CANTON — St. Xavier and Olentangy Orange played for the OHSAA Division I state championship on Friday, Dec. 5 at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.
It was the fourth of seven OHSAA championship games being played this weekend at the stadium, the site of all title games for a fifth straight year.
Orange delivered an impressive complete performance in beating St. Xavier 28-14. The Pioneers used a big second quarter to take command and won their first championship in football.
Here’s how the game unfolded through our live updates.
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Olentangy Orange wins first OHSAA state title
Olentangy Orange runs out the clock and wins its first state title in program history with a 28-14 win over St. Xavier. What a performance by the Pioneers! They finish the season 15-0. The Bombers finish at 11-3.
Lucas Fickell converts third down for Olentangy Orange
Fickell runs for 1-yard on the third and one to convert the first down. Olentangy Orange is down to the Bomber 14-yard line. That may just about do it. Olentangy Orange leads 28-14 with 1:54 to play. St. Xavier just took its final timeout.
Olentangy Orange recovers its own fumble
Olentangy Orange fumbled on a running play but was able to fall on it at the St. Xavier 16-yard line. The Pioneers lead 28-14 with 2:34 to play. St. Xavier just took its second timeout. Olentangy Orange will have a third-and-1 after the timeout.
St. Xavier calls timeout
St. Xavier is starting to call its timeouts. Lucas Fickell has helped run the ball to the St. Xavier 46-yard line for the Pioneers. Olentangy Orange leads 28-14 with 4:10 to play.
Olentangy Orange recovers onside kick
Olentangy Orange covers the St. Xavier onside kick attempt cleanly. The Pioneers will get the ball at their own 39-yard line. Olentangy Orange leads 28-14 with 4:59 to play.
Aiden Newdigate keeps St. Xavier alive with touchdown
Aiden Newdigate catches a 12-yard touchdown from Jackson Frey with 5:03 to play to keep St. Xavier in this game. The Cameron Taylor kick is good. Olentangy Orange leads 28-14 with 5:03 to play.
St. Xavier driving
St. Xavier is down to the Olentangy Orange 25-yard line. Time is becoming a factor. The Pioneers lead 28-7 with 5:20 to play.
Olentangy Orange pins St. Xavier deep with punt
Olentangy Orange appeared to have converted a fourth-and-3 on a run by Levi Davis but the Pioneers are called for holding on the play. Davis was hit out of bounds after sliding and did not get a flag on the play. Orange punts and pins St. Xavier down at its 8-yard line with 11 minutes to play. Pioneers lead 28-7.
Olentangy Orange closing in on first state title in program history
Olentangy Orange leads St. Xavier 28-7 after the third quarter. The Pioneers will have a third-and-four at the Bomber 34-yard line to start the fourth quarter. Time of possession is 23:09 for Olentangy Orange and just 12:51 for St. Xavier. The Pioneers have really controlled the pace and the execution they have displayed on key down and distance plays is really the story tonight.
Olentangy Orange defense forces short St. Xavier punt
St. Xavier just punted and the kick went pretty much straight up in the air and floated out of bounds. It goes down as a 12-yard punt. Olentangy Orange takes over with a first-and-10 at its own 45-yard line with a 28-7 lead and 3:14 to play in the third quarter.
Lucas Fickel extends Olentangy Orange lead
Lucas Fickel runs for a 4-yard touchdown on the opening drive of the second half for Olentangy Orange. The Pioneers lead 28-7 with 6:11 left in the third quarter. Levi Davis converted another third and long on the drive for Olentangy Orange. This time, Davis converted a third-and-11 with a 17-yard pass to Jake Luling at the St. Xavier 18-yard line. This was an 11-play, 86 yard drive that took 5:43 off the clock.
Second half underway
Olentangy Orange takes the opening kickoff and returns it to its own 14-yard line. The Pioneers will start the third quarter from that spot with a 21-7 lead.
