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Ohio #2 Cincy St. X @ Indiana #3 Indianapolis Cathedral


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MaxPreps has these two teams listed as #2 in Ohio and #3 in Indiana. St. X’s lone loss was to Brownsburg in the barnburner ESPN national game of the week to start off the season. St. X has always had Cathedral’s number. Can the fighting Irish shake off the St. X jinx this year? Would love to hear from Brownsburg fans who to watch from the Bombers. St. X Scouting Report from Yappi:

St. Xavier
Steve Specht lost the GCL-South's top passer as Matthew Rueve has moved on to Boston College after throwing for 3,126 yards and 28 scores in new offensive coordinator Andrew Coverdale's passing game.

But, the "long blue line" continues and the Bombers have Penn State commit Liam Clifford returning for his senior season after catching 77 balls for 1,180 yards and 17 scores. From the looks of last week's scrimmage vs. Lakota West, St. Xavier again has an able passer as Brogan McCaughey threw a couple scoring passes against Lakota West. 

The Bombers were 9-3 last season, falling short in a second-round playoff game to eventual DI state runner-up Elder. Early indications are the Bombers will be in the hunt again.

"Liam Clifford is a special talent and he's done a great job in a leadership role," Specht said. "Liam's just one of many seniors that are going to make an impact again this year. We have a great nucleus to build around. Now the young guys need to measure up what the expectation is here. We'll get after them and we'll find 11 guys to put on the field. I like this group of kids."
 

 
St. Xavier wide receiver Liam Clifford (2) catches a pass during the Bombers' 28-24 loss to Elder, Friday, Nov. 15, 2019.



Players to watch: Clifford is multi-talented and may even get an occasional look at safety if situations warrant, according to Specht. He spent the spring/summer catching passes from his brother, Penn State starting quarterback Sean Clifford. Junior Luke Vrsansky is the top returning rusher. Senior Jalen Patterson is also a receiving threat along with sophomore tight end Joey Wassler and defensive back Gabriel DuBois is a playmaker.

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1 hour ago, hhpatriot04 said:

Cathedral fans are being silent before this one. I have no doubt they have the utmost respect for St. X, but perhaps there's a gag order in place... Shame. There will be five pages of comments after the game. I hear they're calling @Bobref out of retirement to do this one.

If so, it’s highly unlikely they’re going to get their money’s worth. 

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Expecting a lot of fireworks in this one. X has rebounded nicely with a couple of big wins over LaSalle and Elder (Cathedral’s next two opponents) after a pretty big collapse against Brownsburg week 1. I think Cathedral’s secondary was exposed to a degree last week and X has a very capable QB with a couple big time receivers.
 

Same thing can be said for X as their secondary is their noted weak link. Cathedral has a ton of weapons on the outside and very good TE. Would not be shocked if the total is in the 70s or even 80s.

Cathedral has won the turnover battle every week and likely the key to staying undefeated. That and shoring up the penalties. Last week was a debacle as Cathedral had 14 penalties for 100+ yards. That can’t happen while playing St. X.

45-42 Irish in OT.

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7 hours ago, Footballking16 said:

Expecting a lot of fireworks in this one. X has rebounded nicely with a couple of big wins over LaSalle and Elder (Cathedral’s next two opponents) after a pretty big collapse against Brownsburg week 1. I think Cathedral’s secondary was exposed to a degree last week and X has a very capable QB with a couple big time receivers.
 

Same thing can be said for X as their secondary is their noted weak link. Cathedral has a ton of weapons on the outside and very good TE. Would not be shocked if the total is in the 70s or even 80s.

Cathedral has won the turnover battle every week and likely the key to staying undefeated. That and shoring up the penalties. Last week was a debacle as Cathedral had 14 penalties for 100+ yards. That can’t happen while playing St. X.

45-42 Irish in OT.

You forgot the the third phase of the game, especially in high school: special teams. Thoughts? Advantage.

