Colerain Downs St. X
For the second time this season Colerain (11-0) handed St. Xavier (6-5) a loss at The Cage. The Cardinals dominated the ball game with their offensive execution. They gained 427 yards on 69 plays, converted 10 of 14 third downs and won the time of possession battle by 21:20. The Bombers were out of gas before they knew what hit them. The Cardinals have now won their first round playoff game 14 times in 15 appearances. They also end a three game skid to St. Xavier in the post-season.
LA Ramsby accounted for 281 yards of total offense (137 rushing, 144 passing) and three touchdowns. The senior did most of his damage in the first half racking up 109 yards with two scores on the ground while throwing another to Trevon Hudson as the Cardinals built a 21-0 halftime lead and were never really threatened by St. X. Rambsy upped his season totals to 1,425 yards passing and 1,240 rushing with 17 scoring tosses and 17 more with his legs.
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When the Bombers finally got on the board in the third quarter on a 14 yard pass from Nick Tensing to Trevor Brinkmann it would be addressed quickly by the boys in red and white. Tensing would throw two touchdown passes with 132 yards through the air and another 58 on the ground.
Colerain showed why they are regarded as a top 10 team in the nation. The Cardinals responded with a 5:20 second drive that saw Jackson Sorn score on a one yard run to make it 28-7 with 2:30 left in the stanza. For the senior who had missed the last two tilts due to injury, it was his fifth time finding the end zone on the season. Sorn finished with 87 yards rushing.
St. Xavier then proceeded to follow that up with two offensive drives that lasted less than a minute including a 0:14 three and out.
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Colerain continued to move the ball up and down the field and absorb seconds, then minutes off the clock. No more scores would occur until Cardinals senior Dejuan Lang picked off a Tensing pass and returned it 52 yards to the house to make it 28-7 with 1:22 left in the contest. It was the fourth interception of the season for Lang and the eighth of his career.
Colerain will see a second straight GCL South opponent on Saturday night when they face Elder (8-3) at a site to be determined on Sunday by OHSAA.