The Trinity Shamrocks will make their second trip to Cincinnati this season on Friday when they take on the St. Xavier (Ohio) Bombers.

Trinity (5-1) is coming off their biggest win of the season, having taken down arch rival St. Xavier 35-24 inside Cardinal Stadium on Friday night. The Bombers (4-2) fell to Elder (Ohio) by a score of 23-13 on Friday night. 

Series History: Trinity and St. Xavier (Ohio) have met 14 times in history with the first meeting having been in 1958. The Shamrocks and Bombers are knotted at 7-7 in the series but Trinity has won each of the last six meetings. That includes a win over the Bombers during each of the last four seasons, putting Jay Cobb at 4-0 against St. X (Ohio). 

Through their six games, Trinity had built an identity based around running the football but has got their passing game going in recent weeks which includes a 289-yard, three TD game from Zane Johnson in the rivalry game Friday night. Trinity's D-line has been a strength of the defense and a big disruptor from week to week.

I don't know too much about Cincy X this year but they do have three highly regarded, P4-bound seniors LBs Jakobe Clapper (Notre Dame) and Aden Reeder (Wisconsin), as well as ATH Daniel Vollmer (Vanderbilt). Vollmer was their starting QB last season. 

Make it lucky #7 in a row, and Cobb goes 5-0.

I like Trinity.

Rocks- 34

Bombers- 16

Cincy St. X has a decent defense but hasn't been very good on offense. I'll go with Trinity by 14. 

Thinking Coach Cobb and the Shamrocks are looking to really clean some things up after a sloppy game this past week as well as avenging the controversial loss in their last trip to Cincinnati. The bombers usually have some big boys up front and a defense that is hard to score on no matter what year it is or who they are playing. Seems they have struggled thus far against tough GCL South competition and are likely hungry for a win. I predict Trinity by 2-3 scores in a gritty win before they get ready for their district schedule and then the playoffs.

Trinity is now #80 in the Nation at HSRatings.com 

https://highschoolfootballamerica.com/2025-high-school-football-america-300-national-high-school-football-rankings-week-6/

Trinity #54 in High-school Football America Top 300. 
 

Cincy St. X #109.

1 hour ago, Tigerpride94 said:

https://highschoolfootballamerica.com/2025-high-school-football-america-300-national-high-school-football-rankings-week-6/

Trinity #54 in High-school Football America Top 300. 
 

Cincy St. X #109.

If I remember correctly, in 2021 Trinity was 0-5 going up to Cincinnati to face the #10 nationally ranked bombers and got their first win. Kellan McLaughlin broke a Trinity record for longest made FG (53 yards?) which I believe he later broke and has since been broken a few more times.

Is this game streaming?

3 hours ago, Rock85 said:

Is this game streaming?

Yes. St. X will have it on ESPX

Great news!  Thanks

On 9/30/2025 at 10:54 PM, ROCK23 said:

If I remember correctly, in 2021 Trinity was 0-5 going up to Cincinnati to face the #10 nationally ranked bombers and got their first win. Kellan McLaughlin broke a Trinity record for longest made FG (53 yards?) which I believe he later broke and has since been broken a few more times.

It was 0-6 and Cincinnati X was 6-0 and ranked in the top 10 in the country at the time. McLaughlin did hit a 53-yarder in the game which was beaten by Carson Hilbert last year who hit from 55 against Ballard 

 

This game to me seems very similar to the Louisville X game where we're facing a team who has a great defense but is still searching for identity on offense. The Rock defense holding Harbin and Co. to 15 rushing yards and 103 passing yards last week is nothing short of tremendous. Former Bomber OC and also Trinity coordinator Andrew Coverdale has moved on to the offensive staff with Jeff Brohm back in Louisville and the Bombers have gone to a RPO/Wildcat offense still trying to find some way to get the ball to Vanderbilt commit Daniel Vollmer. They are not nearly as fast as the years when they've had Liam Clifford, Max Klare, Steven Napier, Charles Kellom, et al. Cam Taylor at WR can stretch the field though, and they may have found something in Christian McDonald who had a 64-yard TD reception late in the Elder game.

Defense is the bread-and-butter for Coach Steve Specht and he is world-renown for his ability to scheme. Senior LB Kobe Clapper has been starting for almost a decade it seems and the ND-commit is everywhere on defense. You have to block him on every play and he is a nightmare to try to edge. LB Aden Reeder is no slouch either and the senior Wisconsin recruit makes so many plays both at the line of scrimmage and dropping into coverage. DB Brayden Reilly is the star adjuster and also the catalyst for this team. The Northwestern commit is very smart as you might guess and makes plays while setting the defense in Specht's vaunted 3-3-5 alignment.

The Trinity OL will have another challenge this week trying to run the ball and may need to rely on the arm of Zane Johnson, who has had 3 good games in a row now dealing it. He still makes the occasional overthrow, but you can tell he is trusting Hagan, Duvall, Watson and Warner much more than in the past. JB Berry is still churning out the tough yards and will be needed to pick up those yards in crunch time in what I expect to be a close game. The defense has had a great season against a tough schedule and that should prepare them for this game. LA Evans is now ranked as the #39 overall recruit in the country and is playing like it. Bratcher, Kamara, Howze and Burns-Crump have turned the secondary into quicksand for opposing receivers and Vize, Hughes, Lowe and Calloway have solidified the linebacker position. Blue and Frost have really stepped up on the DL and I'm sure Mason Trimble is still having nightmares about those two. KeAndre Thompson is the most unheralded guy on the defense but he has a non-stop motor and eats up blocks on every snap.

I think this will be a close game again regardless of Cobb's record of success on West North Bend Road. The Bombers do not lose 3 games in a row very often and this team has the talent to hang with Kentucky's best team. The Rocks must keep being the more physical team and establish the run if they want to open it up for Zane and the rest of the offense. I like a good mix of misdirection plays and trick plays to keep Clapper, Reilly, et al guessing all game and the Rocks in the win column. ☘️

Great write up.  Thanks. Go Rocks !!

 

Here is that direct link and thanks Tp94:

https://www.watchespx.com/content/2488b29f-27cc-40ca-abcb-8a2a192f9ea1