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2 hours ago, hhpatriot04 said:

You forgot the the third phase of the game, especially in high school: special teams. Thoughts? Advantage.

Honestly not sure if Cathedral has punted once this entire year so that may be an advantage in of itself. Decent kicker who has the ability to get it to the end zone on kickoffs.

Your point does remind me that Cathedral has gone for 2 on it’s opening TD in every game this year with a different gadget play every time. I think they’ve only converted 1/4.

Edited by Footballking16
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44 minutes ago, Footballking16 said:

Honestly not sure if Cathedral has punted once this entire year so that may be an advantage in of itself. Decent kicker who has the ability to get it to the end zone on kickoffs.

Your point does remind me that Cathedral has gone for 2 on it’s opening TD in every game this year with a different gadget play every time. I think they’ve only converted 1/4.

Cathedral has punted 4 times in 4 games. 3 by their regular punter, and 1 time with their QB. Very solid kicker for Cathedral too 17 kickoffs 5 touchbacks. He is also 18 of 19 on PAT's and 4of5 on FG's. Special Teams is always important with St. X, they are very well coached in ST.

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Interesting that St. X has new OC Andrew Coverdale.  Is that the same guy who replaced John Lidy at Castle and left after 3 years?  As I recall, the main issue was his use of 2 words no Castle person wanted to hear in the early 2000s: “passing game”....

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3 hours ago, Footballking16 said:

Honestly not sure if Cathedral has punted once this entire year so that may be an advantage in of itself. Decent kicker who has the ability to get it to the end zone on kickoffs.

Your point does remind me that Cathedral has gone for 2 on it’s opening TD in every game this year with a different gadget play every time. I think they’ve only converted 1/4.

I don't think you take that risk in a game like this unless you see a flaw in the PAT defense. Also, Heritage Hills used the strategy of lining up for the kick, but having various 2-pt run/pass plays just to slow the kick block down and keep them and future defenses honest.

I hope Cathedral can spring a kick or punt return. Plays like that can really turn the tide, even if you don't score, through field position. Go Irish, Go Indiana!

1 hour ago, tango said:

Interesting that St. X has new OC Andrew Coverdale.  Is that the same guy who replaced John Lidy at Castle and left after 3 years?  As I recall, the main issue was his use of 2 words no Castle person wanted to hear in the early 2000s: “passing game”....

Did Coverdale have previous connections to the Cincy area? Tell City also lost its most successful (recent) coach, Ryan George -- son of the late IN HoF Coach "Bud" George, I think in 2014 to Ohio. He's now in Texas and the article I read said his wife has family there.

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14 hours ago, Footballking16 said:

Expecting a lot of fireworks in this one. X has rebounded nicely with a couple of big wins over LaSalle and Elder (Cathedral’s next two opponents) after a pretty big collapse against Brownsburg week 1. I think Cathedral’s secondary was exposed to a degree last week and X has a very capable QB with a couple big time receivers.
 

Same thing can be said for X as their secondary is their noted weak link. Cathedral has a ton of weapons on the outside and very good TE. Would not be shocked if the total is in the 70s or even 80s.

Cathedral has won the turnover battle every week and likely the key to staying undefeated. That and shoring up the penalties. Last week was a debacle as Cathedral had 14 penalties for 100+ yards. That can’t happen while playing St. X.

45-42 Irish in OT.

This will be a very close competitive game and agree high scoring affair.  52-45 Irish.

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On 9/16/2020 at 10:12 AM, Boilernation said:

Possibly here. I watched a few of their games last year and they stream most of their athletic events. 

 

https://boxcast.tv/channel/kcDxLlLCeqOvc4rAmBlg

FWIW, the Cathedral-St. X game is now showing up on this link as a scheduled broadcast. Thanks again for sharing

 

Edit: this will be an interesting game. I watched the Brownsburg-St. X game and think Cathedral can hang with these guys.

