Eric Rothwell

High school football is usually the only game on Friday nights during the fall, but that isn’t the case this week as the @Skyline_Chili Crosstown Showdown presented by @mercy_health Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine features a rare doubleheader. Before the annual @ehsports-@StXFB matchup takes center stage on the gridiron tomorrow night, the GCL South Division rivals will take to the pitch at St. Xavier’s RDI Stadium in Finneytown. @Elder_Soccer will oppose the host @StXavierSoccer in a varsity soccer match at 5 p.m. Friday, followed by the two schools’ marquee matchup in football with kickoff scheduled for 7:10 on a night that includes more than just a soccer-football DH. The game also will highlight a collaboration between the Elder and St. Xavier communities “United for Mental Wellness,” with athletics serving as a platform for mental health awareness. St. Xavier (6-3-2, 2-1-0 GCL South) is looking for a season sweep against Elder (4-4-3, 1-1-1) in soccer, after the Bombers won the first meeting, 2-0, on September 3 at the Panther Athletic Complex in Price Hill. The Bombers, who annually play one of the most difficult schedules in the region, are led by junior Jack Sweeney – who is tied for first in the GCL South in goals scored, with seven, and is second in points scored, with 18.  Senior goalkeeper James McKernan leads the league with 40 saves and is third with two shutouts. Elder is led offensively by senior Maxwell Martin and junior Hudson Ostertag, who are tied for third in scoring in the GCL South, with four goals each.  Junior keeper @OwenSchwarz4633 ranks second with 2.5 shutouts and has 35 saves to rank third in the league. Students from both schools have an added incentive to arrive a little early and enjoy quality high school soccer.  Skyline Chili will be on site to offer two free cheese coneys to the first 300 students from Elder and St. Xavier who present a valid student ID at the stadium entrance. We had a chance to talk with Elder coach Eric Rothwell and Brian Schaeper of St. Xavier, whose team has won the last nine of 10 meetings in the series, about the unique opportunity to play their match in the stadium before the two schools meet in football. Coming Friday:  A preview of the Elder-St. Xavier football game, with interviews with two of the winningest high school football coaches in Cincinnati history in Elder’s Doug Ramsey and St. Xavier’s Steve Specht – who look at their teams after five weeks, preview the opponent, and discuss the soccer-football DH.