High School

St. Xavier vs. Middletown: Live Score Updates from This Heavyweight Ohio Football Playoff Battle

Follow along as St. Xavier and Middletown face off in the DI state semifinals of the OHSAA football playoffs.

Harry Lichtman

St. Xavier and Middletown square off in the OHSAA DI state semifinals.
St. Xavier and Middletown square off in the OHSAA DI state semifinals. / St. Xavier/danielwmss

Two Ohio schools will face off in the Division I state semifinals of the Ohio High School Athletic Association football tournament on Friday night.

St. Xavier enters the game at 10-2 and is coming off victories over Lakota East, Archbishop Moeller, and Elder in the playoffs.

Meanwhile, Middletown enters the contest at 11-2 after defeating opponents such as Lebanon, Springfield, and Wayne in the tournament.

The last time these two teams played each other was 2012. The Middies have never played in the state semifinals. The Bombers haven't been there since 2020, but have been to that round eight prior times, winning seven of them, with four state titles.

Players to Watch

St. Xavier

Kobe Clapper - LB: A senior
Aden Reeder - LB: A senior
Griffin Lyons - LB: A sophomore
Brayden Reilly - DB: A senior
Jackson Frey - QB: A senior
Daniel Vollmer - RB: A senior

Middletown

Virgil Coleman - DB: A senior
Jordan Vann - DB: A senior and Michigan State commit
Laaren Cornwall - DB: A senior
Wyman Carr - DB: A senior
C.J. Bryant - LB: A senior and the team's top tackler
Derrick "J.D." Singletary - DL: A senior and the program's all-time sacks leader

Pick 'Em Challenge

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Live Updates

(Refresh throughout the game for live updates, scores, key plays and analysis.)

1

2

3

4

F

St. Xavier

7

7

7

0

21

Middletown

3

3

0

0

6

1st Quarter

- Middies receive the opening kickoff and begin at their own 32. JoJo Ward completes a deep pass inside the opponents' 30 at the 28.

A DPI call on the Bombers move the Middies closer to the 11. Middies make a 31-yard field goal with 8:19 left in the first.

FIELD GOAL: Middletown 3, St. Xavier 0, 8:19 left in 1st

Bombers begin at their own 35. They drive into Middies territory up to the 37. Running back Daniel Vollmer pounds the rock on the drive.

Quarterback Jackson Frey connects with Vollmer for a 10-yard touchdown pass. XP good with 6:18 left in the first.

TOUCHDOWN: St. Xavier 7, Middletown 3, 6:18 left in 1st

Middies begin at their own 20. They get a first down but go three-and-out and punt.

Bombers begin at their own 32. Frey completes a pass to Vollmer to their own 48 for the first down. Frey then completes a pass that moves them to the Middies 25. Frey finds Vollmer again who moves the chains over to the 4.

INJURY: Vollmer limps off the field and is replaced by Spencer Stegbauer.

Illegal procedure penalty moves the Bombers five yards back to the 9. On 3rd and goal, Bombers run a tush push play that doesn't work and results in an offensive penalty. Time runs out in the first quarter.

End of 1st: St. Xavier 7, Middletown 3

2nd Quarter

- On 4th and goal from the 2, Jake Britt takes it in from three yards out for a touchdown. XP good with 11:56 left in the half.

TOUCHDOWN: St. Xavier 14, Middletown 3, 11:56 left in 2nd.

Middies start at their own 21. They go three-and-out and are forced to punt.

Bombers begin over at midfield at the 50. Frey connects with Alex McClatchey on a deep pass. But a flag negates the play, moving the Bombers back to the 41.

A lateral play results in a fumble recovered by the Middies for a 1st and goal at the Bombers' 7.

The Middies lose yardage and move back to the 16. This results in a 33-yard field goal attempt which is just short. No good.

Bombers take over at their own 20. On 3rd down, they fumble the ball which results in a huge pile for it, but the Bombers recover. They go three-and-out and punt.

Middies start at their opponents' 48. They drive inside the 25 as they convert on 4th and 11. They are unable to score a red zone touchdown as they kick a 25-yard field goal with 52 seconds left in the half.

FIELD GOAL: St. Xavier 14, Middletown 6, 0:52 left in 2nd.

Bombers begin at their own 35. Frey's pass is intercepted as the Middies take over at their opponents' 38.

Ward gets sacked as time runs out, ending the half.

HALFTIME: St. Xavier 14, Middletown 6

3rd Quarter

- Bombers receive the opening kickoff to start the second half. They begin at their own 24. Stegbauer moves the chains with his feet on the drive. They get to around midfield, but go three-and-out and punt.

Middies start at their own 25. Ward gets sacked for a big loss as they go three-and-out. Punt.

Bombers begin at their opponents' 40. Frey throws a screen pass to Britt who makes his way to the end zone for a 35-yard touchdown. XP good with 4:28 left in the third.

TOUCHDOWN: St. Xavier 21, Middletown 6, 4:28 left in 3rd.

The ensuing kickoff goes out of bounds at the 3. Middies begin at their own 35, but they are unable to move the ball and have to punt.

Bombers begin at their own 23. They get one first down on a short one-yard run. Time runs out as the quarter ends.

End of 3rd: St. Xavier 21, Middletown 6

4th Quarter

- On 3rd down, Frey keeps it himself and gets tackled one yard short of the first down. On 4th and 1, Frey draws the Middies defense offsides, resulting in a first down at their own 40.

However, they are unable to move the ball from there, resulting in a punt.

Middies begin at their own 9. They drive up to around midfield. Ward completes multiple passes and uses his feet on the possession.

The Middies convert on two 4th downs over midfield with Ward connecting with Ace Cooper on both plays.

However, at their opponents' 15, the Middies fumble the ball and the Bombers' Kobe Flapper recovers, resulting in a defensive takeover with three minutes left.

Bombers take over at their own 26. They go three-and-out and punt, right after the Middies took a timeout with 2:08 left in the game.

Middies begin at their own 27. But Ward's pass is intercepted by Brody Giles, resulting in another turnover.

Bombers take over at the Middies' 27. They take a knee and run the clock out, ending the game.

FINAL: St. Xavier 21, Middletown 6

RECAP

Ohio schools St. Xavier and Middletown met in the football state semifinals on Friday night. It's the first meeting between the schools since 2012.

Both teams have had stellar defenses throughout the season, as that really showed in this contest. But it was the Bombers who did just enough as they beat the Middies 21-6.

St. Xavier's offense accounted for three touchdowns in the game. Quarterback Jackson Frey connected with Daniel Vollmer for a 10-yard score early on, while Jake Britt got in the end zone twice.

However, it was the Bombers' defense that really stepped up, as they forced two turnovers late in the game. Middletown's offense was unable to reach the end zone throughout the night, with only two field goals to show for it.

With the win, St. Xavier advances to the Division I state championship in Canton as they face Olentangy Orange.

Published |Modified
Harry Lichtman
HARRY LICHTMAN

Harry Lichtman is a sports reporter based in Montgomery County, MD and the DC area. He also writes for Capitals Outsider and LastWordOnSports, and previously wrote for MLB Report, The Sports Pulse, the Baltimore Jewish Times, the Montgomery County Sentinel, and The Bottom Line newspaper at Frostburg State University. In 2020, Harry won an MDDC Press award for a story about former high school lacrosse head coach Jeff Fritz. Harry has been writing since 2016.

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