DeMatha Suffers A Rare Downer

Ohio Powerhouse Is Too Much for Stags: St. Xavier 28, DeMatha 7

CINCINNATI, Sept. 2 -- Playing before a partisan crowd some 500 miles from home, it felt like a typical game for the Washington area's most dominant high school football team. Only this time, for top-ranked DeMatha, the roles were reversed.

Instead of controlling the game and eventually putting away an overmatched opponent, DeMatha was the team holding on and trying to stay close. After a blocked punt midway through the fourth quarter, the Stags finally succumbed, losing to St. Xavier, 28-7, in the Burger King Kirk Herbstreit Ohio vs. USA Challenge before a crowd of 15,000 at Nippert Stadium.

The season-opening loss ended DeMatha's school-record 22-game winning streak and is believed to be the Stags' most lopsided defeat since a 34-0 loss to Cincinnati Moeller in this stadium in 1980.

"Ohio football is the real deal," DeMatha running back Ashby Christian said.

Aside from one drive after recovering a fumble, DeMatha mustered little offense, failing to get a first down on seven of its 11 possessions. The team's standout receivers, All-Met Kenny Tate and Virginia recruit Rodney McLeod, totaled just 32 yards on five catches. Junior Tom Chroniger struggled in his first start at quarterback.

"You've got Tommy in a really tough situation -- it's hard," DeMatha Coach Bill McGregor said. "You're not playing a game to get something under your belt. You're playing the best from the very beginning."

McGregor thought DeMatha was at a disadvantage after having a recent scrimmage with second-ranked Friendly canceled because of lightning, while St. Xavier (2-0) was playing its second game. Ranked No. 1 in Ohio by the Cincinnati Enquirer, however, the Bombers were without standout running back Darius Ashley, who sprained an ankle in the season opener.

Even without its star, though, St. Xavier dominated every facet. Quarterback John Hurley threw three touchdown passes, two to wide receiver Danny Milligan. Patrick Berning rushed for 99 yards and one touchdown.

Still, DeMatha seemed to have its chances. Christian's six-yard touchdown run tied the score at 7-7 in the first quarter. And while St. Xavier drove into DeMatha territory on each of its four first-half possessions, the Bombers led only 14-7 at halftime as a penalty stalled one potential scoring drive and another ended in a missed field goal.

DeMatha had a 59-yard pass negated by an illegal motion penalty on its first series of the third quarter. Later, after being stopped on third and one, the Stags failed to draw the defense offside, took a penalty for delay of game and punted. But after a 12-play drive, St. Xavier missed another field goal and it was still 14-7 entering the fourth quarter.

"Every time we would bend, I was upbeat that if we could score we're in good shape," McGregor said.

Finally, though, St. Xavier was able to break things open. A blocked punt set up Milligan's second touchdown catch for a 21-7 lead. And on the next play from scrimmage, Chroniger was intercepted, setting up the final score.

Notes : While DeMatha had just 132 yards of total offense, its defense allowed more points than it did in the first seven games of last season combined. . . . With St. Xavier's victory, Ohio teams had four victories in the 11-game event, including Cincinnati Elder's 41-34 victory over Charlotte Independence on Saturday, ending a 109-game winning streak for Independence, the second-longest in high school football history.