Round-Up: Panthers Power Up

GCL South play kicked off Friday night at Lancer Stadium as the top-ranked Elder Panthers paid a visit to battle with the LaSalle Lancers.

The Panthers are currently ranked second in the nation in the latest Rivals100 and No. 1 overall in the QueenCityHigh.com Ohio Division I Rankings/.

Elsewhere, St. Xavier hosted Louisville Trinity and Sycamore paid a visit to Middletown .

We break down these games and more:

ELDER 23, LASALLE 13

Elder (4-0) dominated the time of possession and senior defensive back Jake Fishburn came up with three fourth-quarter interceptions as the Panthers rolled to a 23-13 victory.

After taking just a four-point lead into the locker room, Elder turned to stingy defense and a power-running game in the second half, dominating the time of possession. LaSalle held the ball for just over four minutes after the break. The Panthers finished the night with a 32:37 to 15:23 edge.

Senior quarterback Mark Miller got the scoring started when he ran one in from four yards out with 6:25 to go in the first quarter.

LaSalle (3-1) struggled to move the ball early in the game and fell behind 14-0 when Ben Caffaro ran for a 10-yard touchdown in the opening minute of the second quarter.

The Lancers did not break though. Junior Andrew Kummer connected with Zach Abbatiello for a 4-yard touchdown to cut the deficit to 14-7.

Elder moved the ball down the field, but stalled as LaSalle's defense got stingy, the Panthers settled for 40-yard Tony Miliano field goal to regain a 10-point lead.

Kummer once again led his team down the field though and trimmed six points off the lead when he called his number on a keeper from two yards out.

The Panthers added some cushion in the third quarter when wide receiver Tim O'Conner caught a 15-yard touchdown pass.

From there Elder turned it over to running back Ben Coffaro and a power-running attack. The junior finished with 28 carries for 146 yards and a touchdown. Miller completed 18 of his 30 passes, but only threw for 137 yards.

Kummer had a hand in both of the Lancers' scores and finished 218 passing yards, but his three turnovers late in the game proved costly.

Next up Elder has another road tilt versus St. Edward and LaSalle welcome Lima Senior.

ST. XAVIER 43, TRINITY 13

In a battle between state powers, the St. Xavier Bombers blew pass the Trinity Shamrocks 43-13 on Friday night.

Quarterback Luke Massa, who played in less than half of the game, finished with 108 yards and three touchdowns on 6 of 8 passing.

St. Xavier (4-0) raced out to a 27-0 first quarter lead and never looked back and held a 43-0 advantage at the half. It was the most points Trinity, one of Kentucky's most storied programs, had ever allowed in a half of football.

The Bombers, who started week ranked No. 3 in the QCH Ohio DI Rankings, ran for 206 yards and held a 307 to 175 yard advantage in total yards.

Six different players scored for St. Xavier and nine different players had multiple carries in a well-balanced attack.

Next week, the Bombers head to Ft. Thomas, KY to square off against another powerhouse from the Bluegrass State as they face Highlands.

MIDDLETOWN 40, SYCAMORE 0

Middletown (4-0) means business and they took their anger out on Sycamore (2-2) in a 40-0 pummeling on Friday night. The Middies looked spectacular on defense and rock solid on offense.

Middletown held the Aviators to just 103 yards of total offense and only four first downs. They sacked Sycamore quarterback Kyle Sess four times and sophomore Cody Quinn picked off a pass and returned it 43 yards for a score.

The Middies offense was fair and balanced, running for 227 yards and passing for 226 yards. Senior Antonio Banks ran for 106 yards and a score to lead all rushers. Classmate Caleb Watkins completed 11 passes to seven different receivers and had three touchdowns through the air.

Middletown, who now stands alone atop the GMC standings, travels to Mason (1-3) next Friday night to take on the Comets. Life doesn't get any easier for Sycamore as they host the red hot Lakota West Firebirds (3-1).

ALTER 27, BADIN 7

The Alter Knights (4-0) used a swarming pressure defense en route to a 27-7 road win over Badin (3-1) on Friday night in a battle of the top two teams in the QCH Ohio DIV-DVI Rankings.

On the evening the Rams had -20 yards rushing and just 157 yards of total offense. Alter kept the ball on the ground for 50 of their 54 plays on offense piling 229 yards and four scores.

Senior Cody Taulbee had three of those touchdowns and 70 yards rushing for Alter. Junior Justin Winters led all players with 77 yards rushing. He had the teams other score on a run midway through the third quarter.

The Knights defense hounded Badin quarterback Patrick Coyne all evening long. They sacked him seven times and put the junior on his back countless other occasions. Taulbee had 2.5 of those sacks. Coyne did not have a bad game by any means going 11-15 for 157 yards and a touchdown. He just wasn't able to get the ball off enough to make it a great night.

For Badin it was just their third loss in the last 14 contests. All three defeats have come at the hands of the Alter Knights. The Rams head to Dayton to take on Chaminade-Julienne (2-2) next Friday.

Alter hosts McNicholas (2-2) as they look to improve upon their current 17-game winning streak.

Get more RECAPS from this weekend's action!