Bombers junior quarterback Brogan McCaughey found senior wide receiver Liam Clifford open in the back left corner of the end zone on a fade pattern for a 17-yard touchdown pass with 27 seconds left that helped them beat Lakota West, 10-7, in the Division I, Region 4 championship game on Friday night.
Second-year Lakota West coach Tom Bolden said that he figured going into the game that he’d be congratulating his players, not consoling them, if he’d looked at the scoreboard and saw St. Xavier with only 10 points.
“We played wellenough defensively to win it,” said the former Colerain coach, now 10-10 in head-to-head games against his buddy, St. Xavier coach Steve Specht. “We just didn’t play well-enough offensively. We made yardage. We moved the ball. We just didn’t make enough plays. That’s how it goes. It’s football.”
“Lakota West is so athletic,” Specht said as St. Xavier and Lakota West players hugged and shook hands at Firebird Field. Some of the Bombers sought out distraught Firebirds to offer words of encouragement. “They’re really good. Their secondary has a lot of speed. We couldn’t sustain anything.”
St. Xavier (8-1), seeded third in the playoffs and ranked sixth in the Associated Press Division I statewide poll, will play fifth-ranked Springfield next Friday at 7 p.m. at Piqua in the state semifinals.
Top-seeded and second-ranked Lakota West (8-1) was hoping to become the first Lakota program to reach the state semis since the Ohio High School Athletic Association started postseason playoffs in 1972.
The Firebirds had the berth in sight after sophomore quarterback Mitch Bolden scored on a 14-yard touchdown run with 6:44 left in the third quarter for a 7-3 lead. The stingy Lakota West defense already was frustrating St. Xavier, which had scored at least 45 points in each of its first three playoff wins and at least 43 over its last five overall.
Senior linebacker Kweisi Jones helped keep the Bombers at bay with a diving interception in the end zone to stop one threat. Junior defensive back Jyaire Brown knocked away a pass in the end zone on third-and-goal from the 5 on the next possession.
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
The Bombers made the most of their last chance. Taking over on their own 23 with 2:41 left, they converted two fourth downs, the first when a defensive holding call wiped out a Lakota West interception, on their way to scoring the jarring go-ahead touchdown.
“Going into the game, everybody was talking about our offense versus their defense,” Specht said after a midfield trophy presentation. "We always tell the kids there are three facets to the game – offense, defense and special teams. Lakota West’s defense is special. We made one more play. Our defense played lights out. Our special teams played lights out.
“This was a classic battle.”
“It’s amazing that we got to play in this legendary game,” Bolden said.
After a first quarter that featured a combined seven punts, normally pass-happy St. Xavier resorted in the second quarter to a run-oriented game. Working out of the I formation, the Bombers put together a drive that ended with Mason Rohmiller’s 32-yard field goal for a 3-0 St. Xavier lead with 4:17 left before halftime. The field goal was Rohmiller’s ninth of the season.
The Bombers gained 70 yards rushing and just four passing in the second quarter while the St. Xavier defense limited Lakota West to 18 yards of total offense on 14 plays in the second quarter.
Lakota West was more efficient offensively after halftime. Senior running back Joshua Brogden gained all of his team-high 77 rushing yards in the second half.
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