CINCINNATI -- When Colerain plays at St. Xavier in their playoff showdown Friday night, it will be the latest chapter in a high school football rivalry that has been played at least once per season since 2005.
Friday night is the 34rd meeting between the two programs and St. X leads the all-time series 20-13. The two programs first played in 1984.
St. Xavier senior quarterback Sean Clifford.
Colerain knocked off St. X in overtime, 20-14, September. Now they once again do battle in a do-or-die playoff matchup.
Colerain, ranked No. 5 nationally by MaxPreps.com, comes into the game 11-0 after beating Springboro 35-14 last week. St. X is 6-5 with a 35-14 win over Fairfield last week to advance.
Colerain 2016 graduate Deshaunte Jones is now playing for Iowa State.
Let’s take a look at nine notable games since 2005:
1. St. Xavier 7, Colerain 0, Aug. 27, 2005: The Cardinals played their first game since winning the 2004 Division I state title in dominant fashion the previous December. Chris Cionni’s 7-yard touchdown run and Danny Milligan’s extra point in the second quarter gave the Bombers all they needed to upset Colerain. The season opener was one of six shutouts St. X had in its undefeated season (15-0) en route to the state title.
2. St. Xavier 12, Colerain 9, Nov. 12, 2005: Both teams had a feeling they would see each other again after the season opener at UC and that’s just what occurred in the second round of the playoffs. Darius Ashley caught a 20-yard touchdown pass from Brad Scherer in overtime to lift the Bombers in the closest margin of victory it had in the postseason.
3. St. Xavier 29, Colerain 14, Nov. 16, 2007: The Bombers had to defeat the Cardinals in the regional final en route to the program’s second state title and a 15-0 record. St. X had 308 yards of offense including Darius Ashley’s 115 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Junior linebacker Luke Kuechly had a game-high 12 tackles.
4. Colerain 13, St. Xavier 8, Aug. 22, 2008: The Cardinals jumped up 13-0 on the reigning state champions in the Skyline Chili Crosstown Showdown. St. X had 219 total yards compared to Colerain’s 162 and had an overwhelming advantage in time of possession (30 minutes to 17:51), but the Cardinals maintained the lead throughout. Tyler Williams scored two touchdowns and defensive back Cole Pasquale had two interceptions.
5. St. Xavier 24, Colerain 23, Nov. 13, 2010: The Cardinals went up 10-0 after the first quarter but found themselves trailing 16-10 at halftime of this second round playoff game. Colerain senior Tyler Williams had 104 yards rushing and a touchdown and senior fullback Trayion Durham had 82 yards rushing and a touchdown. St. X went ahead 24-10 after Trey Kilgore caught a 39-yard touchdown pass. Junior Conor Hundley had 86 yards rushing and a touchdown.
6. St. Xavier 17, Colerain 14, Sept. 9, 2011: Conor Hundley rushed for two touchdowns and Nick Roemer made a 21-yard field goal with 3:57 left as the Bombers defeated host Colerain. The teams met two months later in the playoffs and St. X won that game 28-15 after Griffin Dolle went 10 of 11 passing for three touchdowns.
7. Colerain 31, St. Xavier 28, Sept. 7, 2012: Colerain senior Alfred Ramsby threw for 187 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for two touchdowns. Ramsby continued his success in the playoffs as Colerain won 35-14 nearly two months later in a game that saw the Cardinals total 437 yards of offense. The Cardinals rolled to a 12-0 record before it lost to eventual state champion Moeller in the regional final.
8. St. Xavier 29, Colerain 21, Nov. 15, 2014: St. X won the Week 2 matchup 31-12 and ended up in a rematch in the second week of the playoffs. St. X senior running back Ben Glines had 187 yards and two touchdowns in the playoff game to help lead the Bombers, which led 29-7 at halftime.
9. Colerain 13, St. Xavier 10, Sept. 5, 2015: The Cardinals were victorious at home in a game that resumed Saturday morning because of Friday night weather delays. Christian Dinevski’s 38-yard field goal helped lift the Cardinals. Colerain then blocked a kick to secure the victory. Colerain also defeated St. X 42-14 in the second round of the playoffs. Colerain senior quarterback Deshaunte Jones had 229 yards rushing and three touchdowns in that game.
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