A rivalry for the ages

Tonight, at the corner of Vincent and Regina in Price Hill, in one of the best places in America to watch a high school football game, two rivals will square off in a game that will have a playoff feel. One team, in dire need of a win to have any chance of making the playoffs, will clash with their most bitter rival, a team that needs a win to stay alive in the hunt for the postseason. Elder and St. X; does it get any better than this?

In the past ten years, these two hated rivals have met and decided GCL championships, and sometimes regional championships. Moments like a 97-yard touchdown run, a triple-overtime thriller, and a fourth down conversion to seal the deal have made this rivalry one to watch no matter what the circumstances are.

And these games are full of future college stars. Former Ohio State backup quarterback Robby Schoenhoft played for the St. Xavier Bombers, as did current Louisville DB Darius Ashley. Last season, then-UC head coach Brian Kelly showed up to the game, trying to rein in Matt James. James committed to Kelly when Kelly left for Notre Dame.

Elder has had its fair share of stars as well. Speaking of Brian Kelly, two current Fighting Irish tight ends played for Elder—Kyle Rudolph and Alex Welch. Former UC quarterback turned defensive end Craig Carey played in a few Elder-St. X matchups, as did Bradley Glatthaar, who scored a team-high 8 touchdowns for UC in 2007.

This season has been shaky for Elder, who sits at 2-3, and has very little shot of making the playoffs because the Panthers only play nine regular season games this year. St. X started off with a loss on national TV, but rebounded, winning three straight games before last week’s loss to fellow GCL-South rival Moeller.
Elder has a chance to play spoiler tonight and knock St. X off the track to a playoff bid. Elder’s not completely done, though, but it will take wins over St. X, Moeller and LaSalle to win the GCL and make a run for the playoffs.

Even though the game is being played at Elder, the Cincinnati Enquirer this morning said look for St. X to “pull out a hard fought road game in this year's edition of one of Cincinnati's best rivalries.”

At the beginning of the decade, St. Xavier owned the rivalry, winning six straight games against Elder, including a Region 4 championship game at a packed Nippert Stadium. Back then, years before Brian Kelly was ever known in Cincinnati, the Bearcats would barley draw 10 to 15 thousand fans to a game. This high school game brought out 35,000, and maybe even more.

In 2002, the tides turned and Elder took their first win over the Bombers since Doug Ramsey became head coach at Elder. Elder went on to win a first-round playoff matchup against St. X, and the school’s first ever state football title. In 2003, Elder beat St. X at the newly redesigned Ballaban Field.

St. X took a triple-overtime win at Elder Stadium (the official name for the place affectionately known as “The Pit”) in 2004, and dominated the series until 2008, when Elder rolled St. X at home.

Even though St. X won last year’s regular season game at St. X, the regional semi-final game came down to a fourth down conversion to seal the deal for the Panthers. Alex Welch brought in a pass on fourth and one to nail down the win for Elder.

So, ten plus months later, it’s time for the 91st installment of this series, which began in 1923. Elder leads the all-time series with a record of 48-36-6.

Who do you have tonight?

I’ll take an inspired Elder Panther team, led by a raucous home crowd. Go Panthers!
*Photos from Elder Archives and EHSports.com