SHARONVILLE — It comes as no surprise to two longtime, area high school football coaches. Lakota West being pitted against St. Xavier in a Division I, Region 4 semifinal shouldn’t shock anyone.
“It’s the same thing we say after Week 1 every year, ‘See you in the playoffs,’” Bombers coach Steve Specht said. “We’ve been saying this for quite a while. These are great Week 1 games regardless of whether you win or lose. You find out a lot about yourself.”
“It’ll be another classic,” Firebirds coach Tom Bolden chimed in. “I told the kids, and we were just talking about it just there, I said, ‘This game, and much like when you get to this point, it comes down to you can view it as who makes the most plays or who doesn’t screw it up the most.’
“It just is what it is,” Bolden added. “It will be a battle. There’s no question about it. It will be physical. It’ll be awesome. It’ll be everything you want in high school football.”
No. 2 seed Lakota West (11-1) and No. 6 St. Xavier (9-3) will square off Friday night at Princeton’s Pat Mancuso Field in the fourth postseason meeting between the two schools.
The Firebirds beat Elder 20-14 last week, while the Bombers beat Winton Woods 22-10 to get to this point.
“We’ve prepared really, really hard — really been focused week in and week out — coaches and players,” Bolden said. “I think it’s helped that we’ve gotten better and better each week. We’ve had a chance to stay healthy. We’re fortunate enough to where the starters have gotten some rest. I think it’s been five of the last whatever games. They were able to rest a little bit in the second half, which is no disrespect to our opponents. That helped. But then again, hopefully it doesn’t hurt us as much because St. X is a battle-tested team. That’s one of those give-and-take things that you deal with.
“I think we’ve gotten better and better each week with our quarterback play. I think we’ve gotten healthy where we needed to get healthy. Defensively, we keep flying around and making plays.”
Lakota West senior quarterback Sam Wiles has thrown for 1,347 yards and 16 touchdowns, while rushing for 1,087 yards and 15 scores.
Lakota West senior linebackers Grant Beerman (92) and Micah Markley (84) lead the team in tackles.
“It’s the playoffs, so we’re coming out more focused with a higher intensity,” Firebirds junior linebacker Cam Thomas said. “Practices have been a lot harder I would say. … It’s win or go home at this point. So, we’re really taking it to heart, for sure.
“Historically, the last couple of years it’s been a big rivalry. Coach B and Coach Specht, they have a lot of history. We play them every year Week 1. They’re who we start the year off with. It’s X Week. From the start of the lift to Friday night, it’s X Week.”
St. Xavier leads the series 5-3, with the first meeting between the two schools coming in 2006 when St. Xavier won 44-3 in the Division I playoffs. The teams have split the last six meetings.
This is the fourth time both schools have met in postseason. St. Xavier won in 2006 and 2020, and Lakota West won in 2021. Lakota West beat St. Xavier 17-13 in this year’s season opener.
“Anytime playing St. X twice in one year, I’m like, ‘Yeah, it’s kind of the same as it ever was,’” Bolden said. “I’m sure Steve is thinking the same thing.
“There is so much respect between the coaching staff, and it kind of rubs off on the players. It’s violent, it’s physical — but the game is played the right way.”
Bolden was the head coach at Colerain from 2007 to 2018 and won 12 consecutive Greater Miami Conference titles there before coming to Lakota West in 2019.
Specht has been the head coach at St. Xavier since 2003, leading the program to state titles in 2005, 2007, 2016 and 2020.
“We’re different teams than what we were since Week 1,” Specht said. “We’re seasoned. We know who we are, and they know who they are. Let’s ‘ding, ding’ — another heavyweight battle.”
St. Xavier junior linebacker Kobe Clapper, the Greater Catholic League South Defensive Player of the Year, leads the conference with 92 tackles. He also has 4.5 sacks.
Bombers senior quarterback Chase Herbstreit has thrown for 1,378 yards and 16 touchdowns. He’s rushed for 544 yards and seven scores.
St. Xavier junior Daniel Vollmar has rushed for 628 yards and 15 total touchdowns. Junior Jake Britt leads the Bombers with 43 catches for 384 yards and five total touchdowns.
“I think defensively, our kids are playing at a high level since we’ve adjusted some things schematically throughout the season,” Specht said. “Offensively, we haven’t turned the ball over. That’s been a big point of emphasis all year long. That’s ball security.
“People will accuse me of not having the most exciting offense in the world, but I think we’re very complimentary — offensively, defensively and special teams.”
The winner plays in the regional finals next Friday night against Moeller or Princeton at a site to be determined.
