By John Stegeman

Three Catholic schools from the Archdiocese of Cincinnati saw their football seasons end last week, but three more are still alive. A win for either Elder, La Salle or Fenwick this week puts each school in the final four.

Here’s a glance at each game below.

Fenwick (12-0) vs. Clinton-Massie (11-1)
If Bishop Fenwick (12-0) is to lose a game this season, it won’t be against a GCL foe.

The Falcons defeated Alter 19-9 last week in the the second round of the OHSAA football playoffs. It was the second time the teams met this year after Fenwick won a league matchup in week four. Fenwick dispatched conference rival Badin in the first round of the playoffs and is now the lone GCL Co-ed team alive in the postseason.

The No. 1-seeded Falcons are finished with rematches now and face No. 3-seed Clinton-Massie Saturday in a Division IV regional final. Clinton-Massie’s only loss this season came to unbeaten Steubenville in week two.

The game will kickoff at 7 p.m. tomorrow at Xenia High School.

La Salle (10-2) vs. Kings (11-1)
The top-seeded Lancers look to continue their state title defense tonight against No. 2-seeded Kings.

The Knights are riding an eight-game winning streak, including last week’s 47-13 victory over Turpin. Turpin (10-2) had given Kings the only loss of its season back in week four.

La Salle finished out the regular season 2-2 but bounced back with a pair of high-scoring playoff wins over Butler and Lima Senior.

The game marks the first for Kings against a GCL school since defeating Badin 25-12 in 2005. Prior to the OHSAA’s addition of a seventh division in football, Kings was in Division II while La Salle competed in Division I.

The Division II regional final kicks off at 7:30 p.m. tonight at Lakota West High School.

Elder (9-3) vs. Colerain (11-1)
The Elder Panthers tied with St. Xavier for the GCL South championship this year, but last week St. X’s season ended at the hands of Colerain. Elder will need to get past the Cardinals Saturday to keep the dream of a state championship alive. Elder’s last state title in football game in 2003.

Among the three remaining Catholic schools from this area in contention, Elder is the only one that is an underdog this week. The Cardinals are the top-seed in Division I, Region 2, while the Panthers are the five-seed.

Saturday’s game will be Colerain’s third against the GCL South this year. The Cardinal beat St. X twice and suffered their only loss of the season to La Salle in week two.

Despite rumors the game may have been moved to UC’s Nippert Stadium, Elder and Colerain play Saturday night at 7 p.m. at Mason High School.

For more information on the OHSAA state football playoffs, click HERE.

Team                                         Record                      
GCL Co-Ed Standings
North
Fenwick*                                  12-0 (7-0)
Alter                                       10-2 (6-1)
Carroll                                     5-5 (3-4)                 
Chaminade Julienne                 2-8 (2-5)

Central
Badin*                                     7-4 (4-3)
McNicholas*                            5-5 (4-3)                     
Purcell Marian                        3-7 (2-5)                  
Roger Bacon                           3-7 (0-7)  

GCL South
Elder*                                      9-3 (2-1)
St. Xavier*                               7-5 (2-1)
LaSalle                                   9-2 (1-2)
Moeller                                   5-5 (1-2)    

Other Catholic Schools
Lehman Catholic                      7-5 (5-2 NCC)
Catholic Central                       4-6 (2-5 OHC)                
Summit  Country Day              4-6 (0-4 MVC)

* – indicates league champion or co-champion.
Grayed out – indicates season over

Posted November 20, 2015