OHSAA football playoffs: Moeller eliminates St. Xavier with big first half
In their second meeting of the season, Moeller High School didn't need a late Jordan Marshall touchdown to beat St. Xavier. The highly sought-after junior running back crossed the plane at Norwood's Shea Stadium four times Friday night as the Crusaders beat St. Xavier 28-7.
With some Bengals players on the sidelines and Kirk Herbstreit watching his son quarterback St. Xavier along with Pat McAfee from ESPN GameDay, Marshall took center stage running for 263 yards on 28 carries. Moeller outrushed St. Xavier 305-164 as senior Brett Kelley added 49 yards spelling senior Alec Weeder who normally is the No. 2 back.
"We had a great first half, we ran the ball really, really well," Moeller coach Mark Elder said. "We played great on defense. I'm very proud of the group. The seniors have been fantastic. This is a big one for us."
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Said Marshall, "We wanted to come out and beat these guys pretty bad. This is our rival. We prepared for this game. Our linemen up front do an amazing job and I'm going to owe it to them every single time. It's not always me."
It was the ninth playoff matchup between the schools which Moeller now leads 6-3. Marshall had 141 yards at halftime giving Moeller a comfortable 21-0 cushion.
"I knew coming in I was going to get a lot of touches," Marshall said. "I prepared myself all week. Sometimes I'm surprised they don't know I'm running the ball. But, that's what we do best. That helps Luke (Dunn) our young quarterback put some throws up on the board."
In their first game, St. Xavier held a 10-6 halftime lead and was up 17-13 with five minutes left. That's when Luke Dunn hit Marshall on a 29-yard go-ahead touchdown pass that kept Moeller's record unblemished.
Since then, the Bombers have switched from junior Jack O'Malley at quarterback to sophomore Chase Herbstreit. Also, junior Gage Patrick has done the heavy lifting at running back in recent weeks.
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Herbstreit finished 13-for-22 passing for 122 yards and a touchdown to Jamaal Sharp. A would-be second touchdown that would have pulled the Bombers within one score was nullified on a controversial pass interference call.
That would have made the game 21-14. Instead, Moeller eventually took the ball over on their own 30-yard line. Shortly after, Marshall ripped his fourth touchdown run from 62 yards to put the game out of reach.
"He's pretty good at football," Elder said. "We're obviously going to be giving him the ball quite a bit in a game like this one."
Marshall came into the game with 1,290 yards and with Friday's 26-3 is at 1,553 for the season. That's also with sitting out the previous week's playing win against Hamilton as a precaution. The junior with over 25 Division I offers was slated to visit Nippert Stadium Saturday to take in the Cincinnati Bearcats vs. Navy.
"I'm going to UC, staying home, I'm really excited," Marshall said of the visit. "I've got my mom, some friends, my girlfriend. It'll be great going down there with (coach Luke) Fickell and watching them play."
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Moeller is now 11-1 and St. Xavier finishes 5-7. Bombers coach Steve Specht consoled several of his payers afterward including his sophomore quarterback.
"He had a heck of a trial run as a 15-16-year-old sophomore," Specht said of Herbsteit. "He played in some tough games. He did some great things. He has some things he has to work on. I told him the offseason for you starts tomorrow. My heart breaks for the seniors but those underclassmen are going to have to start deciding what they want to from here."
In addition to Herbstreit being a sophomore, his go-to receiver Sharp returns as well as both of St. Xavier's top runners, Patrick and Steven Napier. Patrick ran for 133 yards on 22 carries Friday. Herbstreit was 13-for-22 passing for 122 yards and a touchdown to Sharp with 27 yards on the ground.
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Moeller's Crusaders play Mason in a regional semifinal game next Friday at 7 p.m. at a site to be announced. The Comets scored late to beat Springboro 29-26 Friday.
The other regional semi will feature Elder vs. Lakota West also Friday, Nov. 11 at 7 p.m. Winners will play Friday, Nov. 18 at 7 p.m. in the regional final to determine who advances to the state semifinals.
MOELLER 7 14 0 7 28
ST. XAVIER 0 0 7 0 7
M- Marshall 1-yard run (Mitchell kick)
M- Marshall 42-yard run (Mitchell kick)
M- Marshall 4-yard run (Mitchell kick)
StX - Herbstreit 26-yard pass to Sharp (Cengia kick)
M - Marshall 62-yard run (Mitchell kick)
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Moeller eliminates St. Xavier in Ohio high school football matchup
