Kevin's GCL South Sports Blog

Standings thru Week 5
LaSalle 5-0
Moeller 5-0 (1-0)
St. Xavier 3-2 (0-1)
Elder 2-3

Most surprising team so far: Moeller

Most disappointing team so far: St. Xavier

MVP: Moeller RB Tucker Skove 139 rushing attempts for 731 yards 12 TDs

The first five weeks of the season have been nothing but pure madness. High scoring, low scoring, last second wins and losses, and much much more. Looking at the schedules during the offseason, I thought to myself, "How can these schools play elite teams week in and week out." Well the GCL south never complains about it.

Moeller so far has been the top team in the division. A superb run game lead by running back Tucker Skove has propelled the Crusader offense an outstanding 181 points. The duel QB system run by Coach Rodenberg has worked well so far (600 plus yards and 7 TDs). Though with the big men up front Charlie Fiessinger and Spencer Iacovone do not have to scramble to find open receivers. As long as Moeller can pound the ball up the middle and off tackle they will be hard to beat.

LaSalle has been a pleasant surprise to head coach Tom Grippa. Coming off another mediocre season in '09 they were looking to make some noise. The Lancers are lead by a balanced offense attack. QB Drew Kummer has passed for 839 yards and 13 TDs with just 3 INTs. The experience of Kummer on varsity has proplled him to feel more comfortable in the pocket this year and wait for that extra second to hit the open receiver. Running back Matt Farrell has had a superb year with 60 rushes for 432 yards and 7 TDs. If LaSalle wants to have success in the second half of the season then they need to continuing running the ball well to open up the pass game.

St. Xavier has had a very tough schedule so far with 5 top tier opponents. After starting with nationally ranked Dematha (Md.)they followed with Indy Cathedral, Louisville St. X and Trinity, and Moeller. St. Xavier has struggled mightly offensively this season. They are last out of the four schools with only 276 yards per game total average. The lone bright spot for the Bomber offense has been RB Connor Hundley. On the season he has 109 rushes for 781 yards and 7 TDs. If not for Hundly the Bombers may not have a win this season. On the other side of the ball, St. Xavier has been very strong once again. The St. X defense allows just 241 yards per game and limits opponents to 19% on third down opportunities. If QB Nick Albers can sustain some rhythm and take some pressue of Hundley, then the Bombers could run the table the rest of the way.

Elder like Moeller and St. X has been basted with a tough schedule to start the season. After a great opening victory against Division 2 power Winton Woods, Elder has only shown small glimpses of last year's State Runner-up team.

Sorry for the delay fellow bloggers. I have been a little delayed with sleep, job searching/interviewing, and other random things. Thankfully it is time to getting back to the fun stuff, my blog. Alot has happend recently since I last blogged, good and bad for the four schools, but I will update you on each fall sport. I no longer will talk individually about a football game unless I attend because there is always a story on the Enquirer website. My first topic will be football followed by soccer, golf, and cross country.

St. Xavier 2-2-0
Moeller 1-2-2
Elder 1-1-2
LaSalle 0-2-3

As the season has begun, one can see that the four schools have had some tightly contested matches in their non-conference part of the schedule. After looking at the statistics of all four teams it seems they all have one thing in common: lack of goal scorers. Moeller has led the way with 6 total goals for the season, with 4 of them coming in their first game against Lakota West. St. Xavier senior Kenny Archbold is currently leading the GCL South with 4 goals in 5 games for the Bombers.

St. Xavier is currently ranked fourth in the city, Moller sixth, and the other two schools unranked. This looks like this may be a tough year for any of the squads to advance far during tournament time. Though I have been wrong before and I hope I am. League play will not disappoint and I expect many 2-1, 1-1, or 2-0 games. The discipline and hard work set by these teams will hopefully pay off for them in the OHSAA tourney. Good Luck to all four teams!!

