The Panthers dominated the first half, jumping on top of the Bombers 10-0. Elder was able to establish Coffaro on the ground, utilizing the wildcat formation to produce a 44 yard touchdown run. The Panthers added a 37 yard field goal to take the 10-0 lead. Elder took the ball at the beginning of the second half and picked up where they had left off, embarking on a 12 play 80 yard drive that ate of over five and a half minutes of clock. They scored on a 16 yard pass from Miller to O’Connor, who was playing with several screws in his arm and a thick cast. The rest of the third quarter was a display of each team’s punter as both defenses began to bear down.

The Bombers opened the fourth quarter trailing 17-0 with the ball on their own 40 yard line. They had to make some plays, they had to fight back, and they had to score a touchdown. Massa displayed pinpoint accuracy as he completed 5 of 6 passes for 52 yards on the touchdown drive. He completed passes of 24 yards and 19 yards, to Tyler Smith and Joey Nieser, respectively. The pass to Nieser set up a 1 yard touchdown plunge by FB Nigel Muhammad. On Elder’s next possession, the Bombers defense was able to force a quick three and out. However, Massa proceeded to throw an interception with 6:44 left in the game. The Panthers were set up on the Bombers 42 yard line, which seemed to remove all hope of a St. Xavier comeback. Yet, as they have all season long, the St. Xavier defense showed incredible fortitude, pride, and heart by forcing the Panthers into a missed field goal attempt. This gave Massa and the offense another opportunity to make a comeback attempt and they did not disappoint. Massa completed all 6 of his passes as he drove his team 80 yards in 6 plays, taking up only 1:09 of clock. The Bombers scored 14 points in the fourth quarter; however, the 17 point deficit proved too large an obstacle as the Panthers were able to run out the final 3:23.

While this loss is extremely disappointing it did give fans and players alike one final display of the astounding heart and championship attitude with which the team has played all year. Coach Steve Specht summed it up perfectly, ordering his heartbroken team, “Keep you heads up. You guys are champions. You played like champions. Don’t you ever forget that.” While the Bombers will not be crowned as state champions, this team will always be remembered as champions because they worked like champions, won like champions, and most importantly they lost like champions.