SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP, Ohio — The St. Xavier High School football team scored 38 unanswered points Friday night en route to a 52-14 win over visiting Elder.

The Bombers (6-0), winners of 14 consecutive games going back to 2020, clinched at least a share of the Greater Catholic League South division title.

"We're in a great place right now. We really are," St. X coach Steve Specht said. "But, you can't rest on your laurels."

The Bombers, ranked No. 10 nationally by MaxPreps, had a running clock (30-point differential in the second half) for a fifth consecutive week and the sixth time in the past seven games going back to the end of the 2020 season.

They were all smiles after the game.

Senior quarterback Brogan McCaughey was 13 of 19 passing for 214 yards and three touchdowns. He has 156 pass attempts without an interception, according to St. X statistician Kelby Siler. McCaughey has thrown at least one touchdown in every game as a starter (2020 and 2021).

"(Brogan) is efficient," Specht said. "His efficiency is tremendous. The reality is, for three games he only played a half of football."

Senior Charles Kellom had 22 carries for 164 yards and two touchdowns. Kellom has rushed for 580 yards and 12 touchdowns this season.

Senior wide receiver Terrell McFarlin had five receptions for 100 yards and two touchdowns. Senior wide receiver Jay Farrar had three receptions for 54 yards and a touchdown.

St. X had 468 yards of total offense to Elder's 170 yards of offense.

"It's a lot of fun," McCaughey said. "The seniors – it's definitely a good year. We're focused on leaving no doubt, leaving everything on the field."

The St. X defensive effort was very strong, too. Senior defensive back Eli Kirk, senior linebacker Grant Lyons, junior linebacker Max Bonner and senior defensive back Joe Nelson each had five tackles. The defense also had three sacks.

"We're having a lot of fun right now," McFarlin said. "I really love it. We're keep spreading the ball around. Everybody is getting the ball, everybody is spreading the wealth around."

The game was tied at 14 with 8:27 left in the second quarter after Elder senior quarterback Ben Hambleton found senior tight end Mike Kirch for a 21-yard touchdown pass.

Kellom scored on a 1-yard touchdown run about five minutes later and senior Mason Rohmiller added a 27-yard field goal as time expired in the second quarter to give the Bombers a 24-14 lead.

Rohmiller's field goal was set up by Kellom's 73-yard run earlier in the drive.

Still, the Bombers weren't pleased with a number of penalties in the first half and fundamental mistakes.

"We kind of opened our eyes and saw what we were doing wrong," McCaughey said.

Senior Alex Kemper took the opening kickoff of the third quarter and went 99 yards for a touchdown to set the momentum in the second half.

"The first thing I thought was, 'Don't get caught,' because everyone would be clowning me if I got caught," Kemper said. "After that, nothing enters your mind. Just run as fast as you can."

St. X plays host to Louisville Trinity Oct. 1 while Elder (2-4) plays host to Moeller (5-1) Oct. 2.

Next week is the first of three consecutive home games for the Panthers. Elder coach Doug Ramsey said the team wants to improve upon special teams after Friday night.

"I told them I still think we are one of the better teams in Cincinnati," Ramsey said. "We just can't give good teams like X great field position, because we can't cover kicks. Two big returns killed us and then they just pinned their ears back on defense."

CINCINNATI — When Elder senior Drew Ramsey walks into The Pit Friday night, he will likely have a much different feeling than the 2020 season opener.

Thousands of fans will likely await the opening kickoff against visiting Covington Catholic at 7 p.m. in the 24th annual Skyline Chili Crosstown Showdown.

There is simply no replicating the anticipatory energy for players and coaches when a stadium has thousands of fans.

"My sophomore year (in 2019) it was just crazy because it was always so loud," said Ramsey, a Greater Catholic League South division football tri-athlete of the year in 2020.

"Every game was packed. Then last year there was just no one there. It was silent. You could literally hear what the coaches were saying on the sideline. It was so much different. We weren't used to it. When you know you're going to have 10,000 or 8,000 fans there it changes the game so much. It gives so much more momentum."

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Ohio high school football games likely will return to a more traditional game-day atmosphere this week without COVID-19 restrictions and protocols.

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Ohio lifted most statewide COVID-19 pandemic health orders in June and Ohio High School Athletic Association member high schools aren't subject to the state mandates and limited attendance procedures set forth by the Ohio governor's office in 2020.

Local and county health departments, school districts and private schools set their own guidance this fall for interscholastic and extracurricular activities.

Last season, high school sports venues could have no more than 1,500 fans or 15% of their seating capacity starting in August 2020.

