Topic: Football
St. Xavier vs. Male
Class 6A UK Orthopaedics State Football Finals (Championship)
Kroger Field
Lexington, KY
December 4, 2021
© 2021 by Ron Harrison
St. Xavier upset Male 31-21 to capture the Class 6A title. St. Xavier finished the season at 14-1 while Male suffered their first loss and finished the season at 13-1. Male led 13-7 at halftime but St. Xavier outscored the Bulldogs 24-8 in the second half. Prayers go out to the Schutte family as Male QB Nic Schutte lost his father earlier this week and it was a very emotional week for Male preparing for the game. St. Xavier QB Jack Sivori was the story in this game as he launched an aerial attack (306 yards and three touchdowns) that grounded Male’s title hopes and the Tiger defense stepped up to force three turnovers tonight. St. Xavier recorded 18 first downs and 370 yards. The Tigers were penalized four times for 57 yards and lost a fumble. Male recorded 19 first downs and 414 yards of total offense. The Bulldogs were penalized five times for 29 yards, lost a fumble, and had two passes intercepted.
Jack Sivori led St. Xavier’s ground game with 64 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries. Jack Sivori completed 22 of 36 passes for 306 yards and three touchdowns. Mekhi Smith caught 10 passes for 128 yards and two touchdowns. Michael Duddy added three receptions for 38 yards and a touchdown. Jack. Campisano recorded three receptions for 29 yards. Will Beckmann returned two kickoffs for 24 yards. Brand. Shaffner led the defense with eight solo and one assisted tackles and recovered a fumble. Jax. Panariello added four solo and one assisted tackles. Tyler Boggs recorded four solo tackles and intercepted a pass. Matthew Donhoff also intercepted a pass.
Daniel Swinney led Male’s ground game with 121 yards on 24 carries. Nic Schutte carried the ball nine times for 22 yards. Lucas Cobler added 21 yards on two carries. Nic Schutte completed 11 of 19 passes for 250 yards and three touchdowns with two interceptions. D. Vrbancic caught five passes for 80 yards and a touchdown. Vinny Anthony added two receptions for 129 yards and two touchdowns. Max Gainey returned five kickoffs for 60 yards with a long return of 22 yards. Vinny Anthony returned one kickoff for 25 yards. Noah Thomas led the defense with eight solo tackles. DeShaun Cooper added six solo tackles. Elijah Manning recorded four solo and two assisted tackles. Brandon Dobbs chipped in with three solo tackles with one of his tackles resulting in a 17 yard loss. Ronald Howard recovered a fumble.
Scoring Summary
| School | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final |
| St. Xavier | 0 | 7 | 10 | 14 | 31 |
| Male | 6 | 7 | 0 | 8 | 21 |
| MALE | - | Vinny Anthony 88 yard pass from Nic Schutte (Lance Gossett kick fails) |
| STXAVIER | - | Jack Sivori 2 yard run (Nolan Wolford kick) |
| MALE | - | D. Vrbancic 19 yard pass from Nic Schutte (Lance Gossett kick) |
| STXAVIER | - | Nolan Wolford kicks a 26 yard field goal |
| STXAVIER | - | Michael Duddy 26 yard pass from Jack Sivori (Nolan Wolford kick) |
| STXAVIER | - | Mekhi Smith 6 yard pass from Jack Sivori (Nolan Wolford kick) |
| MALE | - | Vinny Anthony 41 yard pass from Nic Schutte (A. Weathers pass from Nic Schutte) |
| STXAVIER | - | Mekhi Smith 45 yard pass from Jack Sivori (Nolan Wolford kick) |
Selected Statistics
| St. Xavier | ||||
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| Rushing | No. | Yds. | Avg. | Long |
| Jack Sivori | 26 | 64 | 2.5 | 17 |
| Don. Richardson | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 |
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| Passing | A-C-I | Yds. | TD | Long |
| JackSivori | 36-22-0 | 306 | 3 | 45 |
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| Receiving | No. | Yds. | TD | Long |
| Mekhi Smith | 10 | 128 | 2 | 45 |
| Michael Duddy | 3 | 38 | 1 | 26 |
| Jack. Campisano | 3 | 29 | 0 | 12 |
| Benn. Boehnlein | 3 | 24 | 0 | 10 |
| Adam Boone | 2 | 45 | 0 | 34 |
| Will Beckmann | 1 | 42 | 0 | 42 |
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| Male | ||||
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| Rushing | No. | Yds. | Avg. | Long |
| Daniel Swinney | 24 | 121 | 5.0 | 14 |
| Nic Schutte | 9 | 22 | 2.4 | 9 |
| Lucas Cobler | 2 | 21 | 10.5 | 15 |
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| Passing | A-C-I | Yds. | TD | Long |
| Nic Schutte | 19-11-2 | 250 | 3 | 88 |
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| Receiving | No. | Yds. | TD | Long |
| D. Vrbancic | 5 | 80 | 1 | 21 |
| Vinny Anthonu | 2 | 129 | 2 | 88 |
| Daniel Swinney | 2 | 32 | 0 | 17 |
| Max Gainey | 2 | 9 | 0 | 11 |
Acknowledgements
A special thanks to WL Stats for the comprehensive stats provided for tonight's games.
Please feel free to send your comments and questions concerning the event, teams, or players to me at prepgridiron@yahoo.com.
Ron Harrison’s reports on this and other football events appear on https://www.angelfire.com/ky2/prepgridiron.