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Moeller outlasts St. Xavier

MASON, Ohio – St. Xavier and Moeller renewed their rivalry for the second time this season in the regional finals on Friday night. The atmosphere was electric as the Bombers and Crusaders clashed for a chance to advance to the state final four. Steve Specht and his squad were looking to make their way back to the final four for the first time since 2020 when they were crowned state champions. Moeller and coach Bathiany sought to get back to the final four for the fourth consecutive season with hopes of making the title game for the first time during that span. A lot was on the line and all the fans and players were excited for a chance to make their goals come to fruition.

 

The first half was a back-and-forth affair between the two rivals. Chase Herbstreit led his team down the field in the first quarter with a nice passing game early on. The drive would be capped by a 22-yard field goal from Owen Davidson to give the Bombers the early lead. The Bombers dominated most of the time of possession on the quarter after an early Moeller drive went south on a bad snap. The Crusaders however would make quick work at the end of the first quarter. Quarterback Matt Ponatoski was on target in the passing game and led his offense down the field. Ponatoski would finish the drive himself with a 1-yard plunge into the endzone and a 7-3 lead after a quarter of play.

 

The Bombers would show off the offensive prowess in the second quarter. St. Xavier used a solid rushing attack mixed with timely passes from Herbstreit to once again dominate the time of possession. Herbstreit did work with his legs as well but his arm was the difference on a pair of drives. Herbstreit twice hooked up with running back Daniel Vollmer for touchdowns in the quarter. First there was a 10-yard score and then later a 12-yard passing score to Vollmer. Impressively the Bombers had put up 14 points in the quarter. Sandwiched between those two scores was a quick Moeller strike. Ponatoski went to the air and after some short gains, he found a 33-yard touchdown pass to a wide open Landen Adams. St. Xavier however took momentum into the half by forcing a Moeller punt late in the quarter and running out the clock on the first half. St. Xavier led 17-14.

 

St. Xavier outgained Moeller 199-140 in the first half and dominated the time of possession 16:31-7:29. St. Xavier had 13 first downs to the Crusaders 8.

 

Moeller forced punts on the first two St. Xavier possessions to start the third quarter. Moeller then got some things going on the offensive side of the ball on their second possession. Ponatoski hit a long pass to get the Crusaders in business and a couple of plays later he found tight end Cooper McCutchen for a 11-yard touchdown pass. Moeller regained the lead at 21-17 late in the third quarter. St. Xavier went back on the offensive as Herbstreit hit a couple of nice passes but the drive eventually stalled out as the Moeller defense once again forced a St. Xavier punt. Moeller took over again late in the third quarter.

 

Running back Tyler Joselyn took over on the drive. He hit a 50 plus yard run to jumpstart the drive and the Crusaders kept feeding him throughout the drive. Ponatoski left the game for several plays due to injury and Joselyn stayed the catalyst. He would punch in a 2-yard rush for the score to give Moeller a 28-17 lead with 9:19 left to play in the game. St. Xavier would get the ball back in a must score situation. The Bombers obliged and went on a long drive. The Bombers continued dominating the time of possession but this time it somewhat played against them as the clock continued to run. St. Xavier made it to the 1-yd line but back-to-back quarterback sneaks were stopped by Moeller and the Crusaders turned the Bombers over on downs with just over five minutes remaining in the game.

 

The Crusaders were able to move the ball and get the Bombers to use their timeouts but they had to punt. That punt was blocked by Braydon Reilly who then scooped and scored on the return. The 2-point conversion failed, and the Bombers needed an onside recovery to have any chance for a miracle. Moeller would recover the onside and run out the clock on a victory. 

 

Again, it was Ponatoski who was a star for Moeller. The junior quarterback accounted for three of the four Moeller touchdowns and continually hit open receivers in small windows to push his team down the field and into the state final four for his third time. Ponatoski was 16/21 for 238 yards and 2 touchdowns to go along with his one rushing score. Moeller will play Wayne next week in the final four. 

 

SCORING BY QUARTERS

St. Xavier: 3-14-0-6-23

Moeller: 7-7-7-7-28

 

SCORING PLAYS

S: Owen Davidson 22-yd field goal

M: Matt Ponatoski 1-yd rush (Jack Mallabar kick)

S: Daniel Vollmer 10-yd rec from Chase Herbstreit (Owen Davidson kick)

M: Landen Adams 33-yd rec from Matt Ponatoski (Mallabar kick)

S: Daniel Vollmer 12-yd rec from Herbstreit (Davidson kick)

M: Cooper McCutchen 11-yd rec from Ponatoski (Mallabar kick)

M: Tyler Joselyn 2-yd rush (Mallabar kick)

S: Braydon Reilly (blocked) punt return (2-pt failed)

 

RECORDS: St. Xavier (10-3); Moeller (13-1)

UP NEXT: OHSAA Division I, State Semifinal vs. xxx

 

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