St. Xavier (Ohio) beats Withrow in battle of famous football bloodlines

Chase Herbstreit and the Bombers get the best of Chris Henry Jr. and the Tigers

Chase Herbstreit vs. Chris Henry Jr. evolved into defense vs. special teams in an Ohio high school football showdown Friday night in Cincinnati.

The St. Xavier defense was the collective star of the show, outshining a huge kick return from Withrow to win 14-10 in a battle between two talented teams Friday.

Ohio high school football scoreboard

Herbstreit, the St. Xavier junior quarterback and son of ESPN commentator Kirk Herbstreit, threw a 23-yard touchdown strike to Jack McClatchey in the first half to extend the Bombers' lead to 14-0. 

1st, 1:18 - Bombers strike again as Chase Herbstreit connects with Jack McClatchey for a 23-yard TD pass.@Skyline_Chili @mercy_health @meijer @StXFB 14@WithrowTigers 0 pic.twitter.com/Aihv3S7Tyo

— Crosstown Showdown (@xtownshowdown) September 8, 2023

A 50-yard pass from Herbstreit set up St. Xavier's first score, a 1-yard TD run by Spencer Stegbauer.

Four-star Kentucky commit Terhyon Nichols ignited Withrow with a 96-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to start the second half, cutting the Tigers' deficit to 14-10, which would hold up as the final score.

Chris Henry Jr., son of former NFL receiver Chris Henry, made a couple of highlight-reel plays for Withrow:

Chris Henry Jr. with a big catch and gain for the @WithrowTigers in the @xtownshowdown pic.twitter.com/7QgXaXpRyL

— IAMCPSATHLETICS (@iamcpsathletics) September 9, 2023

But the four-star sophomore receiver, who's already committed to Ohio State, also dropped a few passes as the normally prolific Withrow passing attack struggled to get going against the No. 8-ranked team in Ohio. Henry had one carry for 22 yards.

Herbstreit's QB sneak on fourth-and-1 with less than two minutes remaining in the game sealed the win for St. Xavier (3-1).

Bombers pick up the 1st down on the sneak as the clock winds down.

St. Xavier - 14 | Withrow - 10
:34 - 4th Quarter #GoBombers | #AMDG pic.twitter.com/AMHTtqb6Jo

— Bomber Football (@StXFB) September 9, 2023

Herbstreit finished with 219 yards passing, and Noah Beck led the St. Xavier defense with nine tackles and a sack.

Withrow hadn't been challenged much heading into Friday, getting off to a 3-0 start and beating its opponents by a combined score of 113-16.

(Feature photo by Mariusz Nowak)

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-- Mike Swanson | swanson@scorebooklive | @sblivesports