CINCINNATI, Ohio — Cincinnati St. Xavier opened its OHSAA playoff run with a statement Friday night, shutting out Fairfield 42-0 at home in a Division I, Region 4 first-round game, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Week 11 playoff scoreboard.
The Bombers entered the postseason as the No. 6 seed in Region 4 after a 5-5 regular season, hosting No. 11 seed Fairfield, which also finished the regular season 5-5, according to the pairings published by the Ohio High School Athletic Association. The shutout was the most lopsided result of the night among Greater Cincinnati’s Division I first-round games.
St. Xavier is the defending state runner-up, and the Enquirer noted in its Week 11 preview that the Bombers peaked in the playoffs last season and were hoping to do so again. After a 2-4 start for Fairfield and a three-game winning streak late in the season, the Indians’ run ended without a point on Friday, according to the Enquirer’s scoreboard.
Around Region 4 on Friday, Winton Woods beat Lakota East 21-3, Springboro blanked Little Miami 31-0 and Middletown defeated Lebanon 33-15, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer’s final scores. The region’s top four seeds — Princeton, Elder, Lakota West and Moeller — had first-round byes and join the bracket in the regional quarterfinals.
Nearly 40 Greater Cincinnati teams qualified for the OHSAA postseason and 25 were in action on Friday, Oct. 30, the Enquirer reported, across all seven divisions. The first round continues the road to the state championship games Dec. 3-5 at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton.
For Fairfield, the loss closes a season that turned around late, with wins over Lakota East, Mason and Hamilton before a regular-season finale loss to Princeton, according to the Enquirer’s preview. The Indians finish 5-6.
What happens next sends St. Xavier on the road in the regional quarterfinal: the Bombers play at No. 3 seed Lakota West on Friday, Nov. 6, according to the Enquirer’s Week 12 playoff schedule. Lakota West had a first-round bye, so Friday will be the Firebirds’ first playoff game of the season and St. Xavier’s second.
Photo: Traveler100, CC BY-SA 4.0