The spectators last season were primarily parents, families or loved ones of the student-athletes. The euphoria around the stadium wasn't the same.

"I think last year was so different that you just hope that student sections can get back to being the way they were and fans in stands and packed crowds," said Tom Gamble, organizer of the Skyline Chili Crosstown Showdown. "We just hope that's the way it is because I think that's what makes high school football not only in this area but anywhere."

Mason High School is having a 60th anniversary celebration of its football program Friday night in its home game against Gahanna Lincoln. More than 50 alumni are scheduled to join the celebration in the pregame and halftime festivities.

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Mason coach Brian Castner said the return of a larger fan capacity at Dwire Field is "long overdue."

"I met with my captains last night," Castner said. "Just to talk through a 15-minute captains' meeting, see them smiling and just chomping at the bit -- can't wait to get to Friday. You can't mimic that. You can't make that up."

Despite the easing of restrictions, school administrators are using cautious optimism to start the school year as the pandemic continues.

"On one hand there is a lot that I'm excited about," said Lakota West athletic director Scott Kaufman, who is president of the OHSAA board of directors. "We're going into this season with no fan restrictions, which certainly is a dramatic change from last year. But, in the same respects it's a little bit disheartening and frustrating that we're dealing with restrictions (in schools) that quite frankly are probably more self-induced than they are necessary.

"When you look at numbers of hospitalizations being where they are and the percentage of those being unvaccinated people -- without getting into a political battle -- we're all being handcuffed because of people choosing not to get a vaccination. If we want to get back to normal especially in the schools, we have to get people vaccinated."

Lakota West opens the football season at St. Xavier Friday night in a highly-anticipated rematch of the 2020 Division I regional final that St. X won en route to a state title.

St. Xavier High School

St. X athletic director Brian Reinhart anticipates a sold-out RDI Stadium at Ballaban Field, which has a capacity of about 7,500 fans.

Reinhart said Monday there are no pandemic-related attendance regulations for those entering the game, but the school plans to make announcements and reminders to encourage the use of hand sanitizer, hand-washing procedures or wearing masks when necessary.

"You know last year I just can't say enough good about our families and our entire community was so supportive because they knew how important athletics was," Reinhart said. "I think we have a whole new level of respect for our coaches, our athletic trainers, our training staff -- just the amount of time and energy they put into supporting and enabling our young people to be able to play."

SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP, Ohio — St. Xavier High School's Keating Natatorium is nearing a much-anticipated completion of a $5.5 million renovation this month.

Every square inch has been updated inside the natatorium, which opened in 1969 and has been home to 16 Olympic swimmers, including those from St. Xavier and the Cincinnati Marlins club team.

St. X athletic director Brian Reinhart said Keating Natatorium will hopefully be ready the week of Aug. 23, with plenty of anticipation from the St. Xavier water polo and nationally-recognized swimming and diving programs about a privately-funded project that started in early March.

"We bring visitors in now quite a bit since we don't have to wear hard hats or anything," Reinhart said. "And their eyes get big as saucers and there is just a lot of 'wow.' And it's just wonderful to hear the stories that generations of people that have swam here or that have sat in the stands to be a part of Keating Natatorium. And now they walk in and they see a brand new facility, and it's just they're in shock just with the renovation and how much better it looks. And again they say it's more a reflection of the school and of the program."

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The numerous updates for Keating Natatorium include a new stainless-steel gutter system, a new pool liner, a new pool deck, renovated locker rooms and new electric throughout the facility.

The natatorium, which includes an eight-lane, 50-meter pool, will have a replacement of all the pipes and filtration system, a new heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system, new flooring, along with the walls painted or resurfaced.

A swimmer's lounge allows teams to study film and the ability to watch a live stream from one of the 10 permanent cameras.

"It's an honor to be really the first team to move back into Keating," said St. X senior water polo player and swimmer Oscar Haverkamp. "It's a really cool legacy to be a part of. Looking forward at the future generations that get to use it – it's really humbling and amazing to see."

A video scoreboard allows for instant replay and the potential for entertaining introductions before a game or meet. A new sound system and the installation of more than 200 sound panels will also enhance the competition experience.

"When you first walk in– just the aesthetics of it - it feels like St. X's pool," St. X water polo coach Paul Splitt said. "So you walk in, and it's bright. The fact that it's been so long since there has been any kind of updates to it – it's obviously been well-needed – but you walk in, and this place just has a different energy about it. It was already amazing, and it just kicks it up that much more. It's awesome."

The St. X water polo season, a fall sport in Ohio, is scheduled to start home games inside the natatorium in September.

