Sophomore quarterback Luke Massa was near perfect, throwing for 205 yards on 17-of-18 passing and two touchdowns.  St. Xavier added 126 more yards on the ground led by senior running back Darius Ashley’s 85 on 14 carries and one touchdown.

The defense got in on the party as well, holding the Elks to just 54 yards of total offense and three first downs.  Centerville advanced past midfield just once, getting to the Bombers 48-yard line on their opening possession of the game.

It was game over by halftime as Centerville (9-3) was just simply overwhelmed and overmatched.

St. Xavier starters played sporadically throughout the second half. 

Centerville got on the board with 7:08 left in the game on a 1-yard touchdown run by quarterback David Fleming.  Fleming finished the game 7-of-14 passing for 77 yards and added another 51 yards rushing on 16 carries.

The Bombers put it on cruise control in the second half and called off the dogs.  Massa threw only one more pass before taking a seat and ended the game with 212 yards passing.  St. Xavier ended the game with 387 yards of total offense.

Centerville ended the game with 256 yards of total offense.

St. Xavier set the stage early by going 73 yards in 11 plays on the opening drive of the game capped off by a 14-yard touchdown pass from Massa to Danny Milligan.  The ball bounced off a Centerville defender and landed in Milligan’s hands as he scooted into the end zone.

Ashley added another Bombers’ score on a 20-yard scamper up the middle for a 14-0 first quarter lead.

A Milligan 33-yard field goal, a 16-yard touchdown run by senior running back Luca Romeo and a 10-yard touchdown pass from Massa to Patrick Kelly in the second quarter put the game away.

It was a well-rounded Bombers’ attack.  Ashley led the ground game with 76 yards.  Milligan caught five passes for 50 yards and was one of seven Bombers to catch a pass.

Up next for St. Xavier is a regional final match-up against Colerain.  Several different locations were still being discussed as of Saturday night.  It will be the third straight year that the Bombers and Cardinals will be playing for a berth in the state semifinals.  Colerain won last year’s game, with St. Xavier winning in 2005 en route to winning the state title.