Here are some upcoming games for each school. Go out and support the soccer teams, soccer is a great sport to watch in person. We all remember how great the 2010 World Cup was.

Elder: Tuesday Sept. 14 vs. Alter, Saturday Sept. 18th at St. Xavier, and Sept. 21st vs. Covington Catholic

LaSalle: Saturday Sept. 11th vs. Northmont, Tuesday Sept. 14th at Cov Cath, and Tuesday Sept. 21st at CJ

Moeller: Saturday Sept. 11th vs. CJ, Saturday Sept. 18th vs. North Central, and
Tuesday Sept. 21st at Carroll

St.Xavier: Saturday Sept. 11th at Fairfield, Tuesday September 14th vs. Fenwick, and Saturday September 18th vs. Elder

For the past two seasons, the Elder Panthers have faced Colerain and walked away with victories both times. Colerain wanted to make sure that history did not repeat itself this time around. A standing room only crowd will witness one of the worst losses in Panther history.

From the first drive to the final horn, Colerain worked its game plan to perfection. Colerain QB Tyler Williams got the scoring started with a 12 yard TD run to put the Cardinals up 7-0 with 9:36 left in the opening quarter. Elder responded quickly with a Josh Freidel 8 yard TD reception four minutes later, but once again like in the previous week Elder was unable to convert the extra point. Just as Elder was building some momentum from the quick touchdown, Williams was able to take the Cardinals to the house again. This time Williams busted through the Elder defense for a 77 yard TD run just 13 seconds after the Elder score. To the dismay of Elder nation, this was not the last time Colerain would put some points on the board in the first quarter.

Colerain built the lead to 20-6 when fullback Curtis Jester took a Williams handoff 60 yards for the score. For the second time this season Elder trailed at halftime, but this time by a wider margain and against a superior opponent than Winton Woods. Down 14 at half, Coach Ramsey probably felt that if his team could sustain some long drives, forcing Colerain to pass on 3rd down, and creating a few turnovers then they could get back into this game in a heartbeat.

Elder started off the second half as a team on the verge of a comeback. Elder QB Ben Gramke hooked up with Max Mazza on a 12 yard TD pass to cut the Cardinal lead to 8. The Panthers failed on the two point conversion, but more importantly it was now a one possession game at 20-12 with 10:27 left in the third quarter. Colerain QB Tyler Williams responded to the Panther TD on the next drive with his own TD. Williams broke through the Elder secondary for a 27 yard TD run and just about eliminated all hope of a Panther victory. Elder would not score the rest of the game, but Colerain was able to add on 17 more points. The final on this matchup of Number 1 and 2 would be: Colerain 44 Elder 12.

I did not attend the game, but it seemed to me that Colerain's offensive line controlled the tempo of the game. If they are able to control the clock and work the option to its potential then they are one of the hardest teams in probably the country to beat. Elder was led by Ben Coffaro once again. He rushed for 90 yards on 15 carries and also had 4 receptions for 40 yards. Elder QB Ben Gramke's stat line was as followed: 18-28 143 yards 2 TDs and 2 INTs.

Next up for Elder is an away game at Louisville Trinity. This will be a definite test for the Panthers. Trinity is always one of the best teams in the top class in the state of Kentucky. Good Luck to the Panthers, hopefully they can defeat them as easily as they did last year at Elder.

Here are some team statistics from the Colerain-Elder game courtesy of gclsports.com.

The second game of the day at St. Xavier featured the nation's top QB Braxton Miller against Moeller on ESPNU. Miller started out strong for Huber Heights Wayne with a 27 yd TD run halfway through the first quarter to grab a quick 7-0 lead. Moeller responded with TD run of their own by Tyler Skove from 6 yards out to tie the score at 7.

The Warriors then took a 28-7 lead on two Miller TD runs of 75,31 and a 17 yard INT return for a TD. Skove once again showed all watching that he was a force to reckoned with on this day. Just before halftime Skove scampered from 6 yards out to cut the Warriors lead to 28-14 with 11 seconds left before halftime. The late touchdown by Skove made believers in the Crusaders that they can get back into this game and get a "W".

