Prattville Streak Ends In Ohio Prep Event
CINCINNATI, Ohio – Prattville High School's 56-game regular-season prep football winning streak came to an end Saturday night here at Paul Brown Stadium as St. Xavier of Cincinnati nipped Alabama's two-time defending state champions 15-10 at the Kirk Herbstreit Classic.
Three Danny Freudidger field goals and a time-consuming offense beat Prattville 15-10 at the Cincinnati Bengals’ Paul Brown Stadium to snap the Lions’ 30-game winning streak. It was also the Lions' first season-opening loss since 1994.
The two defending state champions met in the fourth game of the Kirk Herbstreit Classic–capping a day of prep football in Cincinnati. Prattville (0-1) also saw its state-record 56-game regular season winning streak also come to an end in coach Jamey DuBose’s head-coaching debut.
Freudiger kicked two field goals in the first half and added a third field goal midway through the fourth period for St. Xavier (1-1).
Prattville led 10-6 in the fourth quarter, thanks to its tenacious defense. Connor Earley scored on a 2-yard run with 8:40 left in the final period to put the Bombers ahead for good 12-10. Freudiger added his third field goal, a 31-yarder with 6:25 left, after a fumble inside the Lions 20.
The Lions could never get their offense in gear in the second half. It did make one valiant effort late when quarterback Sam Gibson, who was 8-of-18 for 30 yards passing, sped 37 yards to the St. Xavier 43-yard line with 54 seconds left.
The Bombers dominated the time of possession in the first half with 39 offensive snaps to just 14 by the Lions. Prattville, thanks to its big-play defense, still led 10-6 at intermission and finished with as 29:33 to 18:27 time-of-possession edge for the game.
St. Xavier took the lead with 3:55 left in the first quarter on a 30-yard field goal by Freudiger. Corey Shelton returned the ensuing kickoff 65 yards deep into St. Xavier territory, but the Bombers’ defense stiffened, however, and Prattville’s Brian Egan kicked a 35-yard field goal at 1:37 left of the first period to tie the game.
The mistake-prone Lions finally got a break at the midway point of the second quarter when Octavius Gilbert, who had 12 tackles for the Lions, stripped St. Xavier runner of the ball at the Bombers 18-yard line and Kenard Butler recovered for Prattville. On the next play, Jerodis Williams cut off the pulling block of Jeremy Hooks up the middle and sped 18 yards into the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown. Egan then kicked the extra point and the Lions took a 10-3 lead with 4:59 left in the half.
St. Xavier moved inside the Lions 5-yard line just before the half when La’Angelo Albright’s rush on Bombers 6-foot-5 quarterback Luke Massa forced a pass that bounced off a receiver into the hands of Prattville defensive back Nick Perry at the goal line. The official ruled he didn’t have control as he fell out of bounds and St. Xavier had one more shot at the end zone right before the half. The Bombers settled for a 33-yard Freudiger field goal with nine seconds left in the half to cut the lead to 10-6.
Massa finished 17-of-33 for 173 yards passing, but the Lions limited St. Xavier to just six yards rushing on 32 carries. Prattville had 90 yards on 24 rushes with Williams picking up 38 on 13 tries and Gibson 45 on four. The Lions had four turnovers, three interceptions and one fumble lost.
In earlier games in the Kirk Herbsteit Classic prep football series here Saturday, St. Thomas Aquinas (FL) beat Cincinnati-Elder 34-25, Warren-Central (IN) outscored Middletown (OH) 39-35 and Colerain of Cincinnati, which beat Hoover in double overtime in the 2007 Classic, won over McKeesport PA) 14-7 in overtime.