Wednesday, October 13, 1999
Elder-St. X winner gets GCL, maybe Moeller
Crusaders could still make playoffs
BY DAVE SCHUTTE
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The winner of Friday's showdown football game between Elder and St. Xavier could in a sense be the loser.
If everything goes as projected by Steve Shuck, an expert on the Harbin computer ratings that determine the Ohio high school football playoff field, the winner will probably finish first in the rankings while the loser finishes second or lower.
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ELDER at ST. XAVIER
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• When: 8 p.m. Friday
• Where: St.Xavier's Tom Ballaban Stadium, 600 West North Bend Rd., Finneytown
• Admission: $5
• At stake: Greater Catholic League South Division championship, coaches poll championship, state ranking, No.1 in Harbin computer rankings.
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Under guidelines for the playoffs established by the Ohio High School Athletic Association, the team finish ing No. 1 in the rankings will be at home against the No. 8 team — which will probably be Moeller if the Crusaders win out.
Although both Elder and St. Xavier defeated Moeller, neither coach Doug Ramsey (Elder) or Steve Rasso (St. X) wants any part of a second meeting with the Crusaders.
There's more at stake than just the home field advantage in this game.
The Greater Catholic League South Division championship also goes to the winner, along with the possibility of winning the Division I city title and the state championship as determined by the Associated Press poll.
Both coaches talked about defense as the key.
“St. X makes it tough to run by blitzing,” Ramsey said. “They put more people on the line than you can block. This is pretty much the same as last year and we've watch that film this week.”
Moeller employed the same strategy last week but the physical Elder offensive line was up to the task, enabling tailback Kyle Koester to rush for 202 yards on 33 carries.
“Stopping Koester is out biggest concern,” Rasso said. “No one person is going to tackle him. He's big, fast and runs low. People seem to bounce off of him.”
St. Xavier also has a ground attack in senior tailback Steve Sollmann, the school's all-time leading rusher who has 530 yards this season.
St. X sophomore quarterback Marty Mooney and Elder quarterback Collin Carey have similar statistics.
In seven games, Carey has completed 56-of-98 passes for 1,066 yards for 14 touchdowns; in five games, Mooney has completed 61-of-96 passes for 857 yards and 16 touchdowns.
If the Bombers have an advantage, it's receivers Michael Larkin (22 receptions), Eric Arling (14) and Nick Larsen (13) while Elder relies on Brett Mezger (18), Joel Wainscott (17) and Phil Rueve (13).
Elder has scored 280 points in seven games while allowing 55 points. The Bombers have 201 points and have allowed 44 in six.
With a crowd of more than 11,000 expected, kickoff has been moved back from 7:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.
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