Trinity cements status as state's top team with 35-24 win over St. Xavier

The St. Xavier student section woke up a beast in Zane Johnson on Friday night in L&N Stadium.

Johnson, Trinity‘s star junior quarterback, overcame a slow offensive start for the Shamrocks by tossing for just under 300 yards and three touchdowns, leading his team past the archrival Tigers in a heated 35-24 victory. Over 16,000 fans showed up to watch the 94th battle between these two Louisville schools. It wasn’t a pretty overall performance from either offense — St. Xavier, in particular, failed to gain more than 150 total yards — but all that matters is the final score.

“That was about as ugly as you can play offensively,” Trinity head coach Jay Cobb said afterward, highlighting far too many unfocused penalties from his squad. “We just got a lot of work that we got to do, but it’s good to get a win.”

Both teams entered this matchup undefeated against in-state schools — Trinity being the consensus number one team in Kentucky and St. Xavier not far behind at No. 3. But the two-time defending Class 6A state champion Shamrocks proved why a three-peat is on the table in the KSR Game of the Week.

The Tigers’ students tried to get under Johnson and Trinity’s skin, but the jeers fell on deaf ears as Johnson ripped St. Xavier apart from the second quarter on.

“Very emotional ball game,” Cobb said. “This is two years in a row, there’s been some inappropriate things being said in the stands and from the stands. And I’m disappointed that nobody stopped that. It’s two years in a row (Johnson’s) had to listen to that. I thought he handled himself pretty well… But that’s the nasty side to this rivalry.”

“This week, (St. Xavier was) talking a lot,” Johnson added. “So I had to come out here and shut them up.”

And shut them up he did. Johnson, who found eight different receivers for catches on the night, and the rest of the Shamrocks sent a message to the entire class.

And that’ll do it for another KSR Game of the Week. Shamrocks remain the state’s top dog.

No. 1 Trinity 35
No. 3 St. Xavier 24

FINAL pic.twitter.com/nq7fgD5lg7

— Zack Geoghegan (@ZGeogheganKSR) September 27, 2025

Johnson needed some help from his defense to get the offense’s momentum rolling early, though. Trinity forced St. Xavier to a three-and-out on the first drive, blocking the Tigers’ punt off a poor snap and scooping up the loose ball for an early touchdown less than 90 seconds in. Both sides were locked in on defense throughout the first quarter. Near the end of the period, St. Xavier’s defense set up its offense at the opposing 30-yard line. Senior quarterback Mason Trimble soon found his way into the endzone to knot the score at 7-7.

But by the middle of the second quarter, Johnson slowly began to find his rhythm. A 30-yard touchdown strike to junior Jason Hagan (their first of two scoring connections on the night) put the Shamrocks ahead 14-7. Johnson’s first big mistake would happen soon after, though. A poorly thrown interception put St. Xavier in field goal range, allowing kicker Logan Seales to drill a 41-yarder with under four minutes until halftime. But Johnson and the Trinity offense marched right down the field and tacked on another touchdown, this one again to Hagan, to make it 21-10 at the break.

“All of my receivers are juniors,” Johnson said. “We have a special connection between each other.”

The third quarter opened with Johnson tossing his third and final touchdown, this one a 12-yard pass to Cross Watson that gave the Shamrocks a commanding 28-10 lead. But a stop by the St. Xavier defense led to the second blocked punt of the night, giving the Tigers excellent field position. A couple of plays later, St. Xavier senior Marlon Harbin III, a Louisville commit, would find his way into the endzone, making it 28-17 going into the fourth quarter.

That score wouldn’t last long, though. Trinity put together another long drive, capped off with a one-yard rush from junior running back Jamaurion Berry on the first play of the final period. St. Xavier would quickly respond thanks to a long kickoff return and an eventual 15-yard touchdown grab from Trimble to senior Lucas Shelton, but the Shamrocks never looked back from there, closing out the 35-24 victory.

With the win, Trinity moves to 5-1 on the season, its lone loss coming to Moeller (OH), 24-21, a few weeks ago. St. Xavier drops to 3-2 on the season and has now lost two straight.