St. Xavier High School

The first official Ohio High School Athletic Association swimming and diving practice is Oct. 29, with the team competing in the winter. Keating Natatorium has been synonymous with the nationally-recognized swimming and diving program's consistent success over the decades.

The St. X swimming and diving team has won a state record 42 state titles including 13 consecutive championships.

The AquaBombers have finished in the top four of the National Interscholastic Swimming Coaches Association rankings in 19 of the past 23 years.

"The program speaks for itself," Reinhart said. "The winningest team of any sport in Ohio. The facility – we want it to reflect the prestige and honor of our team and our student-athletes and our coaches, so this is an important project to be able to reflect."

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There was discussion for years inside the school about renovating the natatorium, but the process sped up about two years ago when Reinhart and St. Xavier president Tim Reilly worked with the school's advancement office to gauge interest in funding.

"We're just thrilled with the support of the St. Xavier community, the alumni, the benefactors and just the workers in here and the vision that we've had in the last couple of years to finally make this happen," Reinhart said.

Tom Keefe, a 1968 St. X graduate, has been an assistant coach in the swimming and diving program every year since 1998 and coached water polo at the school prior to that.

He became teary-eyed when describing his personal connection to the natatorium during a weekday morning visit last week.

Keefe credited the Keating family with not only being instrumental in the contributions and fundraising to help build the pool in 1969, but also with helping in this major renovation. The natatorium is named after Charles H. Keating.

"There is no doubt that what the Keating family in conjunction with St. Xavier did to change the culture of swimming in Ohio, regionally and even nationally," is significant, Keefe said.

Keating Natatorium has been a second home for Keefe, who still has a ribbon from a competition he participated in at the facility in 1970 and later started his coaching career.

"Brian (Reinhart) was asking me did I ever think I'd see a full renovation – probably not in my lifetime," Keefe said. "It brings back incredible memories, feelings, again a deep sense of appreciation for what it took to get this started, what it took to keep it going during the (1990s) when there was talk about turning it into the wrestling room."

Keefe was impressed with the progress of each updated detail inside the natatorium. The numerous championship banners are on display.

Keefe said those banners are an important part of the program's legacy, but thousands of people over the years have made Keating Natatorium a special place in and out of the water.

"The administration stayed with the school, gave us the chance to get better. As you can tell it's been a remarkable journey for me and to be a part of it and to see this aspect of it is pretty doggone remarkable," Keefe said. "I think it's the fact that we are going to come into an environment that is more conducive to training well, competing well and having a more satisfying experience."

SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP, Ohio — St. Xavier High School rising junior Adam Wade has received a prestigious invitation to USA Water Polo's National Team Selection Camp June 28-30 in Orange County, Calif., according to St. X coach Paul Splitt.

Wade will be among approximately 50 other male athletes from around the nation as they compete for a spot on the Cadet National Team.

The NTSC will have up to three practices a day for roughly two to three hours each session, Splitt said. There will be coaches from all over the country who will evaluate and coach the individuals.

The Olympic Development Program (ODP) selects different national teams for each age group including development, cadet and youth.

There is also a Junior National Team (Under-20) and the Senior National Team (the Olympic team).

Wade, who lives in Mason, will represent the Great Lakes Zone (Ohio, Michigan and western Pennslyvania), St. Xavier High School and Moose Water Polo Club.

Wade said he found out Thursday about the invitation and was thrilled to hear about the opportunity.

"A lot of my teammates have helped me throughout the whole season," Wade said. "It just means a lot to me."

The national team coaches will select an "A" team and a "B" team, Splitt said.

The "A" team will represent the country for this cycle and will compete internationally for the next year, when the process repeats again, Splitt said.

The "B" team will also do some international events, such as a training trip to Budapest, Hungary, in August.

"Adam is truly one step away from representing the United States in international competition," Splitt said. "Absolutely amazing. And in an Olympic year, what a cool opportunity. He will be training with several kids who will ultimately end up as an Olympian in the future."

Wade is the first individual from St. X and Moose Water Polo Club to be invited to this prestigious camp, according to Splitt, who has been coaching water polo in Cincinnati since 2000.

Wade, 16, attended multiple regional camps in March and April and was invited to the regional tryout camp in Chicago. It was there that he was selected among the top 50 cadets in the nation.

"You don't get an Adam every year," Splitt said.

"He's a special kid and I'm really proud of what he's been able to accomplish so far and I'm really excited about what he's going to be able to do, not just in water polo, but in life. He is a special kid. Wherever he goes he's going to do some amazing things."