MONFORT HEIGHTS – Less than a week after playing a nationally televised game, quarterback Brogan McCaughey completed 21-of-32 pass attempts for 309 yards and three touchdowns to lead St. Xavier to a 24-10 victory over La Salle.

The win at Lancer Stadium not only evens St. Xavier's record (1-1, 1-0 GCL), but also returns the King of the Road trophy to 600 West North Bend Road.

"We challenged the kids after last week," Bombers coach Steve Specht said. "I think the offensive line rose to the challenge. We did a great job running the ball tonight. Our No. 1 goal this week was to get back into the running game."

The Bombers' came out with an aggressive game plan to utilize their size advantage on the offensive front.  Charles Kellom carried the football 22 times for 112 yards.  Kellom finished with three catches for 95 yards, including a 67-yard catch and run that gave them a two touchdown lead early in the fourth quarter. 

Luke Vrsanky provided an additional 72 yards on 19 carries to key the attack.  St. Xavier outrushed La Salle 198 to 109.

Terrell McFarlin's 15-yard catch and run to paydirt gave St. Xavier a 10-3 lead with 1:28 to go in the first half.  The score capped an 11-play drive that went 80 yards over 2:50. 

McCaughey shined for much of the night, completing six of his first eight passes.  The quarterback connected with seven different receivers in the game. 

Liam Clifford lead the receiving corps with six catches for 55 yards.  Jalen Patterson made five catches for 60 yards.  McFarlin finished with three catches for 43 yards.
Clifford's 19-yard catch and dash to the pylon gave the Bombers a 17-3 advantage with 6:10 remaining in the third quarter.

The lone La Salle (1-1, 1-1 GCL)  touchdown came on a 32-yard touchdown pass with 4:10 to go in the third quarter to make it a 17-10 game.  Quarterback Zach Branham led La Salle with 94 yards rushing and completed 17-of-29 pass attempts for 203 yards.

With 27 seconds to go in the third quarter and St. Xavier leading 17-10, an opportunistic Alex Kemper made a leaping interception in the end zone change momentum.  Kemper's pickoff came at a crucial time as the interception seemed to swing momentum in favor of the Long Blue Line.  Kemper, Eli Kirk and Sean Reilly totaled six tackles apiece.

Three plays later, Kellom caught a McCaughey pass in front of the visiting sideline, bounced off a would-be tackler and sprinted across the goal line for a 67-yard touchdown reception that made it 24-10 with 11:28 remaining.  

In a fairly well-played contest, each team turned the ball over one time.  Driving on its opening possession, St. Xavier's lone turnover came on a fumble at the La Salle 10 yard line.

Matthew Devine led the Bombers' defense with a team-high 10 tackles, including three behind the line of scrimmage.  Giovanni Albanese totaled seven stops from his defensive line spot, 

Mason Rohmiller converted his second field goal of the season from 23 yards to give St. Xavier a 3-0 advantage with 2:43 remaining in the opening quarter.  LaSalle responded with a 36-yard field goal of its own to knot the score at 3-3 with 9:51 left in the second stanza.

St. Xavier returns to the road next week when it heads to The Pit to face Elder.  Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.