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11/7/05

Rematch for St. X, Colerain
Prep football playoffs


It's this year's Game of the Century, Part II.

Cincinnati prep football powerhouses St. Xavier (11-0) and Colerain (10-1), respectively rated No. 10 and No. 18 nationally by USA Today, will meet in a Division I regional semifinal at Paul Brown Stadium at 6 p.m. Saturday.
St. X senior linebacker Joe Ries said the game needs no hype.

"Everybody's been waiting for this one," Ries said. "It's a dream matchup. We just want to play our game, and hopefully that's good enough."

St. X beat Colerain 7-0 in a season opener at UC's Nippert Stadium, in the marquee game of the annual Skyline Chili Crosstown Showdown.

"That was a 7-0 game that could have gone either way," St. X coach Steve Specht said. "We were on pins and needles the whole game. They were breaking in a new quarterback (Gary Pride) and we had eight new defensive starters, but now both teams have grown up. They've improved light-years, and so have we."

St. Xavier finished No. 1 in both the final regular-season state and Enquirer area coaches' polls. Colerain, the reigning state champion, was No. 2 in the final Enquirer poll and No. 6 in the state poll.

St. Xavier walloped Fairfield 45-0, and Colerain outslugged Glen Este 24-7 in the first round of the playoffs.

Specht said he expects Colerain coach Kerry Coombs to use the season opener as extra motivation. It was only Colerain's second regular-season loss since 2000.

"Kerry will do what he needs to do, and we'll do what we need to do," Specht said. "Everybody knows what's on the line, and there's a reason we're 1-2 in the city.

"What a battle it should be."

The season opener saw St. X get a 7-yard TD run by senior running back Chris Cionni early in the second quarter, with the kick by Danny Milligan making it 7-0. The Bombers made it stand up.

The St. Xavier defense held Colerain to 123 total yards (all rushing) and caused four turnovers. Colerain's Pride, a junior transfer from Roger Bacon, was 0-for-4 passing with three interceptions in his first start. Pride rushed 12 times and was held to 8 net yards, but since has gone on to rush for more than 1,000 yards out of Colerain's triple-option offense.

"I think you'll see a crisper game this time," Specht said. "It was the first game, and there were a lot of nerves."

Said Coombs: "Our kids will be excited to be playing (next week). They're one of 16 (Division I) teams still playing in the state.

"We know we're playing the best team in the state next week, but we also have to remember to be ourselves."