7 p.m. at St. Xavier Stadium.