QueenCityHigh.com - St. Xavier Wins GCL South

October 31, 2009

Dan Clasgens
QueenCityHigh.com Managing Editor

The St. Xavier Bombers parlayed two turnovers and a power-running game into a 13-10 victory over the Moeller Crusaders.

The win gives St. Xavier the GCL South title and the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Division I, Region 4 playoff.

Both teams entered the contest ranked nationally by RivalsHIGH. The Crusaders came in as 13th ranked team and the Bombers were sitting at No. 62.

St. Xavier (8-2, 3-0) won a state championship two years ago behind the rise of sophomore quarterback Luke Massa. Now Massa is a senior and it's another sophomore, running back Connor Hundley, stepping to the forefront.

The Bombers dominated the time of possession as they held the football for nearly 33 minutes behind a strong effort from Hundley. He finished with 97 yards on 20 carries, including several key runs.

Moeller (9-1, 2-1) dented the scoreboard first when Corey Smith drilled a 42-yard field goal from the left hash four minutes into the game.

St. Xavier quickly answered with three points of their own on a Robert Leonard 26-yard kick.

The game would remained gridlocked until senior Patrick Guetle scooped up a muffed punt by the Crusaders, leading to a 8-yard touchdown pass from Massa to Jeff Kramer three minutes into the second quarter.

Leonard would add another field goal, this time from 26 yards out, to give the Bombers a 13-3 halftime lead.

Defense wins championships and both units played championship-caliber football in the second half.
Moeller pulled within three points on a Jeff Aubin 19-yard scoring run with just under six minutes to go in the game.

The Crusaders appeared to have momentum and had the ball in their hands with under two minutes left in the game, but once again a turnover would doom them. For the second time in the game it Guetle that was in the right place at the right time as he picked off an Andrew Hendrix pass that would seal Moeller's fate.

Playoff projections have St. Xavier facing Centerville and Moeller squaring off against Middletown in the opening round. The official pairings will be released Sunday afternoon.

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