'It’s never easy to lose.' St. Xavier football bows to St. Ignatius in a close game

FINNEYTOWN ‒ Look, these two schools share all but one line of their alma mater – never mind who stole the song from whom – so it should be no surprise the football teams play one another as close as a crowded Tokyo subway car.

To put it in Catholic school prom terms – and they are mirror-image Catholic boys schools – Cleveland St. Ignatius and Cincinnati St. Xavier high schools don’t leave a lot of room for the Holy Spirit between one another.

Ignatius slipped past St. X 24-21 on a picture-perfect afternoon on Ballaban Field at RDI Stadium. Talk about close? The Wildcats' win leveled the all-time series between the teams at 15-15.

“This was a good day,” Wildcats head coach Chuck Kyle said. “The offense had to help the defense there, and they got the job done. They made some crucial third downs to keep the ball out of (St. X’s) hands.”

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Bombers coach Steve Specht saw it a little differently, of course.“We should have won that game,” he said. “We made some critical errors in key situations.”

Some came on what proved to be the game-winning drive during Ignatius’ first possession of the second half.

The Wildcats converted three straight third-and-long chances – the first of which came by penalty - to put junior Thomas Kilbane in position to drill a 34-yard field goal for a 24-14 lead with 4:25 to play in the third quarter.

Ignatius got off to a fast start, cruising 65 yards in eight plays on the opening drive, taking a 7-0 lead on junior running back Sean Martin’s 17-yard touchdown run.

The Bombers tied it up when Alex Devine forced a fumble recovered by senior Bless Sparks, who returned it 30 yards to the Ignatius eight. St. X junior running back Steven Napier punched it in from a yard out with 2:25 left in the first quarter.

Wildcats junior Joshua Papesh found classmate Jonathan Merimee for an 11-yard score to open the second period. Ignatius extended the lead to 21-7 on Martin’s second score, a 4-yard run around the right end with 3:10 to play in the half.

The first half ended oddly. St. X drove to the Ignatius two before fumbling it away with a 1:15 to play. The Bombers held the Wildcats to a three-and-out and benefitted from a shanked punt, setting up a 9-yard TD pass from sophomore Chase Herbstreit to senior tight end Joey Wassler to make it 21-14 at the break.

Bomber junior Gage Patrick scored from 4 yards to make it 24-21 with 6:40 to play, but Ignatius ran the clock down to 3.6 seconds before finally surrendering the ball back to X deep in its own territory.

“I like the fact we had a chance at the end,” Specht said. “It was a slim chance, but it’s not a matter of these guys not trying hard.

“If you’re a competitor, it’s never easy to lose. There’s always something you can learn from it, though, and you have to do that and move ahead.”

The Wildcats improved to 5-3 with the win, while the Bombers fell to 3-6.

St. Ignatius 24, St. Xavier 21

1Q –STI Sean Martin 17-yard run (Thomas Kilbane PAT)1Q – STX Steven Napier 1-yard run (Jake Cengia PAT)2Q - STI Joshua Papesh 11-yard pass to Jonathan Merimee (Kilbane PAT)2Q - STI Martin 4-yard run (Kilbane PAT)2Q – STX Chase Herbstreit 9-yard pass to Joey Wassler, (Cengia PAT)3Q - STI Kilbane 34-yard FG4Q – STX Gage Patrick 4-yard run (Cengia PAT)            1          2          3          4          FSt. I     7          14        3          0          24St. X    7          7          0          7          21

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati St. Xavier football loses to Cleveland St. Ignatius, 24-21