Moeller head coach John Rodenberg must have stressed at halftime that they must contain Miller a bit and sustain some long drives. The halftime talk must have worked because Moeller came roaring out with a TD run by Skove once again on the first drive to cut the lead to 7. After a Warrior punt, Skove scored again on the what might have been the play of the game. On fourth down on the Warrior 12, Moeller went for it and drew up a screen pass to Skove for his fourth TD that sent the Crusader fans into a frenzy. After three quarters the score was now tied at 28. The Crusader defense held strong in the 3rd quarter with allowing just one yard of offense to Wayne.

The fourth quarter consisted of a chess match between the two squads, but neither team getting on the scoreboard. Finally after a Wayne punt, Moeller gained possession on its own 34 with only a few minutes left. Nine plays later, Skove once again answered the call with a leaping one yard TD with 11 seconds left. Wayne was unable to have a "Music City Miracle" comeback on the following kickoff and Moeller stood tall with a 35-28 victory. What a game for the Moeller Crusaders!!

A tale of two halves. What amazing adjustments by the Moeller coaching staff at halftime to contain Miller (just 29 yards on 13 carries in the second half) and the Warrior offense. Moeller racked up 461 yards of offense (227 passing and 234 rushing) compared to Wayne's 295 yards. Skove led the Moeller running attack with 32 carries for 151 yards and 5 (1 receiving)TDs. The Crusader receiving corp was led by Monty Madaris's 5 catches for 111 yards.

Next for Moeller is Hamilton on Saturday September 4th at 7:30 at Lockland Stadium. Good Luck Crusaders!

Here are some team statistics from the game courtesy of gclsports.com

St. Xavier in 2010 through three quarters of the first game looked like another strong Steve Specht squad. Strong, smart, athletic, and scrappy could describe many of the teams Specht has coached at his time at St. Xavier. After three quarters, the Ballaban Field scoreboard read Bombers 6 Falcons 0. Like many other GCL South fans I assumed St. Xavier would hold on and win 6-0 or lets say 13-7. Well contrary to my belief and many others this did not happen.

The day started off fantastic for the Bombers with an opening drive of 70 yards that was cappped off by a Connor Hundley 11 yard TD run. Though the extra point was missed, the Bomber team felt confident in its strong start, especially new QB Nick Albers. On the drive Albers went 3 for 3 for 54 yards. Unfortuntaley for the Bomber offense this was all the points they could muster again Good Counsel High School. The rest of the first half the Bomber defense stifled the Falcons and held them to zero points.

As the second half began one was wondering if one score for Good Counsel would be enough for them to win. Good Counsel blew two chances to take the lead with a TD called back on a penalty and a punt return nullified by a Falcon miscue. Fortunately for the Falcons their luck was about to change. From the 9:18 mark of the 4th quarter on they scored three TDs to take a commanding 21-6 lead. A 3 yard TD run along with back to back interception returns for TDs put the Bombers in an almost insurmountable hole. The final from St. Xavier was Good Counsel 21 St. Xavier 6.

St. Xavier QB Nick Albers hopefully had his worst game of his career. Albers was 10 of 31 for 108 yards and 4 INTs. Connor Hundley led the Bomber ground game with 15 carries for 60 yards and had the only Bomber TD. Next up for the Bombers is Indinapolis Cathedral Prep on September 3rd at 7:30 at St. Xavier. Good Luck Bombers!

Here are some team statistics from the game courtesy of gclsports.com

As the Lancers embark on a season where they feel they have the necessary means to reach the top of the GCL South. Unfortunately the game started off to familiar for the Lancers and quarterback Drew Kummer. Last season it seemed as if Kummer and the Lancer offense could never click as a unit. After each team failed to score in their opening drives, Lakota West struck first on a tipped interception TD from Lucas Gobell. While Lakota West seemed to generate a little momentum with an early 6-0 lead, the Lancer team never seemed to let go of its game plan.

