Skip To Main Content

ST. XAVIER BOMBERS ATHLETICS

ST. XAVIER BOMBERS ATHLETICS
Calendar
Max Klare
Milt Wentzel
41
Winner St Xavier STX 4-0
10
Penn (Ind.) PENN 0-4
Winner
St Xavier STX
4-0
41
Final
10
Penn (Ind.) PENN
0-4
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
STX St Xavier 21 20 0 0 41
PENN Penn (Ind.) 0 3 0 7 10

Game Recap: Football |

St. Xavier Continues Shock and Awe Campaign with 41-10 Win

Bombers block pair of Penn punts in final test before GCL play

MISHAWAKA, Ind. – Protected by St. Xavier's front five, Brogan McCaughey tossed three touchdown passes and scrambled for another in the first half of a 41-10 win at Mishawaka Penn.  McCaughey's 25-yard toss to Max Klare with four seconds the first half helped key the St. X victory.

"Max is having a great year," said head coach Steve Specht. "The catch in the end zone is what Max does. Brogan did a nice job of throwing the ball to give him a chance.  Offensive line did a nice job protecting."

Charles Kellom scored on dives from the one and two yard line for two of the first three St. Xavier touchdowns.  Kellom totaled six carries for 33 yards in limited duty.  The night marked his third two-TD performance of the season.  Kellom leads St. X with seven touchdowns through four games.

The Bombers used two more blocked punts to jump out to the first-quarter advantage.  Alex Kemper's blocked punt and return set up McCaughey's score from the Kingsmen's 10.  Eli Kirk reached out on the ensuing punt and set up a short field for Kellom's second score of the night.

McCaughey finished his night with 13-of-19 for 168 yards, including a six-yard strike to Jay Farrar.  Farrar finished with a team-high four catches for 43 yards.  Klare snagged three passes for 49 yards, including his third TD of the year. 

Following Farrar's first career touchdown, Mason Rohmiller's PAT was blocked to make the score 27-0.  Rohmiller had converted 79 consecutive PAT kicks dating back to the first-round OHSAA playoff win over Mason on Nov. 8, 2019.

McCaughey's lone connection with Terrell McFarlin went for 41 yards and pushed the lead to 34-0.

Luke Vrsansky totaled 17 yards rushing, 17 yards receiving and 21 yards on a pair of punt returns. 

"I thought we had a lot of flashes from Luke Vrsansky. Terrell McFarlin keeps grinding.  Brogan played well, but he'll admit that he missed a few throws he wishes he could have back. There are little things that we will get improve upon this week."

St. Xavier held Penn to 99 yards of offense in the first half.  With a healthy rotation of substitutions in the second half, the defense allowed 174 yards for the game.  The offense totaled 324 yards of total offense for the game.

"Our defensive front has been solid all year long," said Specht. "They threw a few wrinkles at us in the first half in the run game and we had to adjust to them in the secondary.  I like our front six.  They have been playing hard all year long. Ted Hammond forces double teams that free up Grant Lyons and Sean Reilly and they have excelled." Off to a 4-0 start, St. Xavier's future lies with three GCL South games over the next four weeks.  The path to repeating as league champion begins next week with a matchup against Moeller.  A season ago, St. X defeated Moeller in the regular season and OHSAA playoffs by an average score of 44-14.

"We have never been in a situation like this," said Specht.  "We are used to having to play knock-down, drag-out games back-to-back-to-back.  We're going to see how our kids respond this week; Moeller is a heck of a good football team."

St. Xavier jumped out to a 41-3 lead at the intermission to force its third Running Clock Rule situation of the young 2021 season.  It marked the fourth such situation in its last five games dating back to the 2020 OHSAA Division I championship game.

"I think our offensive linemen are in the same position everyone else is – they are trying to get better," said Specht.  "We moved some guys around to different spots.  We're developing and getting better.  Our best football is in front of us, so we have to continue to get better." The offensive line allowed the Bombers to amass 310 yards of offense in the first half compared to 99 for the Kingsmen.  They totaled 142 rushing yards on 15 attempts in the opening half. 

"The issue of running clock rule in three consecutive games is obviously a concern," said Specht.  "I love how our kids compete and how hard they are playing.  The color of the sky is about to change with the start of GCL play next week.  We're going to have to focus on competing in practice this week to prove we are ready to compete in the GCL South."

St. Xavier returns to Cincinnati to wrap a four-game stretch of away games on Friday, Sept. 17 when it travels to historic Nippert Stadium to tangle with Moeller.  Kickoff for the Greater Catholic League South lidlifter is set for 7 p.m.
 
Print Friendly Version

Scoreboard