The season has only just begun, but one of the best high school football games fans will see all year was at Rash Stadium under the Friday night lights, with Saint Xavier defeating Owensboro in an offensive showcase.
Saint X came out of the gates ready to roll, forcing multiple three and outs to set the tempo early in the first quarter.
Half way through the first quarter the Tigers took advantage of their defensive prowess, as Jack Sivori took a three-yard keeper to make it a 7-0 game.
Sivori came through once again three minutes later, breaking a trio of tackles and taking it 40 yards to the house to take a 14-0 lead with 4:13 left in the third quarter.
Saint X continued to pour it on by grabbing a field goal with 8:40 left in the second quarter, owning all momentum in the game.
However, Head Coach Jayson Fallin got his guys fired up on the sideline and they were ready to fight back.
“[I told them] just keep fighting and find away,” Fallin said. “At that point we had sort of settled in on offense to figuring out what we could kind of do to execute the ball down the field a little bit and the guys did that.”
Owensboro almost botched a scoring chance bobbling a pass in the endzone, but they took a chance on fourth and five and it paid off.
Gavin Winsatt tossed one 35 yards to Jeremiah Goodwin, corralling it for a touchdown to cut the Red Devil’s deficit to 17-7 with 5:48 left in the second quarter.
An injury had caused Sivori to miss most of the second quarter and Owensboro capitalized defensively.
Wide receiver Mekhi Smith took over in his absence and hadn’t attempted a pass for the majority of his time under center.
But when he finally made his first attempt, Kenyatta Carbon was there to pick it off at the 45 with three minutes left in the first half.
Running back Tramel Barksdale turned that into a 22-yard touchdown later in the drive, putting them within a field goal.
Sivori came back in during the following drive for the Tigers and made a statement, tossing a 49-yard laser to give Saint X a 24-14 lead with 55.4 left in the first half.
Owensboro wasn’t done yet though, as they charged up the field and Wimsatt found Goodwin again, this time for 27 yards.
Saint X was getting ready to head into the locker room holding onto a field goal lead, but a muffed kickoff quickly changed things.
After a bobbled interception by the Tigers that gifted the Red Devils another scoring opportunity, they settled for a field goal and headed into the locker room tied at 24 apiece.
Both teams traded touchdowns to start the third quarter, but Sivori and company picked up some steam and took the wind out of Owensboro’s sails.
Saint X had drained the clock in their opening third-quarter drive, but after giving up a touchdown to the Red Devils they quickly responded with Sivori finding Michael Duddy for a 10-yard touchdown to go up 38-31.
Shortly after the fourth quarter began, Sivori bullied his way into the endzone for another rushing touchdown, taking a 44-31 lead with 10 minutes left in the fourth after the extra point was blocked.
The following drive the Tigers forced another three and out, which ultimately was the final dagger despite both teams scoring again before the buzzer sounded.
With their dominant running game and consecutive defensive stands as the game progressed, Saint X was able to come away with a 51-38 victory.
Sivori ran rampant all night and was the leading charge for the Tigers, being responsible for six of their seven touchdowns—three rushing and three passing.
While the game didn’t turn out in their favor, Fallin and company have plenty to take away from the hard-fought battle with a powerhouse program.
“We’re gonna learn a lot of lessons from this and we’re going to take a lot from this so that we can move forward and get better,” Fallin said. “This is one of, if not the best teams we’ll play all year. Most rankings have them in the top two or three of 6A.”
Fallin was thrilled with how his team played offensively, led by Wimsatt’s 283 passing yards and Barksdale’s 107 rushing yards, but knows that the defense has some work to do.
“I think that for the offense to score 38 points on a team that on average had given up barely in the double digits last year, I’m pretty pleased with this early in the season,” Fallin said. “Defensively obviously, we gotta be better in the rushing attack. This was a one-dimensional team, tonight at least, because we didn’t even make them throw the ball. They were able to just run the ball at will.”
Fallin was also pleased with the little things like not having turned over the ball and Wimsatt not being sacked once on the night.
Going forward, the team just has to work back into shape after a 10-day quarantine sidelined them. However, Fallin said that’s no longer an excuse.
“We’ve got to get our conditioning back,” Fallin said. “We can’t continue to use this quarantine as an excuse. That doesn’t fly anymore. That’s on all of us. Me, the kids. They’re going to have to come to work every day next week and push themselves to get back in shape.”
Owensboro has a week before it returns to action, taking a short road trip to face off with Apollo at 7 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 27.
Scoring Plays
First Quarter
6:55 (STX) Jack Sivori three-yard keeper (PAT good) 7-0
4:13 (STX) Sivori 40-yard rushing touchdown (PAT good) 14-0
Second Quarter
8:40 (STX) Field goal, 17-0
5:48 (OHS) Gavin Wimsatt 35-yard pass to Jeremiah Goodwin (PAT good) 17-7
1:11 (OHS) Tramel Barksdale 22-yard rushing touchdown (PAT good) 17-14
55.4 (STX) Sivori 49-yard touchdown pass (PAT good) 24-14
22.3 (OHS) Wimsatt 22-yard pass to Goodwin (PAT good) 24-21
0.0 (OHS) Field goal, 24-24
Third Quarter
7:56 (STX) Sivori touchdown pass to Beckmann (PAT good) 31-24
5:58 (OHS) Wimsatt 20-yard pass to Khalil Rogers (PAT good) 31-31
4:03 (STX) Sivori 10-yard pass to Michael Duddy (PAT good) 38-31
Fourth Quarter
9:47 (STX) Sivori rushing touchdown (PAT blocked) 44-31
6:41 (STX) Austin Uhrhan nine-yard rushing touchdown (PAT good) 51-31
2:03 (OHS) Wimsatt six-yard pass to Barksdale (PAT good) 51-38
