[Stardust]

Highlands stuns St. Xavier 12-7
By Ryan Ernst • [email]Rernst@enquirer.com[/email] • September 25, 2009

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Dale Mueller is known nearly as much for his use of hyperbole as he is for his ability to coach football.


Both were effect Friday night at David Cecil Memorial Stadium. And both were undeniable.

“I can’t think of a bigger or better win,” said the Highlands football coach.

• Photos: Bluebirds 12, Bombers 7
• Notebook: St. X can't account for Bardo

The scenery around Mueller seemed to agree: his Gatorade-soaked shirt, the mass of students who had rushed the field, the flashbulbs, the blaring of air horns.

The Bluebirds on Friday night picked up the one thing still missing from their ever-expanding trophy case: a victory over a big-time Cincinnati opponent. They beat St. Xavier 12-7 in a nationally televised game between two nationally-ranked teams.

“We’re going to watch it, but not til later,” said senior offensive lineman Tyler Grubbs. “Because now we’re going to celebrate. This is just a huge win for our program.”

Highlands made the victory, one of the season’s biggest upsets, look relatively easy. The Bluebirds never trailed. They overcame three goal line disappointments and still held a 12-0 lead with 27 seconds left to play.

That’s when St. X quarterback Luke Massa hit Jeff Kraemer for a 16-yard touchdown. After the extra point, St. X kicker Robert Leonard’s on-side kick went out of bounds effectively ending the game.

The Bombers’ woes began and ended with special teams miscues.

Highlands took a 2-0 lead in the first quarter when a St. X snap went over the head of punter Chris Gradone. He fell on the ball in the end zone for a safety.

“The way we play, we’re going to try to play good defense and win the kicking game,” St. Xavier coach Steve Specht said. “When you do that, you can’t afford to make mistakes like that.”

For the rest of the first half, the Bombers dodged bullets. Nick Weston picked off a halfback pass from Austin Collinsworth deep in St. X territory to thwart one drive. It stopped another by tackling Collinsworth on fourth-and-two from the 5-yard line. It dodged another by recovering a Collinsworth fumble at the goal line just before halftime.

While the Bombers did a good job of bottling up Collinsworth – the Bluebirds’ two-time all-stater finished with 65 yards on 22 carries – they could not contain quarterback Will Bardo. Despite missing most of the fourth quarter with an injury, Bardo finished with 135 yards rushing. He ran for a 4-yard touchdown late in the third quarter to extend the lead to 9-0. After another Collinsworth goal line fumble, placeHighlands kicker Adam Weinel made an 18-yard field goal to give the Bluebirds a two-score lead.

St. Xavier sophomore running back Conor Hundley, the team’s leading rusher, did not play in the second half due to injury. He finished with 12 yards on four carries.
“He’s just been dinged up,” Specht said. “He couldn’t go.”

Tanner Vidal led St. X with 57 yards on 14 carries.

Highlands (6-0), the back-to-back defending Class 5A Kentucky state champion, is ranked No. 1 in the Enquirer Northern Kentucky poll. St. X (4-1) is ranked No. 2 in Cincinnati behind its next opponent – GCL rival Elder.

Both teams entered the game ranked nationally in various polls. The Bombers were ranked No. 1 nationally in the Massey Ratings, a computer-generated rating system.

The Bluebirds were 0-9 in their last nine tries against Cincinnati powers Elder, Moeller and Colerain.

“It’s a big win,” Mueller said. “We always say we want to be ranked nationally. I’d have to say we probably should be now.”