The Xavier Knights entered their tilt with the St. John the Baptist Cougars with three consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with four. In a tight matchup that could have gone either way, Xavier made off with a 14-13 win over St. John the Baptist. The score was all tied up 7-7 at the break, but Xavier was the better team in the second half.
Leading Xavier to victory were Mehdi Merah and Sean Kull. Merah rushed for 121 yards and a touchdown, while Kull rushed for 114 yards and a touchdown on only 15 carries. Kull's longest rush was for an incredible 75 yards.
St. John the Baptist's defeat came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performance. Perhaps the best among them was Andrew Simmons IV, who rushed for 69 yards and a touchdown on only eight carries.
Xavier is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six games, which provided a nice bump to their 6-3 record this season. As for St. John the Baptist, their loss was their third straight at home, which dropped their overall record down to 4-4.
Both squads are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Xavier will take on St. Joseph-by-the-Sea at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday. As for St. John the Baptist, they will be playing at home against Christ the King at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday. Christ the King is still on the hunt for that elusive first 'W'.
