Rivals Male and St. Xavier to Clash in Top-Five Matchup Friday Night
Blockbuster, early-season matchups in the state of Kentucky keep on coming in week three when #2 Male and #5 St. Xavier clash at Brother Thomas More Page Stadium in Louisville on Friday night.
There will be no love lost between these teams, as Male and St. Xavier are embroiled in one of the most heated rivalries in the entire state of Kentucky. Since 1998, these two programs have met on 37 separate occasions, with 14 of those meetings coming in the postseason. St. Xavier leads the series 20-17 (since 1998), but Male has won five of the last seven meetings, including three of four playoff matchups between the Bulldogs and Tigers. Male came out on top in their last meeting (which came in the 2022 Class 6A Playoffs) with a 22-21 overtime victory.
Antonio Harris took a handoff from Daniel Swinney, ran to the left side, and then completed a pass to Max Gainey for a 2-point conversion that gave the Bulldogs the win, ending St. Xavier’s 2022 season in heartbreaking fashion. Tigers’ head coach Kevin M. Wallace certainly won’t forget how last season ended for his squad, who were the favorites to win the 6A title.
St. Xavier has had a great start to their 2023 campaign, taking care of Floyd Central (Floyds Knobs, IN) 52-13 in their season opener and stuffing three-star RB Cortez Stone and Central 21-6 on the road in week two. Senior QB Trevor Havill has been solid for the Tigers, passing for 283 yards, five touchdowns and just two interceptions through two weeks. Senior RB Davis Yates has been electric on the ground, rushing for 190 yards and a score. He is averaging 8.2 YPC. Junior WR Cameron Hollaway has been Havill’s redzone target early, hauling in six receptions for 98 yards (three for touchdowns). Senior WR Marlon Harbin, who has been offered by both Kentucky and Louisville, has hauled in nine receptions for 98 yards and one touchdown.
The Tigers’ defense has been uncharacteristically not great through two games, as they’ve allowed an average of 227 yards per game. In 2022, St. Xavier allowed just an average of 185 yards per game. They however did lose a staggering 17 defensive seniors from last season’s squad (six of their top seven leading tacklers), so a bit of a learning curve to begin the season was expected. Senior three-star DL Ashton Jones leads the Tigers in tackles through their first two matchups (14 tackles, three TFL, one sack). Senior S Samuel Crum has poured in 12 tackles (one for loss) and junior DE Erik Ekens has contributed 10 tackles (one for loss). Meanwhile, Male has totaled an average of 312 total yards through their first two games of the season.
Much like St. Xavier, the Male Bulldogs have gotten off to a great start in 2023. Male has run over their first two opponents in convincing fashion, blowing out Butler 48-0 in their season opener and taking down then-ranked #16 Ballard 34-3 in week two. For their efforts, coach Chris Wolfe’s Bulldogs have jumped all the way to No. 2 in KSR’s latest Kentucky High School Football Rankings. Senior QB Kolter Smith, who officially took over the quarterback reins this season, has been lights out through two games. 237 of his 334 passing yards on the season came in last week’s 34-3 victory over #16 Ballard. Smith threw for four touchdowns and just one interception in the victory. Senior three-star WR Max Gainey was uncoverable, as he hauled in 174 receiving yards and three scores in the win.
Gainey spoke with KSR in the offseason and was very confident in his game. “If you’ve never seen me play before and you come out to a game this year, you will see everything you hear,” he said. “I’m a fast and explosive player so something big is always going to happen when I have the ball in my hands. I feel like what really makes my game stand out is my one-on-one game. If it’s me and one other person lined up alone, I don’t think anyone can stop me.” He’s certainly proving that through the first two weeks of the season.
The Male defense has been firing on all cylinders as well, as the Bulldogs have given up just 143 total yards through two games, good for an average of just 72 yards per game. Senior LB Kevin Wilson leads the way with 11 tackles, followed by junior LB Solomon Conley (seven tackles) and sophomore CB Steron Davidson (six tackles, one for loss). The outcome of Friday night’s clash will reverberate across 6A, as Male or St. Xavier will establish themselves as early-season favorites with a convincing win.
#2 Male and #5 St. Xavier will kick off Friday night at 7:00 p.m.
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