Playoff Preview: Sycamore vs. St. Xavier

There now are only eight teams left in the OHSAA Division I playoffs. St. Xavier and Sycamore face off this Friday night for the first time since 2002, but this time in the region IV final. This is the farthest that Sycamore has ever gotten in their six trips to the playoffs, while St. Xavier is no stranger to the bright lights of the post-season.

Sycamore’s Jake Borman (photo by Mitchell Cooke/TSF).

St. X is coming off of an overtime upset of the State’s top ranked team in Colerain, 29-23, and is looking to capture it’s third state title in school history. Sycamore won a tough battle against their GMC rival Mason last week, 20-7, and hopes to continue its historic run by defeating perhaps one of the toughest opponents it has faced all year in the Bombers.

This will be the fourth GMC-GCL South matchup that the Division I playoffs have given us. So far, two of them has been decided by six points or less. Expect yet another tight game that could come down to the wire. Neither team was expected to make it this far in the postseason, so expect players on both sides to go all out, as every player will be playing with a chip on their shoulder.

The winner will claim bragging rights as the top Division I team in Cincinnati, and would go on to face the winner of Wayne and Pickerington Central in the state semi-final matchup.

No. 7 SYCAMORE AVIATORS (8-4) vs. No. 5 ST. XAVIER BOMBERS (7-5)

Kickoff: Friday, November 18^th, 7:30 p.m. – Hamilton Virgil M. Schwarm Stadium

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PLAYERS TO WATCH: Senior running back Ra’Von Bonner continues to dominate for Sycamore. He carried the ball 38 times for 174 yards and two touchdowns last week against Mason, and also had a 61-yard kickoff return.

St. Xavier quarterback Sean Clifford (TSF staff photo).

Bonner now has over 2,100 rushing yards on the season, and was recently named to the Division I AP Southwest District first team. Expect for him to run all over the Bomber defense. Christian Kelly, Aves DB, has two interceptions, two fumble recoveries and a fumble return for a touchdown in Sycamore’s two playoff games so far. He will for sure be trying to lock down the pass heavy Xavier offense. Senior QB Jake Borman is looking to bounce back after a disappointing game against Mason. He was held to just 36 passing yards and an interception last week after averaging over 140 yards per game before that. Borman was also named to the Division I AP Southwest District first team, and if Sycamore wants to win, he’ll need to play like a first-teamer.

Sean Clifford played well off the bench against a top rated Colerain defense last week. The Penn State commit went 10/21 for 131 passing yards and a touchdown, while also running for a touchdown with 87 rushing yards on 22 carries. His performance came just a week after QB Chase Wolf’s big game against Fairfield, where he went 21 of 33 with 257 passing yards and four touchdowns. Both men have combined to throw for over 2,000 yards and 19 touchdowns on the season. No matter who is under center, St. X will need a big game through the air from one of those two in order to get the ball to their talented receiving core. Carl Grimm is leading a prolific Bomber defense into this game. He totaled 10 tackles last week, and sparked the 4^th quarter comeback with a blocked punt return for a touchdown. He leads all of St. X with 86 tackles on the season, so look for him to play a big role in stopping the hot Sycamore offense.

TEAM TRENDS: After starting the season 2-4, Sycamore is currently on a six game win streak, in which they’ve held their opponents to an average of 12.2 points per game. Bonner is averaging nearly 209 yards during that streak. In their last game against Mason, their defense held the Comets to just 90 yards of total offense, which included holding RB Matt Sora, who was averaging 111 rushing yards per game, to just 42 yards on the ground. The longest gain of the night they allowed was a nine-yard rushing touchdown to Sora. The Aviator’s defense has been a force to be reckoned with recently, and they will need to stay hot if they want to shut down the Bomber’s air attack.

Sycamore RB Ra’Von Bonner (photo by Justin Sheldon/TriStateFootball.com)

St. Xavier has now scored at least 28 points in three straight games. In each of the Bomber’s seven wins this season, they have put at least 20 points on the scoreboard. In losses, they haven’t put up more than 18. In their first playoff game against Fairfield, their defense gave up just 201 yards of total offense. This past week against Colerain, they allowed more than double the yardage against Fairfield, and let Colerain rack up 405 yards on offense. The Bombers were also held to just three third down conversions on 13 attempts. However, the Bombers are still +4 in the turnover margin this post season. Their defense will need to step up and stop a deliberating Sycamore offense if they want a chance to move on in the playoffs.

SYCAMORE KEYS TO VICTORY: Put pressure on the Bomber O-line, and create lanes for your star player. Sycamore has just three sacks so far this post season. If they can do a better job of putting pressure on the St. X quarterbacks, they could take out the Bomber’s biggest weapon. Also if their corners can keep the receivers locked down, it would provide more time for the D-line to get there. On offense, Bonner has been a stud. There’s no other way to put it. If the ball is in his hands, you have a great chance to win. Open up some running room and let the kid run free and make some big plays.

XAVIER KEYS TO VICTORY: Stop Ra’Von and air it out. Last week against Colerain, the Bombers faced another gritty back in Monalo Caldwell. They allowed him to rush for 127 yards on 21 carries. Bonner touched the ball 38 times last week against Mason. The entire Ave’s offense revolves around Bonner, so if you can stop him, you can win the game. On offense, the QBs in Wolf and Clifford need to make big plays. Clifford found receiver Nicholas Moeller on a 20-yard TD pass in overtime to end the game last week. No team has been able to find an answer recently as to how to stop the QB tandem, so if they can continue to play well, they should win the game.

Prediction: St. Xavier 24, Sycamore 21

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