Saint Xavier (6-3) will host Bowling Green (7-2) after beating Pleasure Ridge Park 42-6. Bowling Green is coming off a 42-14 win over Greenwood. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30.

Last year, St. X beat Bowling Green 27-12.

QB Mason Trimble led St. X against PRP throwing for 175 yards and 4 touchdowns. He also had 41 yards rushing. WR/RB Marlon Harbin had a touchdown reception and 39 yards receiving. LB Luka Bentz led the defense with 4 tackles with 1 for a loss and 1 sack. DB Rocco Poynter was injured and had to be carted off the field with an apparent leg injury so that is a blow to the secondary going forward unless he can return at some point. RB Manny Gray who was injured in the Central game looks close to returning but not sure if he will be back for this game or the playoffs. Bowling Green's QB Deuce Bailey will test the St. X defense as they struggled the week before with Meade County's good QB Cade Scott. The strength of the St. X offense is the passing attack and Bowling Green gave up 306 passing yards recently to South Warren so the St. X offense can potentially have some success against the Purples. I see this as a competitive game that could come down to turnovers. I'm sure @Purple88 will give his insightful thoughts on Bowling Green and this game.

Unfortunately, I think this could potentially be ugly. I am hoping for the opposite obviously, but trying to be real. Up front against this Tiger team will be likely the tallest task of the season. Comparable to the Douglass game. Purples may put some points up but I just don’t have a scenario in my mind where Bowling Green walks away with a win. Would be tickled for them to prove me wrong, and I’d love to be. I just don’t see it this go around. 
 

X 38

BG 14

Tigers definitely need this game more than the traveling Purples, 6A is a mad house and a win should move X into the 2 or 3 seed and possibly locking up home field throughout the playoffs. The only way the Purples will be able to hang around is scoring the football but I’m not sure they can cross the goal line 5 times against this defense. X could toss the ball around against the Purples but I want to see them dominate the trenches and get a run game going. Two good programs and a couple of great coaches and leaders of young men, hoping for a great game.

X 35 BG 21

5A Bowling Green (7-2) at 6A St. Xavier (6-3)

This is the same record both teams had last season going into this game.  For X, they have played a tough schedule and lost 3 games by a total of 10 points against very good teams (at Male, at Elder and vs Manual).  For Bowling Green, different year in that last year the second loss was on the road to Bryan Station by 3 points.  This year the second loss was at home to South Warren by 4 points.  But sets up a lot harder road for BG in the playoffs. 

Series Information

All time St. Xavier leads the series 14-7.  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) in 2022.  So, St Xavier is on a 3-game win streak in the series.  St. X Coach Kevin Wallace is 4 and 2 vs his former team since coming to St X in 2018.    

St. Xavier Information (My Man @TigerPride 94 does a better job with this)

I see @Tigerpride94's info up above so won't go too much into this.  But I will say that X SR RB/WR Marlon Harbin III is a tremendous football player with about 650 yards rushing on the year and 10 TDs and 3rd on the team with catches at 32 and 387 yards receiving and 3 TDs on the season.  X has a really good kicker in Logan Zoeller as well, who is perfect on Xtra point attempts and 7 for 9 in field goals.  Defensively, LB Karsten Busch is a very talented player for X as well. 

Bowling Green Information

The Purples looked like they were sleepwalking for the first quarter or so last Friday vs a feisty Greenwood team.  The schedule really hasn't gotten BG in a good spot here IMO.  Play 3 tough teams right out of the gate.  Play 4 uninspired games against lesser competition.  Then take your bye week.  Then play the most important game in the season and not come out successful.  That leads to a much tougher road now for BG.  And that starts in Louisville on Friday night.

The BG offense played ok vs Greenwood, but I would be remiss to not mention JR RB/DB Jaxson Smith played an inspired game for the Purples with 2 TD runs and an INT he got in the endzone.  I didn't see that from all players, but I saw it from Smith.  BG is at a crossroads here.  They need to come out inspired to be competitive in this game.  Don't do that and it will be 2022 all over again (31-0 X). 

The BG defense was the unit that really slept walked the most.  They opened the game giving a nice drive up to Greenwood for the first score of the game.  Need a better effort come Friday night vs a much better team. 

Game Information:

This game will be played at St Xavier High School in Louisville.  Bowling Green hasn't won in Louisville since the Covid Year of 2020.  I think BG is the clear underdog here as they simply haven't played well IMO since the Owensboro game back in August.  There is still time to circle the wagons and make a run that this team should be capable of, but its rubber meets the road time for the Purples. 

For St X, they are in a good spot to play a sound game and take a nice RPI haul to begin what appears to be a wide open 6A playoff season.  I think QB Mason Trimble is their most important player.  If he plays well and makes good throws, it will be hard for BG to overcome that IMO.  Turnovers are the great equalizer though, so you never know.  Good luck to both teams and NO Injuries!!!!  

Bowling Green 20-14.

I'm going to go with St. X by 7 since playing at home.

The Tigers have been the proverbial thorn in Deuce Bailey's side since he was a frosh.

The Numbers Game
0: The number of wins he has in three tries versus X. Bailey is one of the winningest quarterbacks ever at BG with 35 career victories.
0: Also the number of touchdown passes he has against the Tigers. He's got 116 and counting for his career.
48%: Bailey's completion percentage against X. He's a 63% passer against everyone else. 
115: His average yards per game versus the Tigers. Bailey's approaching 10,000 for his career.

If he doesn't drastically improve on the last three figures, he'll likely leave Bowling Green with a 0 still in the win column. I like to think he's motivated to put together a game worthy of his legacy as an all-timer at BG. The Purples need him to be that guy. 

10 hours ago, DevilMayCare said:

The Tigers have been the proverbial thorn in Deuce Bailey's side since he was a frosh.

The Numbers Game
0: The number of wins he has in three tries versus X. Bailey is one of the winningest quarterbacks ever at BG with 35 career victories.
0: Also the number of touchdown passes he has against the Tigers. He's got 116 and counting for his career.
48%: Bailey's completion percentage against X. He's a 63% passer against everyone else. 
115: His average yards per game versus the Tigers. Bailey's approaching 10,000 for his career.

If he doesn't drastically improve on the last three figures, he'll likely leave Bowling Green with a 0 still in the win column. I like to think he's motivated to put together a game worthy of his legacy as an all-timer at BG. The Purples need him to be that guy. 

He may have 0 wins but I think he will break the TD pass 0 streak and if not, will be a rough night for the purples.

 

Beautiful night at Brother More Stadium. 
X in green jerseys, yellow pants and white helmets. 
Purples in gold pants and helmets and white jerseys. 
36 minutes on the clock. 

I've made it here. 22 minutes to kickoff.

BG won toss and deferred.

X does such a great job with pregame activities. 

BG kickoff returned by X to own 28.

X false start. 1st and 15.