Round-Up: Interstate Battles

Friday night featured several intriguing interstate match-ups between teams from Ohio and Kentucky, with several of the nation's top teams involved.

The Buckeye State hand the upper hand for the most part over the Bluegrass State on the evening, including the Elder Panthers, ranked No. 2 in the nation in the latest Rivals100, victory over the defending Kentucky 6A champions, the Louisville Trinity Shamrocks.

ELDER 26, TRINITY (KY) 7

Elder remained undefeated Friday night with the help of their defense and four field goals by senior kicker Tony Miliano in a 26-7 win over Trinity. After appearing on national television this past Sunday against rival Colerain, the Panthers had limited time to prepare for this week's matchup, but it was difficult to tell.

Trinity's only offensive success came with 6:31 remaining in the first quarter when Robert Melillo ran 25 yards for a touchdown to give the Rocks a 7-0 lead.

The Elder defense kept Trinity quarterback Ryan Frederick scrabbling all night leading to five sacks and two interceptions.

Elder had difficulty in the red zone early in the game, but Miliano bailed the Panthers out with three field goals in the first half. Elder's first touchdown came on a 41-yard pass from quarterback Mark Miller to tight end Alex Welch.

Miliano added another field goal before halftime to give the Panthers a two score advantage at 16-7.

Ben Coffaro helped the Panthers find the end zone again on a three-yard touchdown run with 8:43 remaining in the third quarter. The junior running back exploded in the second half running 16 times for 127 yards.

With less than four minutes to play, Miliano's 23-yard field goal sealed the victory.

With the win, head coach Doug Ramsey becomes the winningest football coach in Elder history.

ST. XAVIER 24, ST. XAVIER (KY) 7

In a battle between the nation's 38th and 42nd ranked teams in the nation, it was the St. Xavier (OH) Bombers that defeated the St. Xavier (KY) Tigers in the battle of St. Xavier's in Louisville on Friday night, 24-7

St. Xavier (3-0) continued to their winning ways by playing soundly on both sides of the football.

Senior quarterback Luke Massa completed 11 of his 18 passes for 158 yards and two touchdown and running back Connor Hundley carried the ball 18 times for 112 yards. Wide receiver Alex Longi was the recipient of both Massa TD tosses and finished with five catches for 72 yards.

Defensively, the Bombers came up with two key turnovers and just 180 yards of total offense (just 9 yards passing). Senior Will Carroll picked up one of the Bombers three sacks on the night and added an interception.

The Bombers will attempt to move to 4-0 next week when they host Louisville Trinity.

HIGHLANDS 21, WITHROW 0

Austin Collinsworth scored on runs of 66 and 18 yards as 28th-ranked Highlands (4-0) came away a winner at Withrow (1-2).

He would end up with 185 yards on 12 carries. The Bluebirds had over 400 yards of total offense but squandered scoring opportunity after opportunity with four fumbles. They were very sloppy throughout the game handling the pigskin.

Highlands quarterback Will Bardo was solid he broke away for a 62 yard dash to the end zone to make it 14-0 in the second quarter. The senior had 78 yards on the ground and 126 through the air.

Withrow moved the ball between the 30's but could never capitalize on the Bluebirds miscues. The Tigers abandoned the run game and relied completely on the arm of quarterback Ryan Banks. The senior threw the ball 62 times with 30 completions for 297 yards. He will be packing his arm in ice for a few days.

Highlands will host Boone County (1-2) in their home opener next Friday. They will play five of their next six at home including a clash against the St. Xavier Bombers in two weeks.

Withrow will open CMAC play at home against Taft (0-3). The Tigers look to get back on track offensively as they have scored just 13 points in the last 10 quarters.

ANDERSON 63, BOONE COUNTY 14

The Anderson Redskins moved to 3-0 in dominating fashion as they beat Boone County, 63-14.

Senior quarterback Brandon Bornhauser ran for 202 yards and four touchdowns on nine carries in the first half alone to lead the Redskins.

Anderson (3-0) also enjoyed 139 yards and three scores from senior running back Kyle Slater on just seven touches.

With a 49-7 lead at the half, the Redskins sat most of their starters for the game's final 24 minutes.

Boone County (1-2) was overmatched from the outset on both sides of the ball, yielding a 479 to 242 total yards of offense advantage to Anderson.

Rebels' running back Charles Quainoo finished with 130 yards on 22 carries and a touchdown, but most of that came on a 78-yard scoring run in the first half.

Anderson tries to stay undefeated next week as they head to Columbus for a match-up with DeSales. Meanwhile, things don't get any easier for Boone County as they travel to Ft. Thomas for a meeting with top-ranked Highlands.

COLERAIN 42, DUPONT MANUAL 0

The Colerain Cardinals picked up their first win of the season in convincing fashion as they shutout Louisville DuPont Manual 42-0.

Senior quarterback Greg Tabar led a potent Cardinals' rushing attack with 221 yards and a touchdown. Juniors Tyler Williams and Trayion Durham also ran for two scores each while combining 200 additional rushing yards.

Colerain (1-2) got a big boost from their defense. The unit held to just 167 yards of total offense and forced three turnovers. Sophomore linebacker Joe Bolden forced and recovered a fumble. Meanwhile, Chris Dukes and Reginald Gathier each picked off a pass.

The Cardinals open up GMC play next week as Lakota East pays a visit.