Lakota West and St. Xavier is a new rivalry in the Cincinnati area, but it continues one of the Queen City's best battles of head coaches. Tom Bolden and Steve Specht are quite familiar with one another, going back to Bolden's days patrolling the Colerain sidelines. 

Friday marks the 22^nd time since 2007 (span of 15 years) that these two have matched wits, with Specht holding a slim 11-10 advantage. There's usually a lot more on the line than pride and bragging rights, as this will be the tenth meeting in the playoffs. Specht again has the upper hand in the postseason, with a 6-3 mark. 

One of those was a dramatic, 10-7 comeback win in the 2020 Region 4 championship game, as the Bombers threw the game-winning touchdown with less than 30 seconds to play, handing the Firebirds their only loss of the season. 

Since 1999, St. X has a 4-0 lead in the series against Lakota West, including a 31-14 triumph in the season opener (also seen on Spectrum New 1) back in August. The Firebirds are 18-2 over the last two seasons, with both defeats coming to St. Xavier. 

Click HERE for details on the game.