Moeller rallies to defeat St. Xavier

All week long, the Archbishop Moeller (Cincinnati) football team kept hearing about how it needed to move beyond its recent past history with its arch rival St. Xavier (Cincinnati). On Friday night, the Crusaders did just that.

Despite a halftime deficit, Moeller rallied in the second half and defeated host St. Xavier 17-7 in front of a sold-out crowd at Ballaban Field. Moeller had lost three of its past four games to St. X.

Moeller's offense was potent once again, as the Crusaders (5-0) had 299 yards of total offense including 199 on the ground. The Moeller defense held St. X to just 85 yards rushing – quite an accomplishment given that St. X junior running back Conor Hundley had two consecutive 200-plus yard games going in to Friday.

It is the second consecutive season Moeller has started 5-0. The Crusaders went 9-0 in 2009 before its first loss.

Moeller senior running back Tucker Skove – continuing to add to his player of the year campaign in southwest Ohio - rushed 38 times for 198 yards and two touchdowns. Skove has 741 yards and 11 touchdowns through the first five games.

"We're not going to change from our philosophy of pounding the offensive line, and that was pretty effective for us," Moeller coach John Rodenberg told the Cincinnati Enquirer. "Defensively, I called a base game with only a few blitzes. It was pretty straightforward."

Moeller plays at Indianapolis Cathedral on Friday night.

For St. Xavier, the loss to Moeller snapped a three-game win streak after it dropped the season opener to Our Lady of Good Counsel (Olney, Md.).
 
"We dropped a lot of passes and didn't help ourselves, while they converted a lot of plays in the second half," St. X coach Steve Specht told the Enquirer. "The bottom line is they scored 17 and we only scored seven."

Hundley rushed for 82 yards against Moeller and senior tight end Joe Neiser had five receptions for 58 yards.

St. Xavier plays at Elder Friday night.

2. Colerain keeps rolling: Colerain (Cincinnati) continued to dominate Friday night when the Cardinals defeated visiting Lakota West 56-14. Colerain is 55-0 at home since 1999 and the Cardinals seem destined for an 11th consecutive Greater Miami Conference title. The Cardinals (5-0) have outscored opponents 213-46 this season.

The Cardinals gathered 558 total yards on Friday night. Senior quarterback Tyler Williams rushed 15 times for 192 yards and a touchdown. Colerain plays at Lakota East on Friday.

3. Middletown shows its strength: Unfortunately, Middletown doesn't play Colerain in the regular season this year – but the Middies have proven to be an elite team in the Cincinnati area again. Middletown (5-0) defeated Hamilton 42-9 on Friday night.

"That's the fastest team I've ever played against," Hamilton coach Bob Jacoby told the Enquirer. "That takes its toll."

The dual quarterback threat of junior Geovanne McKnight and sophomore Jalin Marshall has proven to be lethal against opponents. Both players scored touchdowns against the Big Blue. Middletown sophomore running back William Peters rushed 11 times for 160 yards and caught a touchdown pass. Middletown plays at Sycamore Friday night.
 
4. Springfield defeats Trotwood-Madison: Springfield defeated Trotwood-Madison 36-6 in a matchup of two of the top Greater Western Ohio Conference teams on Friday night. Springfield (4-1) has won four consecutive games since a season-opening loss to Hamilton.

"The kids are starting to believe in themselves," Springfield coach Rick Robertson told the Dayton Daily News. "If we can eliminate mistakes, we can be a pretty good football team."

Springfield will face another challenge Friday when it plays at 3-2 Wayne (Huber Heights) and top-rated quarterback Braxton Miller. Wayne, which has won three consecutive games, defeated Xenia 44-3 on Friday.
 
5. Kauffman steps down: Walnut Hills (Cincinnati) girls' track and field coach Karl Kauffman has resigned, according to the Enquirer. Kauffman led the Eagles for more than 20 years and the program has produced national, state and league championships. Runners have also reached All-American status.

Mary Wineberg, a 2008 Olympic gold medalist, is a product of Walnut Hills. The program was the Division I regional champion last spring.

"It has been a highlight of my time at Walnut Hills to work with him and see him mold runners, teams and women of character," Walnut Hills athletic director Tom Donnelly said on the school Web site. "We wish him the best."
 
TOP STANDOUTS
Chris Barr, Centerville: The junior running back had 23 carries for 130 yards and three touchdowns as the Elks defeated Springboro 28-13. Centerville improved to 5-0.

Jake Nelson, Anderson (Cincinnati): The senior running back had 30 carries for 150 yards and four touchdowns as the visiting Redskins defeated Northwest 45-7. Anderson improved to 4-1.

Will Stocker, Turpin (Cincinnati): The senior running back had 29 carries for 240 yards and three touchdowns as the Spartans defeated host Milford 55-34. Turpin (5-0) is ranked as the state's No. 1 team in the Division II poll.

THIS WEEK
Harrison at Winton Woods (Cincinnati) football, 7:30 p.m. Friday: These two Fort Ancient Valley Conference Buckeye division teams play in a critical matchup at Winton Woods. The Harrison defense must contain the high-octane Winton Woods offense which is led by senior quarterback Thomas Owens and junior running back Aaron Kemper.

Bishop Fenwick (Franklin) at Roger Bacon (Cincinnati) football, 7:30 p.m. Friday: This is quite frankly the matchup of the week in the Greater Catholic League. Both teams are 5-0. Roger Bacon started the season 4-0 for the first time since 2000. It has been quite a turnaround for the Spartans, who were 2-8 last season.

Senior quarterback Tanner Sprong has thrown for 881 yards and 12 touchdowns to lead Roger Bacon. Fenwick senior fullback Joey Robertson had 136 yards rushing and two touchdowns in Friday's win over Purcell Marian.

Mount Notre Dame (Cincinnati) at Ursuline Academy (Cincinnati) volleyball, 6:30 p.m. Thursday: Two of the top volleyball teams in the Girls' Greater Cincinnati League. Ursuline is 12-0 heading into the week and MND was 11-2 at the start of the week. MND junior Gina Frank leads the Cougars with 88 kills. Ursuline senior Christina Beer has 85 kills for the Lions.

RECRUITING NEWS
Badin (Hamilton) junior Ashley Mahoney has verbally committed to play college soccer at Kent State. Mahoney is a defender who is versatile enough to play as a midfielder. … Moeller football coach John Rodenberg said he expects there will be four or five defensive linemen that will be Division I college recruits in the 2012 class. … Withrow (Cincinnati) senior forward Aaron Thomas verbally committed to Florida State on Tuesday. He also considered Nebraska, Clemson, Purdue and Cincinnati. … West Virginia basketball coach Bob Huggins and Xavier coach Chris Mack were at Withrow's open gym Thursday looking at Withrow sophomore 6-foot-7 center Devin Williams, according to the Enquirer. Williams is also getting interest from Ohio State and Cincinnati.

RANDOM THOUGHTS
St. Ursula Academy (Cincinnati) junior diver Emily Mosher has been named a diving All-American by the National Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association (NISCA), according to the school. This award is in recognition for the 2009-10 season. … The Middletown football program has committed to play in the season-opening Skyline Chili Crosstown Showdown for the next three seasons, according to the Middletown Journal. … Sectional boys' and girls’ golf along with sectional girls’ tennis tournaments begin this week in southwest Ohio. The district tournaments are the week of Oct. 4.