Halftime numbers to know
Olentangy Orange quarterback Levis Davis is 7-of-14 passing for 144 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Davis leads the Pioneers in rushing with 65 yards on nine carries. MC Walker has five catches for 123 yards for Olentangy Orange. Jake Britt has 46 yards rushing and a touchdown on three carries for St. Xavier.- Britt also has two catches for 17 yards. Jackson Frey is 9-of-14 passing for 65 yards with an interception for the Bombers.
Olentangy Orange ends first half with sack
Olentangy Orange gets a Brennan Kesler sack to end the first half. It’s the second sack of the game for Kesler. The Pioneers lead St. Xavier 21-7 at halftime and will get the ball first to start the second half.
Levi Davis throws touchdown on first play after timeout for Olentangy Orange
Levi Davis comes out of the timeout and hits a wide-open Lucas Fickel up the middle for a 15-yard touchdown out of the backfield. Great play design. Great execution. The extra point attempt is good by Tyler Gibson. It goes as a 10-play, 91-yard touchdown drive for Olentangy Orange. Three third and long conversions by either Davis throw or run on the drive. What a game he has had so far. The Pioneers lead 21-7 with 13 seconds left in the first half.
MC Walker helps Olentangy Orange convert third-and-11 play
Levi Davis throws a picture-perfect pass into the hands of MC Walker who hauls it in at the St. Xavier 15-yard line. It goes as a 39-yard gain through the air. Walker makes a nice over the shoulder catch and I can’t say enough about that throw. Olentangy Orange leads St. Xavier 14-7 with 18 seconds left in the second quarter.
Olentangy Orange takes timeout after big third-down conversion
Levi Davis converts a third-and-10 with a 10-yard run and Olentangy Orange takes its first timeout of the half. The Pioneers lead 14-7 and will have a first-and-10 at the St. Xavier 47-yard line. Davis is a really impressive player. He has great instincts and is an incredible athlete. Davis shows great touch on his throws and can get some velocity on it as well.
St. Xavier forced to punt
The St. Xavier drive stalls near midfield and the Bombers punt. Olentangy Orange will take over at its own 9-yard line. That is by far the worst field position that the Pioneers have had tonight. Olentangy Orange leads St. Xavier 14-7 with 2:45 left in the second quarter.
Pass interference call wipes out Olentangy Orange interception return for touchdown
Olentangy Orange was called for a pass interference penalty that wiped out an interception return for a touchdown. It was a pretty obvious penalty and the official was looking right at it. Very little debate on that one. St. Xavier gets a first down at its own 46-yard line and will continue the drive.
MC Walker helps Olentangy Orange retake the lead
MC Walker makes an incredible one-handed grab on a 4-yard touchdown pass by Levi Davis in the left corner of the end zone to help Olentangy Orange take a 14-7 lead over St. Xavier with 5:35 to go in the second quarter. Walker caught three passes for 60 yards on that drive. He really put on a show.
Jake Britt runs for long touchdown for St. Xavier
Jake Britt gets free for a 39-yard touchdown run on a third-and-four play to help St. Xavier tie Olentangy Orange 7-7 with 7:55 to go in the second quarter. Britt showcased an incredible burst through the line on that play. Once he reached the second level, nobody was catching him.
Levi Davis scores touchdown for Olentangy Orange
Olentangy Orange comes out in a heavy formation with extra blockers and quarterback Levi Davis sweeps to the right for an easy touchdown on fourth-and-2. The extra point attempt is good by Tyler Gibson. The Pioneers lead St. Xavier 7-0 with 11:54 to go in the second quarter. That was a 12-play, 43-yard drive that took 5:47 off the clock. The St. Xavier defense has spent a lot of time on the field this game.
St. Xavier calls timeout
Olentangy Orange sent the offense onto the field for a fourth-and-goal at the 2-yard line to start the fourth quarter. St. Xavier saw something they didn’t like and took its first timeout of the half.
Key play looms as first quarter ends
St. Xavier 0, Olentangy Orange 0 after one quarter at TomSt Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. Olentangy Orange will have a fourth-and-two at the St. Xavier 2-yard line to start the second quarter. This is the second time the Pioneers find themselves in a key fourth-down moment on this drive. Olentangy Orange running back Lucas Fickel converted a fourth-and-1 play with a 3-yard run from the St. Xavier 8-yard line a few minutes ago.