The Lancer offense seemed set from the first drive to pound the ball up the gut and off tackle to wear down the Lakota West defense. Senior running back finally got the Lancers on the scoreboard with 1 yard TD run with 6:44 left in the first half. After the Lancers derailed another Lakota West drive, Kummer connected with senior wide receiver Matt Woeste on a 9 yard pass. This touchdown was all the Lancers needed as they headed to half with a 14-6 lead.

The second half showcased once again a strong LaSalle run game. For the game the Lancers rushed 43 times for 261 yards and 2 TDs. Along with the run game, Kummer was able to find seams in the Lakota West defense. Senior wide receiver Brett Wiebell was able to haul in 5 catches for 87 yards to lead the Lancers. Wiebell was within inches of another 70 plus yard catch after a Kummer pass was just out of his reach with no defender in hit site early in the 4th quarter.

Lakota West was only able to muster up one strong drive in the second half, but it stalled on 4th and goal late in the 4th quarter. The second half scoring was all Lancers, with Farrell adding another short TD run and Antonio Nelson bringing in a 10 yard TD reception from Kummer. The final score read LaSalle 28 Lakota West 6.

LaSalle next faces Covington Catholic at LaSalle Friday September 3rd at 7:30. Here are some team statistics from gclsports.com from the game. Good Luck Lancers against Covington Catholic!

From the first possession till the final horn, Ben Coffaro was there to guide the Panthers to victory over the Winton Woods Warriors. For the night Coffaro had 350 all-purpose yards (90 rushing, 137 receiving, and 130 return yards).

New starting quarterback Ben Gramke started the Panthers off on the right foot with a 4 yard TD pass on their first possession to grab a 6-0 lead. The tide began to turn a little after this with Winton Woods scoring 13 unanswered points to take a 13-6 lead halfway through the second quarter. Not to be undaunted, Coffaro and the Panthers began to slowly take over the game towards halftime. Gramke threw a short pass to Coffaro and he was able to weave through a few Warrior defenders for a 50 yard TD run. As the clock hit triple zeros at Nippert Stadium in the second quarter Elder trailed by just one, 13-12.

Elder head coach Doug Ramsey did a great job of preparing his team for a strong second half. The Panthers received the opening kick and made good use of great blocking up front. Coffaro scampered 99 yards for another Elder touchdown. This was the longest kickoff return for a TD in Panther history. A record that stood for 32 years was broken on a night that Coffaro will never forget.

The rest of the Panther scoring consisted of two Gramke TD passes of 58 and 17 yards, along with a 43 yard run by junior tailback Cody Fox. Winton Woods was able to muster only one more touchdown on the night when it cut the Panther lead to 24-21. After the Panther lead was cut to just a FG, Gramke continued the offensive attack by generating two more scores to take a commanding 38-21 lead. After Fox's TD run put Elder up 17 the scoring stopped and Panther nation felt comfortable with a 38-21 win over a talented Winton Woods team.

The Panthers moved up to number two in the city rankings and will face number one Colerain in week two at "The Cage" on Cheviot Road. That will be a tight game that could very easily go either way. Elder last year defeated Colerain at the Pit on ESPN, but TV or no TV the Cardinals are definitely out for some revenge.

Here is a box score I found from GCLsports.com of the game:

Winton Woods Elder
1st Downs 9 13
Total Yards 248 370
Passing Completions 4 12
Passing Attempts 9 19
Passing Yards 96 261
Passing Average 10.7 13.7
Rushing Attempts 43 27
Rushing Yards 152 109
Rushing Average 3.5 4.0
3rd Down Eff. 2-13 5-10
4th Down Eff. 2-2 0-1
Penalties 6-48 4-28
Turnovers 1 1
Possession 27:07 20:48