St. Xavier at Bowling Green Predictions/Updates

[Purple88]

St. Xavier (6-3) at Bowling Green (7-2)

St. X Coach Kevin Wallace will bring his Tigers down I-65 for a meeting with Bowling Green, his former team, for the sixth time since he became St X’s coach back in 2018.  St. X is 3 and 2 in that shorter Coach Wallace led zone.  All time St. Xavier leads the series 13-7.  St. X won 8 straight games including:

-          From 1925 and 1926,                                     - From 1931 and 1932,

-          From 1981 and 1982, and                             - In the Rafferty’s Bowl from 2005 and 2006.

The Rafferty’s Bowl game were close with both roughly ending 14-7 St X.

From there, Bowling Green won 4 straight with some super teams from Scooter Hollis’ team in 2011 to 2014.  They then traded wins for the next 7 games with St X breaking that streak last season with a 31-0 dismantling of BG (BG just never in that game).  So, St Xavier is on a 2 game win streak in the series.

St. Xavier Information (My Man @Tigerpride94 does a better job with this)

The Tigers come into this game having finished district play with a 2-1 record; handling PRP and Meade County, while falling to DuPont Manual for only the 3^rd time in the last 30 years.  That Manual game did have some controversy with it, but that’s water under the bridge now, as St X looks to gear up towards the playoffs and a potential 2^nd round matchup with arch-rival Trinity.

X QB Trevor Havill has played well this season.  In the Manual game he was 9 for 17 for 99 yards and a TD through the air and add another 69 yards on the ground with another TD.  Against Trinity, he was 10 for 20 for 115 yards 0 TDs and 1 INT.  He also ran for a TD on minimal yards in that game.

And against a strong Cincinnati Elder squad, he was 16 for 28 with 173 yards and 2 INTs.  He also ran for a TD.

I highlight these stats as I think they will be important for this game.  If Havill has a strong game with low turnovers then St. X has a good shot to win this game.  If they turn the ball over several times, it will be tough for St X in the game IMO.

I look for other Tigers to play well including RB Davis Yates who has 634 yards on the year with 7 TDs and Star WR Marlon Harbin III with 40 catches for nearly 500 yards and 4 TDs (He also has a Kick 6 on the season).

Bowling Green Information

The Purples come in riding pretty high in this game after earning another District Crown last Friday Night.  They have won 6 in a row after falling to Bryan Station in the LCA Bowl back in early September.  Last Friday they came out pretty sluggish against a solid Greenwood team.  They played better in the second half and won going away 48-13.

Deuce Bailey was again sensational going 22 for 26 for 317 yards and 4 TDs with 0 INTs.  That yardage pushed Bailey into the Top Passer (per yardage) in BGHS history.  Awesome accomplishment.  Travey Barber and Tre Graham play well on offense and SO LB Montrez Trussel really played well with a Pick 6 and several big hits on defense.

I am thankful for the series with St. X even though BG has gotten drubbed 58-0 the last 2 games.  This is a game that will get you ready for the playoffs.  Yes, I’d like BG to win it, but I’d more like them to keep everyone healthy for the playoff run.  Going to be a fun one!

Game Information:

This game will be played at Bowling Green High School.  It will be St X’s second game at Bowling Greens new turf field.  The Tiger romped the Purples at BG in 2021 27-0.  I’m hoping for a closer game this year.  It has RPI implications for both teams; although their near-term path is pretty locked in at this point.  Good luck to both teams and NO Injuries!!!!  I’ll go ahead and make my predication for the game:

Bowling Green 35

St Xavier 28

[NLTanker1]

This seems like a complete coin toss. They appear to be pretty evenly matched.

My heart wants X to win. But my mind is telling me:

BG- 31

St. X- 30

I think the Purples come from behind late.

[Tigerpride94]

I see this as a coin flip game. Both team's strengths are on offense, so I think it comes down to which team's defense plays the best. Turnovers are always a factor in a close game. St. X won 31-0 last year so we'll see how much ground BG has made up since then. St. X got Safety Sam Crum back the Meade County game which shores up the secondary some which had a rough stretch in his absence.

[Tigerpride94]

Calpreps Ratings:

St. X 37.8

BG 31

[Killowatt59]

BG is not operating on all cylinders offensively right now. And with it's defense the Purples have no room for error.

I believe St. X will dominate up from, be able to run the ball, and take advantage of the short passes over the middle of the field. 

My main concern is no injuries. BG has a great shot to win the state title, but it can't afford any injuries.

St. X 35

BG 24

[Purple88]

The link to the Bowling Green Daily News article is a good one.  Has quotes from both coaches, who worked together for many years, while Coach Wallace was at BG.  Going to be a fun game!

 

Purples prepare for final regular season tune-up against St. X | Prep Sports | bgdailynews.com

 

[WishboneCity]

I’m starting to buy St. X as the best team in 6A.

I’ll go with them by a touchdown. 

[Tigerpride94]

6 hours ago, WishboneCity said:

I’m starting to buy St. X as the best team in 6A.

I’ll go with them by a touchdown. 

I hope you are right but I'll buy that if they win tonight and beat Trinity in 2nd round of playoffs.

[FirstTimeLongTime]

17 hours ago, Purple88 said:

The link to the Bowling Green Daily News article is a good one.  Has quotes from both coaches, who worked together for many years, while Coach Wallace was at BG.  Going to be a fun game!

 

Purples prepare for final regular season tune-up against St. X | Prep Sports | bgdailynews.com

 

Will the game be streamed anywhere?

[Purple88]

13 minutes ago, FirstTimeLongTime said:

Will the game be streamed anywhere?

Hey FTLT!

It sure will here and begins about 7:10 Eastern Time:

- Sporting Times (stfanclub.com)

[Purple88]

GAME DAY!   

Should be great weather and X always brings a great crowd!

Cool Coach Wallace Tweet or X or whatever:

 

[LongTimeReader]

Frakes going with his alma mater.

I think it will come down to which defense can make a couple of stops, both have struggled against top teams on their schedule defensively. 

Solid way to end the season for both teams as playoffs Rome around. 

[BillNye]

Big game for RPI purposes.

Feel like the Purples will have to put up 40+ to win. Do-able, but at the same time, hard to imagine on the X men. 

I'm rocking with the home team! Here's to a clean game with no injuries. 

[Tigerpride94]

The Tigers are getting warmed up and Bowling Green just finished senior ceremonies. 49 minutes to kickoff!

[Tigerpride94]

Teams running through plays. Heading to locker rooms now.

 

Edited October 27, 2023 by Tigerpride94
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