Friday’s Ohio Division I state championship game between #11 ranked Pickerington Central Tigers and St. Xavier Bombers (Cincinnati) was a lopsided victory. St. Xavier defeated Pickerington Central 44-3 to end the Tiger’s perfect season and halt their quest for back-to-back titles and their third title in four years.
St. Xavier’s wide receiver Jalen Patterson exploded straight out the gate catching four touchdown passes in the first quarter.
Bombers quarterback Brogan McCaughey threw for almost 300 yards in the first quarter alone, completing 22 out of 33 passes and four touchdowns. Patterson also tied an Ohio state championship receiving record.
The Bombers also played a great game on defense lead by Grant Lyons.
Friday’s game was the first meeting between St. Xavier and Pickerington Central since 2016 when the Bombers beat the Tigers 29-27 in the semifinals to go on and defeat St. Ignatius (Cleveland) in a double-overtime thriller for the state championship.
Meanwhile, the Tigers came in averaging 257 yards rushing managed just 20 total rushing yards in the first half. A lot of that was credited to Lyons and nose guard Giovanni Albanese.
Pickerington Central got on the board with a 27-yard field goal at the start of the second quarter, but St. Xavier answered with two more touchdowns, including a 60-yard punt return by Gabriel Dubois.
Bomber’s coach Steve Spect in a post-game interview expressed how proud he was of these young men conquering all the craziness of 2020, and now they are state champions.
Both programs deserve a standing ovation.👏🏾
@ohsaasports
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