STRONGSVILLE, Ohio – Brogan McCaughey tossed a pair of touchdown passes and ran for another, but the quarterback's heroics were not enough in a 28-21 loss at St. Ignatius.  McCaughey completed 20-of-36 passes to finish with 218 yards through the air, but an interception on his desperation heave as time expired capped the less-than stellar night for St. Xavier.

"I love these kids," said head coach Steve Specht. "At times they get a little too complacent.  It's easy to fall into that trap. We have got to learn how to compete."

Alex Kemper's interception on the third play from scrimmage looked like an omen for an optimistic day for the Bombers.  The diving snag marked the first of the season for Kemper and set up the offense 28 yards from the endzone 54 seconds into the game.

Four plays later, McCaughey connected with Max Klare with an 11-yard pass for the game's first score.  Mason Rohmiller's point-after gave St. X an early 7-0 edge.
St. Ignatius answered with a 36-yard touchdown pass to knot the score, at 7-7.   

Less than three minutes later, with St. Ignatius in possession of the ball, Marque Cummings recovered a fumble to set up another short field for the Long Blue Line. 

On the ensuing player, the St. X offense reached into its bag of tricks for a flea-flicker and McCaughey found Terrell McFarlin with a 37-pass in the endzone to retake the lead, 14-7.

St. Ignatius scored with 24 seconds to go in the first half to even the score, at 14-14 and take momentum at the intermission.

The Bombers, who were outgained 110-51 on the ground and 322-269 in total offense fell behind 21-14 courtesy of a 47-yard passing touchdown with 5:41 to play in the third quarter.

Needing a big play, St. Xavier's Brennan Bareswilt tipped a St. Ignatius pass to himself and finished the interception on his back to force the third turnover of the contest. 
St. Xavier won the turnover battle 4-to-1 and scored all 21 points following turnovers.  St. X is +12 in the turnover advantage on the season and has outscored its opponents 88-7 in points off of turnovers.

Eli Kirk led the Long Blue Line's defense with 13 tackles.  Sean Reilly totaled 10 stops and a quarterback sack.  Grant Lyons notched nine hits and a sack, while Sam Buerkle made eight stops, a sack and a fumble recovery.

McCaughey's plunge with 10:45 to play in the game tied the score at 21 apiece.  The 10-play drive was keyed by a 27-yard scamper by Charles Kellom that set up first and goal.  Kellom finished with 46 yards on 14 carries and 15 receiving yards on two catches.

Five minutes later, the Bombers allowed a 20-yard run for the game's final points.  The Wildcats controlled the tempo for much of the day and finished with a 28:00 – 20:00 advantage in time of possession. 

St. Xavier started its final drive on its own 17 with 1:17 to go.  Pass completions to Kellom and McFarlin and three times to Klare moved to within striking distance at the St. Ignatius 34 yard line. 

McFarlin notched eight catches for 89 yards and a touchdown to lead the Bombers.  Klare added seven catches for 85 yards and a score of his own.  Joey Wassler, Jimmy Ryan and Luke Vrsansky contributed one reception apiece.

McCaughey's interception toss on the game's final play marked his first of the 2021 season – a string of 191 passes this season and 239 attempts since his last interception which came in the 2020 OHSAA state semifinal game. 

With a final regular season game at RDI Stadium at Ballaban Field, the focus comes to the seniors and their parents.

"I told the seniors, this has been their season and their legacy," said Specht. "This week is about somebody or somebodies in their life who has made it possible for them to attend St. Xavier and play football. Whether it's a mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, an aunt or an uncle, someone has sacrified for them to attend St. X. If nothing else, we are going to compete for those people who have shown unconditional love for them their whole life.  They deserve that."

St. Xavier returns home to RDI Stadium at Ballaban Field to wrap up the regular season on Friday, Oct. 22 when it hosts Eagles Landing Christian Academy (Ga.).  Kickoff follows Senior Day ceremonies and is set for 7 p.m.