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Elder dismantles St. Xavier 51-26

WEST PRICE HILL, Ohio – The Elder Panthers found themselves trailing at halftime but scored on the first play of the second half, never looking back on a 51-26 dismantling of St. Xavier at The Pit.

The win for the Panthers was its first one at home against the Bombers since a 33-15 victory in 2008.

Elder quarterback Michael Bittner enjoyed a career night for the Panthers but one of his few mistakes turned out to actually spark the Panthers.

Bittner threw an interception that St. Xavier cornerback B.J. Ferguson returned 62-yards to the end zone for a pick-six with less than a minute left before halftime. This gave the Bombers a 14-10 lead going into the intermission.

Elder bounced back in a big way to begin the third quarter. Bittner connected with Matthew Luebbe on the first play of the second half for a 78-yard pass and run giving Elder a 17-14 advantage.

“We have a long history of not coming out in the second half very hot,” said Bittner. “I told the guys in the locker room that we had to be ready to go.” 

The Panthers went on to score 27 points in the third quarter while producing 569 yards of total offense for the game.

Bittner was the offensive workhorse throwing for 392 yards on 17-for-23 passing and gaining 97 more yards on the ground. The senior quarterback threw for three touchdowns and ran for three more accounting for six of Elder’s seven touchdowns on the night.

The Elder defense was equally as good especially in the second half. The Panthers defense intercepted St. Xavier quarterback Wyatt Hudepohl three times. The most memorable one was an interception by Ronnie Wainscott that was returned 98 yards despite the fact that he did not score on the play.

The Bombers were down 37-20 and driving for a score to cut into the Elder lead early in the fourth quarter. Wainscott stepped in front of a Hudepohl pass just in front of the goal line and ran it back before being caught from behind just before crossing the plane for a touchdown. 

Bittner scored on the next play to finish the job for Wainscott and put the game out of reach at that point 44-20.

Wainscott along with Zach Bischoff and Steven Segar all intercepted a pass during the game for the Elder defense. Kalib Dailey lead the way with 11 tackles for the Panthers.

Bittner threw touchdown passes to three different receivers. Kyle Trischler lead the receiving corps with seven catches, 117 yards and one score. Joe Royer also has a touchdown catch as part of this four receptions for 88 yards.

 

Luke Masminster chipped in with a rushing touchdown which was the only Elder score that Bittner did not account for durning the victory.

St Xavier took the opening kickoff of the game and methodically drove down the field scoring the game’s first touchdown on 13-yard pass play to Patrick McIntyre.

Elder evened the score on the ensuing possession when Bittner scored from the one-yard line. The Panthers took in the lead 10-7 second quarter on a 29-yard field goal by Sam Harmeyer.

St. Xavier took the lead 14-10 on Ferguson’s interception return for a touchdown but that was final advantage the Bombers enjoyed for the rest of the night.

SCORE BY QUARTERS
St. Xavier 7-7-6-6 – 26
Edler 7-3-27-14 – 51

SCORING PLAYS
X – Patrick McIntryre 13-yard catch from Wyatt Hudepohl (Joe Sullivan kick).
E – Michael Bittner 1-yard TD run (Sam Harmeyer kick).
E – Sam Harmeyer 29-yard field goal
X – B.J. Ferguson 60-yard interception return (Joe Sullivan kick).
E – Matthew Luebbe 78-yard catch from Michael Bittner (Sam Harmeyer kick).
X – Jared Kremer 13-yard catch from Wyatt Hudepohl (kick failed).
E – Kyle Trischler 71-yard catch from Michael Bittner (Sam Harmeyer kick).
E – Michael Bittner 1-yard TD run (Sam Harmeyer kick).
X – Patrick McIntryre 6-yard catch from Wyatt Hudepohl (pass failed).
E – Michael Bittner 1-yard TD run (Sam Harmeyer kick).

RECORDS: St. Xavier (2-4, 0-2); Elder (4-2, 1-0)
UP NEXT: St. Xavier @ LaSalle (4-2, 1-1) Elder vs Moeller (5-1, 2-0) at Nippert Stadium.

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