Olentangy Orange forces punt by St. Xavier
The Olentangy Orange defense forces a three-and-out and St. Xavier punts. Treyton Schroder returns 11 yards it to the St. Xavier 43-yard line and will start its second drive in Bomber territory. No score. 5:41 to play in the first quarter.
St. Xavier stops Olentangy Orange on fourth and short
St. Xavier forces an incomplete pass on an option play on fourth-and-2 at the Bomber 9-yard line. Great stand by the St. Xavier defense. Bombers take over. Score is 0-0 with 7:45 left in the first quarter.
Levi Davis moves Olentangy Orange into red zone
A long 25-yard scramble on a third-and-8 play by quarterback Levi Davis moves Orange down to the 17-yard line. Davis showed great mobility on that play
Olentangy Orange intercepts St. Xavier
Zane Konczak intercepts St. Xavier on the first drive of the game to set Olentangy Orange up with a first and 10 at the Xavier 44-yard line. Great catch by Knoczak.
St. Xavier and Olentangy Orange set for kick off
Olentangy Orange is lining up to kick the ball away to start the game. St. Xavier will receive. Beautiful night for football.
St. Xavier and Olentangy Orange on field warming up
Hello from Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium! We have a great game tonight for the OHSAA Division I state title. Cincinnati St. Xavier and Olentangy Orange are set for action tonight. It’s not quite as cold as last evening but it isn’t exactly a heat wave at 24 degrees. St. Xavier will be wearing blue pants, blue tops and white helmets tonight. Olentangy Orange is in white pants, white tops and orange helmets. We have 37 minutes on the pregame clock. We should be set to play just after 7:30 p.m.
Cincinnati St. Xavier football’s OHSAA state finals history
St. Xavier is making its eighth appearance in a state championship game. The Bombers have won four state titles, all in Division I, with the last coming in 2020 when they beat Pickerington Central. They also won titles in 2005 by beating Massillon, 2007 by beating Mentor and 2016 by beating St. Ignatius. The Bombers lost state title games to Ignatius twice (1992, 2001) and Canton McKinley once (1998). That was the second of back-to-back McKinley titles, with the first coming by defeating Cincinnati Moeller.
Olentangy Orange football’s OHSAA state finals history
Olentangy Orange is making its first appearance in a state title game in program history. Orange entered this season with just three postseason wins all-time and had never advanced beyond regional play.
St. X, Orange OHSAA playoff history
St. Xavier has been in the postseason 32 times, first qualifying in 1981. St. X has a 61-27 all-time record in playoff games. Orange didn’t become a high school until the 2008-09 school year. The next year, it made its first trip to the playoffs. Orange is 7-10 all-time in playoff games, with four of the wins coming this season.
Levi Davis, Olentangy Orange | Ohio Mr. Football finalist
Orange’s senior quarterback was one of the finalists for Mr. Football. A dynamic dual-threat weapon, the 6-foot 187-pound Davis has been the chief catalyst for second-ranked Orange’s winningest season in history. Entering a state semifinal, Davis had completed 134 of 198 passes (67.7%) for 2,016 yards with 15 TDs and 7 interceptions and had rushed for 935 yards on 126 carries (7.4 average) with 15 TDs. A four-year starter and Ohio University football commit, Davis has passed for 7,006 yards and 51 TDs while rushing for 2,631 yards and 37 TDs in his career. Davis made second-team All-Ohio in 2024. Davis also was starting point guard for the state championship basketball team last March (and for the regional runner-up in 2023 and 2024) and in track last spring was regional champion in the long jump (23 feet, 1 1/4 inches) and runner-up in the high jump (6-6), earning All-Ohio in the latter.
This article originally appeared on The Repository: St. Xavier vs. Olentangy Orange football score, recap, OHSAA highlights
Reporting by Cliff Hickman, Canton Repository / The Repository
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
