By Ed Letsinger
MaxPreps.com
Don’t count Cincinnati St. Xavier out just yet. The defending Ohio Division I state champions were all but given up for dead a couple of weeks ago after losing their third straight game and dropping below .500 on the season and to 15th in the weekly OHSAA Harbin Rankings.
What a difference a week makes.
The Bombers (4-4), battling injuries and a brutal schedule, traveled to Lakewood St. Edward last weekend and promptly beat the Associated Press then-No. 8-ranked Eagles 13-3. Combined with losses by several other teams ranked ahead of them in the Region 4 Harbin Rankings, St. Xavier jumped seven spots and now occupies the eighth and final slot.
A resilient Bomber squad continues to depend on a stout defense that is giving up just 189.5 yards and 12.4 points a game. The margin of error for St. Xavier is zero as they try to stay in the hunt for a playoff berth and it doesn’t get any easier this week. AP No. 6 Cleveland St. Ignatius visits this week followed by a season-ending showdown against Archbishop Moeller. Most playoff projection pundits have St. Xavier making the playoffs if they can win out and finish 6-4.
Division II Dominance
Preseason prognosticators were right on the money when they said it was going to be a stellar year for Cincinnati Division II football.
If the Division II football playoffs were to start tomorrow, Cincinnati schools would occupy an impressive six of the top eight spots in Region 8. Even more impressive is that the Fort Ancient Valley Conference would be sending five teams including Winton Woods, Turpin, Anderson, Kings and Little Miami with a sixth – Edgewood – sitting at No. 9. Of course, there is still two weeks to go until final playoff berths are awarded but it has been a good run so far.
Stat Stuffers
With two weeks to go in the regular season Indian Hill quarterback Bo Cordell leads the area in passing yards (2,397) and touchdowns (26). The senior has connected on 160-of-229 attempts.
Western Brown running back Shawn Davis has taken over the lead in rushing yards (1,634) and rushing touchdowns (23). Moeller senior wide receiver Tony Harris leads the area in receptions with 52 while Lebanon’s Chase Cochran has 750 total receiving yards to lead that respective area.
Volleyball: GGCL Trio Begins Sectionals as Favorites
The Cincinnati volleyball sectional tournament gets underway this week and three teams from the Girls Greater Cincinnati League enter play with the top three seeds and with the label of favorite to win the powerhouse league’s fourth straight Ohio Division I state title.
Unbeaten and No. 1-ranked Ursuline (22-0) enters as the big favorite and top seed. The Lions lost only a total of eight games during the regular season. Mount Notre Dame (18-4), which dealt Ursuline three of those losses, is the No. 2 seed and was state runner-up last year. Defending state champion Mercy (17-4) is the third seed.
Ed Letsinger covers prep sports in Southern Ohio and Northern Kentucky and can be reached at eletsinger@insightbb.com.
