CANTON, Ohio — The St. Xavier High School football program won't soon forget its memorable journey this season.
The Bombers completed this year as the Division I state runner-up Friday night at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton.
"We had a great run," St. X coach Steve Specht said. "I'm awful proud of these kids. I feel like I let them down. I didn't have them prepared for the game the way they needed to be. So I'm going to own that. They had a great journey, a great run."
Olentangy Orange never trailed as it defeated St. X 28-14 in the Division I state final. The Ohio High School Athletic Association announced the attendance of 6,035 fans at the stadium adjacent to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
St. X, ranked No. 3 in the MaxPreps Ohio rankings this week, completed its season with an 11-3 record.
"These kids are taking away a lot of great memories," Specht said. "They're taking away a lot of great learning lessons. There were a lot of teachable moments this year. And I hope that's not overshadowed by the fact that hey we lost a game to a great football team. That Olentangy Orange team - hats off to them, congratulations. Coach does a great job. Our kids didn't quit. We just came up short tonight."
Olentangy Orange (15-0), ranked No. 1 in Ohio by MaxPreps, won the state title in its first football state final appearance Friday night.
The Pioneers led 21-7 at halftime and were never threatened in the second half. Senior quarterback Levi Davis, an Ohio Mr. Football finalist, was 10 of 188 for 177 yards and two touchdowns. Davis had 93 yards rushing and a touchdown.
Olentangy Orange senior wide receiver MC Walker had five receptions for 123 yards and a touchdown.
The Pioneers had a 7-0 lead early in the second quarter before St. X responded in a significant way.
The Bombers tied the game four minutes later when senior Jake Britt scored on a 39-yard touchdown run. The Pioneers scored 21 unanswered points after that.
St. X senior quarterback Jackson Frey connected with junior Aidan Newdigate for a 12-yard touchdown pass connection with 5:03 left in the fourth quarter to help close the gap to 28-14. But, St. X didn't get closer on the scoreboard.
St. X senior linebacker Kobe Clapper had a game-high 15 tackles. Senior linebacker Aden Reeder had 12 tackles. Senior linebacker Connor Bareswilt had 10 tackles.
Olentangy Orange had 403 yards of total offense compared to 192 yards for St. X. The Pioneers had 226 yards rushing compared to 78 yards rushing for the Bombers.
The Pioneers led the time of possession 29:10 to 18:50.
St. X made its eighth football state final appearance in program history on Friday night.
As the No. 3 seed in Region 4 this season, St. X won its first regional title since 2020.
St. X earned seven consecutive wins entering Friday after back-to-back losses to Moeller and Elder in late September.
The Bombers defeated Lakota East, Moeller, Elder and Middletown this postseason.
"We had a tough patch there in the middle of the regular season and they just kept coming back to practice and they kept working hard," Specht said. "The coaches kept coaching hard. We had a great run."
St. X has won football state titles in 2025, 2020, 2016, 2007 and 2005 – all under the leadership of Specht, a 1986 St. X graduate.
St. X was one of two Greater Cincinnati teams in the OHSAA football state finals this week. Anderson (14-1) was the Division II state runner-up.
Greater Cincinnati was seeking its first OHSAA football state championship since 2021. That was the season at Winton Woods won the Division II state title and Clinton-Massie won the Division IV state championship. The most recent Greater Cincinnati Division I football state champion was St. X in 2020.
