Bowling Green has been dominant against St. Xavier in recent years.
That wasn’t the case in the 2017 meeting between the two schools Saturday at El Donaldson Stadium, as the Class 6A Tigers put last season’s 31-10 loss to BG behind them and defeated the Purples, 30-19, in front of a packed crowd on a sunny day in Bowling Green.
After having its 28-game winning streak snapped in a 35-21 loss at Pleasure Ridge Park last Friday, BG (1-2) has now lost back-to-back games in the same season for the first time since 2002.
St. Xavier (2-0) entered Saturday’s game in Bowling Green carrying momentum from a 35-28 victory against Cathedral (Indianapolis, Ind.) in Week 1 and was fresh off a Week 2 bye.
Tigers’ quarterback Jack Albers ran for two touchdowns and threw for one while running back Anthony Moretti recorded a 16-yard TD run. Bowling Green running back Vito Tisdale ran for a 25-yard score in the third quarter and a two-yarder in the fourth while wide receiver Ziyon Kenner had a 76-yard punt return TD.
St. Xavier jumped out to a 7-0 lead on Albers’ two-yard touchdown run at the 8:06 mark of the first quarter.
On Bowling Green’s first offensive drive, quarterback Beau Buchanan was sacked on 4th and 19 and the Tigers took over with a 1st and 10 at the Purples’ 23-yard-line.
Moretti’s 16-yard run with 7:57 left in the second period pushed St. X’s lead to 14-0 and then a three-yard touchdown run by Albers put Bowling Green in a 21-0 hole at halftime.
Bowling Green came out of the locker room after the break and went quickly went to work.
On the opening drive of the third quarter, the Purples marched downfield and capped its drive with their first touchdown of the day – a 25-yard run by Tisdale. Although the PAT failed, the score by the versatile sophomore cut Bowling Green’s deficit to 21-6 at the 9:22 mark.
A 24-yard field goal by Alan Mateja put St. Xavier up 24-6 with 5:16 remaining in the period.
After tallying a 99-yard kickoff return at Pleasure Ridge Park, Kenner returned a St. Xavier punt 76 yards into the end zone. The Purples’ two-point try failed and the Tigers still held a 24-12 advantage entering the final quarter.
St. Xavier found the back of the end zone for the fourth time of the day on Albers’ 13-yard touchdown pass – his first passing score – to wide receiver Ben Mueller. The score made it 30-12 at the 8:52 mark of the fourth.
The Purples quickly responded with its strongest drive of the contest. Buchanan connected with Kenner from 60 yards out to put BG on the 2-yard-line and Tisdale recorded his second TD run on the ensuing play. However, St. X still led by double digits at 30-19 with 7:28 remaining.
Bowling Green followed its successful offensive drive with a big stop of the defensive side of the ball, as Ethan Klein recovered a Tiger fumble to take over 1st and 10 at the 35 with 6:26 left.
Similar to BG’s defensive play, St. Xavier recovered a Buchanan fumble on a rushing attempt on 3rd and 11 at its 16 to take over with under five minutes to tick.
On the Purples’ final drive, Buchanan and company couldn’t get anything going and turned it over on downs. St. Xavier took over with a 1st and 10 at the 25, leading 30-19 with 3:02 remaining.
The Tigers ran the clock out on the last drive of the game and headed back to Louisville with a big victory.
Bowling Green returns to action Friday against Owensboro. The Purples and Red Devils are scheduled to kickoff at 7 p.m. at El Donaldson Stadium.
— Follow Sports Insider Tyler Mansfield on Twitter at @_TylerMansfield. —
