Tuesday, July 24, 2001
Prep football 'Showdown' expands
Colerain, four GCL South teams headline
five-game fest Aug. 25
By Tom Groeschen
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The Enquirer's 2001 city football title could be decided, more or less, at the season-opening Skyline Chili Crosstown Showdown on Aug. 25. Just ask Colerain.
The Cardinals entered last year's Showdown ranked No. 6 in the city, but upset No.1-ranked Elder 14-7. Colerain rolled to a 10-0 season and won the city title, while Elder finished No. 4 in the final rankings. Both teams made the Division I playoffs, but it was the season opener that shaped the city polls.
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THE DETAILS
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• Dixie Heights (5-6 last year) vs. La Salle (5-5), 11 a.m.
• Oak Hills (2-8) vs. St. Xavier (8-4), 1:30 p.m.
• Fairfield (8-4) vs. Moeller (9-2), 4 p.m.
• Elder (8-4) vs. Sycamore (2-8), 6:30 p.m.
• Colerain (13-1) vs. Harrison (5-5), 9 p.m.
Tickets (Good for all five games): $10 adults, $8 students (in advance) ... $12 adults and students (day of game) ... $1 from each advance adult ticket sold benefits Doug Pelfrey's “Kicks for Kids” charity.
Ticket outlets: Athletic ticket offices at each participating school; All area Ticketmaster outlets (charge by phone at 513/562-4049); UC athletic ticket office (513/556-2287).
Information: Call the GTE Wireless info line at 513/886-0030, or visit www.dsasports.com (available Aug. 1).
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Colerain will be one of 10 teams in the fourth annual Showdown at UC's Nippert Stadium. The Cardinals will play Harrison in the last of a five-game schedule that runs 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Aug. 25.
“Absolutely, last year's game was a springboard to our season,” Colerain coach Kerry Coombs said Monday. “Elder was first in the city, and we didn't know what kind of team we would have.”
The Showdown has expanded from four to five games this year, organized by DSA Prep Sports — a division of Don Schumacher and Associates. DSA bills it as “The nation's biggest high school football event.”
Tom Gamble, director of DSA Prep Sports, said the field again includes most of the city's top teams.
“You've got Colerain, St. X and Elder as probably the top three, in whatever order they might be,” Gamble said. “And for the first time, we've got all four teams from the GCL South.”
The four are St. X, Elder, Moeller and LaSalle, traditionally the city's strongest league.
Some Showdown attractions:
• Bob Crable's first game as Moeller coach. The Crusaders will play Fairfield, which knocked Moeller out of last year's playoffs. Crable replaces Steve Klonne, who resigned after 19 seasons and will be an assistant coach at McNicholas.
• Colerain's strong backfield of quarterback Sean Jones and running backs Maurice Johnson and Jermaine Johnson.
• St. Xavier quarterback Marty Mooney and wide receiver Josh Williams. Mooney enters his third year as starter and Williams ranks among the top prospects in America.
St. X will play Oak Hills, which comes off a 2-8 season but is just a year removed from the school's first playoff season.
“I know Oak Hills is supposed to be good this year, and a lot of our kids come from that part of town,” St. X coach Steve Rasso said. “In that first game, anything can happen.”
Again, just ask Colerain.
“We gained a lot of confidence last year in that game, and just playing in that environment is big,” Coombs said. “We must've had 14,000 people there last year, which is a lot for a high school game.”
Colerain didn't lose until the state semifinals, going 13-1.
This year, six of the 10 participating Showdown teams come off playoff seasons, including Northern Kentucky representative Dixie Heights. The other playoff teams were Moeller, Colerain, St. X, Elder and Fairfield.
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Prep football 'Showdown' expands to five games