CINCINNATI – In a matchup of 2020 state champions from Kentucky and Ohio,
Charles Kellom's plunge from the one yard gave St. Xavier the lead with 3:32 to play, but Trinity responded with Armon Tucker's sweep on fourth and goal from the one yard line with 57 seconds in a 33-32 defeat at RDI Stadium at Ballaban Field.
"We weren't ready to play tonight," said head coach
Steve Specht. "You can hang this loss on my shoulders alone. Trinity came in here and punched us in the mouth. I thought we did a good job of responding, but I have to do a better job as a coach."
St. Xavier took the opening kickoff and marched 79 yards on eight plays before Kellom knifed through the left side for a seven-yard run to give the home team an early lead, 7-0. St. X has jumped in front early and scored first in all seven games this season.
In a display of what was in store, the Shamrocks' (1-6) signalcaller, Brady Willis scampered 26 yards less than five minutes later to knot the score, at 7-7. Willis finished with 104 yards on 19 carries and completed 17-of-22 passes for 313 yards through the air.
Following the first of four Trinity field goals, St. Xavier's
Mason Rohmiller booted a 33-yard try with 2:17 left in the first half to knot the game, at 10 apiece.
Trinity's Kellan McLaughlin converted a 45-yard field goal on the final play of the first half to make it 13-10. McLaughlin split the uprights from 24, 45, 53, and 39 yards to lead the Shamrocks.
"Trinity is scrappy," Specht added. "Trinity came in and did some really nice things. The quarterback is elusive and he can run. They played really hard. I don't want to take anything away from it. They went on the road, came in here, and played a whale of a ballgame."
On the first drive of the second half,
Dylan Fitzpatrick blocked a punt that set up the Bombers offense 17 yards from the end zone. The blocked punt marks the fourth of the season by the Bombers.
Four plays later, McCaughey went six yards up the middle to retake the lead, 17-13. McCaughey finished 17-of-28 for 241 yards and one touchdown through the air. He also tallied five carries for 31 yards. Dating back to last season, the senior has tossed 184 consecutive passes without an interception.
Trinity responded with scores on its next three possessions to take a 26-17 advantage.
On St. Xavier's first play of the final stanza, McCaughey found Kellom for a 65-yard touchdown pass play to cut the deficit to 26-24. Kellom rushed for 117 yards and two scores to go with 94 receiving yards on four receptions.
The leading rusher in the GCL South, Kellom has scored 16 touchdowns – 14 rushing, 2 receiving through seven games. He has eclipsed 100 yards rushing in three consecutive games.
Fitzpatrick shared top tackler honors with
Sean Reilly at 11 stops.
Max Bonner added nine and a fumble recovery.
Marque' Cummings finished with six stops, including 3.5 for loss.
Grant Lyons totaled six tackles, two forced fumbles and a quarterback sack.
The loss snaps St. Xavier's 14-game win streak which dated back to the final eight games of the 2020 campaign. The setback also ended a string of seven straight wins at home. The Long Blue Line's last lost at Ballaban Field came during the 2019 season.
St. Xavier won the turnover battle, 2-0. The Long Blue Line scored 10 points off of the two Shamrock miscues.
"We have a chance at a GCL title coming up this week against La Salle," said Specht. "We have all of our goals ahead of us. We are going to get better."
St. Xavier looks to bounce back on next Friday when it hosts La Salle with bragging rights for North Bend Road on the line. With a chance to repeat a sweep of the GCL South, kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