 

Cathedral 34, St. X 30

Edited by bigfish
added game preview
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1 hour ago, bigfish said:

FWIW, the Cathedral-St. X game is now showing up on this link as a scheduled broadcast. Thanks again for sharing

 

Edit: this will be an interesting game. I watched the Brownsburg-St. X game and think Cathedral can hang with these guys.

 

Cathedral 34, St. X 30

Good to see. I was a little skeptical their broadcast crew would make the long trip to 46th & Arlington. 

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I'm sitting here wondering:  who would win between Brownsburg and Cathedral?  The reason I ask is Brownsburg has already beaten St X (in OT).  Brownsburg is #2 in the 6A poll and #5 in the Sagarin ratings.  Cathedral is #1 in the 5A poll BUT #2 in the Sagarin Ratings.  So could Cathedral beat the team that beat St. X?  I would think that Cathedral will be favored in this game with St. X.  Then I look and see that week 9 is going to be the battle of the season as Cathedral will be at #1 and nationally ranked Center Grove.  Wow, just wow!  Hope that someone gets in touch with ESPN and has them broadcast the game.  Not a fan of either team.  Just a fan of high school football.  And I believe Cathedral/Center Grove would be a great promotional game for the state of Indiana.

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Any St. X fans arriving to Indianapolis early, please stop by the Irish tailgate immediately south of the school in the strip mall parking lot. We would love to share a beverage with any and all Bomber fans! Look for the big red Prevost bus with the Cathedral flag flying. Let’s have a great game!! 

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39 minutes ago, IndianaWrestlingGuy said:

Any St. X fans arriving to Indianapolis early, please stop by the Irish tailgate immediately south of the school in the strip mall parking lot. We would love to share a beverage with any and all Bomber fans! Look for the big red Prevost bus with the Cathedral flag flying. Let’s have a great game!! 

I highly recommend the Irish Tailgate. One of the great experiences in Indiana High School Football. I was invited a few years ago by @PHJIrish and found it to be the ultimate in pregame preparation, fine dining, and great sportsmanship.

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53 minutes ago, Bobref said:

I highly recommend the Irish Tailgate. One of the great experiences in Indiana High School Football. I was invited a few years ago by @PHJIrish and found it to be the ultimate in pregame preparation, fine dining, and great sportsmanship.

As you might imagine, Bob, there is no tailgate this year due to COVID.  I really miss it!

We're in the middle of a GCL stretch that usually is very competitive.  I sure hope that's the case this year.

Have a good weekend!

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18 hours ago, itiswhatitis said:

I'm sitting here wondering:  who would win between Brownsburg and Cathedral?  The reason I ask is Brownsburg has already beaten St X (in OT).  Brownsburg is #2 in the 6A poll and #5 in the Sagarin ratings.  Cathedral is #1 in the 5A poll BUT #2 in the Sagarin Ratings.  So could Cathedral beat the team that beat St. X?  I would think that Cathedral will be favored in this game with St. X.  Then I look and see that week 9 is going to be the battle of the season as Cathedral will be at #1 and nationally ranked Center Grove.  Wow, just wow!  Hope that someone gets in touch with ESPN and has them broadcast the game.  Not a fan of either team.  Just a fan of high school football.  And I believe Cathedral/Center Grove would be a great promotional game for the state of Indiana.

It is an awesome game for the state. and It is a great competition for players. You have to think it is a bit annoying for CG that their last game of the season is a non conference opponent in Cathedral. Outstanding program with outstanding players each year. It makes it tough to prepare for a non conference game the last game of the regular season with worrying about injuries and what not. There were a couple years in this series where Cathedral was 6A and I am sure neither team wanted to show all of their stuff because of the possibility of a semi state matchup. Either way, it is going to be an incredible Week 9 game between the Trojans and the Irish. I always consider this game the Notre Dame vs. USC matchup for Indiana High School Football.

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