CINCINNATI — It’s the regional finals for the OHSAA football tournament this weekend. Each division is down to the final eight teams in the state.
One of those has been a powerhouse in Cincinnati, but faces a divisional rival and number one team in the state in order to get to the state semi-final.
The St. Xavier Bombers football team is rich in tradition. And that includes winning four state championships and three state runners up in program history. And this year, the team is hot at just the right time, winning the last six games.
“After week seven we were looking at ourselves, we were 4-3,” head coach Steve Specht said. “And it was almost like, okay, where do we go from here? So I’m real proud of the fact that the kids have fought and put ourselves in a position where we get to play in this game, because it’s a special game. Any time you can get to the regional final and region four is a big deal in the fact that we’re playing a GCL rival, that just adds a little more to it.”
In Cincinnati, the Greater Catholic League rivalries run deep, meeting those rivals in the playoffs means even more. Add the fact that Moeller beat St. X earlier in the season by one score, and ended the Bombers past two seasons in the playoffs, you could say this team is excited for the chance at redemption.
“They did get us earlier in the season, defense didn’t have the best performance either,” junior linebacker Kobe Clapper said. “So to come back out here, you know, week 14 win. You know, move on to the next step, you know, step four of six. So that’ll be huge.”
One of those leaders is Clapper. The four-star recruit already has 24 Division I offers, and counting. But he said being a leader for this team is what’s most important to him.
“Being a junior, you know, underclassmen, you know, it's a big role to fill," he said. "Definitely, especially being a captain. But I think, just let everybody know that, you know, I'm with the team, especially playing for, this week for my seniors. This could be their last time playing here.”
“He's a tremendous athlete, tremendous football player," Specht said of Clapper. "I'm more proud of the kid he is. You know, I could talk about his accolades and how great of a player he is, but he's a better person than he is a football player.”
While it seems like a perfect opportunity for the Bombers to get some GCL revenge, Specht says it doesn’t matter who or where they play, just the fact that they have an opportunity to move on is what’s important.
“I think that no matter who you play in the regional finals, no matter who it is, where it is, and I’ve said it before, we can play this at Mason Stadium, we can play that Nippert, or we can play it in the parking lot at a Denny’s restaurant, and the kids are going to take it the same, and it’s going to mean as much regardless,” Specht said.
St. Xavier faces off against number one seed Moeller on Friday night at 7 at Mason Middle School. The game is sold out, but for Southwest Ohio viewers, you can catch the action right here on Spectrum News 1.