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St. X Fends Off Manual to Win Kroger KSR Game of the Week

IMG_8756by:Daniel Hager•10/08/22•

DanielHagerKSR

St. X, high school football
Photo by Steven Peake | Kentucky Sports Radio

DuPont Manual (#4 in KSR’s Week 7 Top 25) traveled to St. Xavier (#1 in KSR’s Week 7 Top 25) Friday night and gave them all they could bargain for in this week’s edition of the Kroger KSR Game of the Week. Brother Thomas More Page Stadium was packed full of Tiger and Crimsons fans, who have been enjoying very successful seasons to this point.

Manual Gets Off to Strong Start

After missing the Tigers’ last game against Ryle, junior starting quarterback Trevor Havill was back in the saddle. In his team’s first five games of the season, Havill completed nearly 49% of his passes for 503 yards and a 6:3 TD/INT ratio. Havill’s return was a welcome addition, but it got off to a bit of a rocky start.

With 7:47 remaining in the first quarter, an unsuspecting Havill was stripped at mid-field by Manual senior Dominic Shoulders, who had two sacks in the game. The ball was picked up by senior Miles Rhodes and returned 50 yards for a touchdown. The Manual section erupted in elation as their Crimsons had come out swinging.

Although their team got off to a great start, the Manual faithful didn’t want to get their hopes up. They had lost 32 of the last 33 matchups against the Tigers, so they knew there was a whole lot of game left to play.

On the ensuing possession, Havill missed the team’s leading receiver Marlon Harbin on a slant pass that would have given them a first down but instead resulted in a turnover on downs. Manual was in a great position to really make a statement before the end of the first quarter but couldn’t finish. They would instead settle for a 28-yard Parker Friedman field goal.

Photo by Steven Peake | Kentucky Sports Radio

St. Xavier Overcomes Slow Start

After going down 10-0, St. X settled down and dominated the time of possession.

“After the first quarter, we played pretty well on offense,” said coach Kevin Wallace after the game. “We moved the ball with some consistency and found some things we could do. In the passing game, we wore them down a bit, but the turnovers prevented us from putting points on the board.”

With time winding down in the first half, Havill would connect with senior Zach Marks in the endzone for the Tigers’ first score of the game. This would give them some positive halftime momentum that they would build upon in the second half.

St. X would get the ball after the break, and once again drove right down the field. As Coach Wallace said, turnovers preventing them from putting points on the board have plagued them throughout the season. Out of the wildcat formation, senior Adam Boone fumbled at the goal line and Manual caught another huge break.

Tiger Defense Triumphs

The St. Xavier defense, led by Purdue commit Micah Carter, repeatedly shut the door on any Manual attempt at opening the game up and gave their offense a chance to win the game. With 26 seconds remaining in the third quarter, Boone would redeem himself and score this time on the QB sneak to give the Tigers their first lead of the day.

After missing a field goal to make it a seven-point game with 4:45 to play, the St. X defense would force yet another three and out. This led to junior running back Davis Yates scoring the dagger touchdown with 2:29 to play.

“I couldn’t have asked for better blocking,” said an elated Yates, praising his offensive line. “We couldn’t have played any better. Coach gave us a great game plan and defense put us in great positions, along with our o-line. It was an all-around good game.”

With Manual’s loss to St. Xavier Friday night, they have now officially lost 33 of their last 34 head-to-head matchups, and five in a row. This was also Manual’s first loss of the season, which brings their record to 6-1. The Crimsons will face off against three-star Kentucky commit Jakob Dixon and Pleasure Ridge Park (6-2) next Friday night. The Tigers of St. X improve to 6-1 and will travel to 2-5 Butler next Friday night.

Kroger is a staple in your hometown community just like high school football. There’s nothing quite like Friday nights in the Bluegrass. We are honored to share this journey with Kroger and you for the third consecutive season. 

Past Kroger KSR Games of the Week

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2024-12-31