Soph Massa, St. X take the next step

At least one person has crowned St. Xavier the state champion.

"No one is going to beat (St. Xavier) this year," said an exasperated Centerville coach Ron Ullery following his team's 31-6 loss to the Bombers in the Division I regional semifinals Saturday in front of 6,500 fans at Paul Brown Stadium. "Go ahead and give them (the state championship) trophy."
Colerain might have something to say about that.

St. X's win over the Elks sets up a playoff rematch against Colerain next week with a berth in the state semifinals on the line. The two teams, both 12-0 this year, have met in each of the last three postseasons. "It has turned into a great playoff rivalry," St. Xavier coach Steve Specht said. "It's going to be a heck of a show."

Colerain eliminated the Bombers from last year's playoffs with a 24-7 win in the region finals. St. X ousted the Cardinals from the 2005 postseason during the Bombers' title run. Luke Massa watched the latter game from the stands at Paul Brown as an eighth-grader. He'll have a more active role this time around.

The St. X sophomore is 4-0 since taking over the starting quarterback job after senior John Hurler was lost for the season with a knee injury. Massa posted the best numbers of his brief tenure against the Elks, completing 18 of 19 passes for 212 yards and two touchdowns. All but one of those completions came in the first half as St. X pulled ahead 31-0 at the break.
"We don't ask him to win us football games. We ask him to manage the football game and take what the defense is giving him," Specht said. "The last four weeks he's made a lot of improvement. A few years down the road, he's going to be a special player."

The Bombers scored on five of their first six possessions and compiled 331 yards of total offense in the opening half compared to 54 yards by the Elks (9-2), who punted four times and tossed an interception before the break.
Centerville runs a triple option attack, making St. Xavier's early lead all the more daunting for the Elks.
"(Getting ahead early) was the difference in the game," Specht said. "As explosive as (Centerville) is, when you're running that offense, you are going to grind clock."

St. X opened the game with an 11-play, 72-yard scoring drive and led 17-0 by the first minute of the second quarter.
After not starting the game, St. X senior running back Darius Ashley accounted for the Bombers' second score with a 13-yard touchdown run. Ashley finished with 85 yards on 14 carries and was out of the game by halftime, snapping a five-game streak of 100-yard efforts. Centerville avoided the shutout with a 1-yard touchdown run midway through the fourth quarter. St. X has held seven different opponents this season to seven or fewer points.

Warren wins World gold

CHICAGO - Flyweight Rau' shee Warren and middleweight Demetrius Andrade became the first Americans to win gold medals at the World Boxing Championships in eight years with convincing victories in the finals Saturday.

Warren beat Thailand's Somjit Jongjohor 13-9 despite having two front teeth knocked out.

Then he sounded a warning for the Beijing Olympics next summer.

"You better watch out. The young American is coming," Warren said.

Andrade gave the Americans their second gold when his bout with Thailand's Non Boonjumnong was stopped in the second round due to an injury.

"This is the most important thing in my life," Andrade said.

Andrade, Warren and three other U.S. boxers have earned trips to Beijing, and they were constantly serenaded with "USA! USA!" chants as they delivered the first gold at the world championships since the Americans captured four in 1999.

Warren didn't disappoint the crowd.

He led 5-1 and stayed on the attack even after two incisors got knocked out midway through the second round. He sent his opponent to the canvas with a right hook in the closing seconds.

Days before the event began, Warren guaranteed he would make the finals. Along the way, he qualified for his second consecutive Olympics.

Warren was 17 and the youngest member of the 2004 boxing team when he traveled to Athens. He was also a little lighter and less polished.

Now fighting at 112 pounds, Warren competed at 106 in Athens. A two-time national champion, he took the bronze at the 2005 world championships.

Nothing could stop him this time.

"I'm the world champion now," he said. "I can say that I'm No. 1 in the world, not No. 3. I'm No. 1."

Warren seemed to ease off in the final two rounds of his bout with Jongjohor, doing just enough to stay in control. And when it was over, he raised both arms, jogged around the ring and hugged his corner. Then, the U.S. flag was draped around his shoulders.

Warren gave himself "a B-plus" for Friday's fight, but Saturday?

"A-plus," he said.

Warren planned to put the medal around the neck of his mom, Paulette Warren Gordon. She couldn't wait, but her eyes are on a bigger prize. Warren's mother wore a T-shirt with a picture of her son posing in the backyard with 15 championship belts and the slogan: "If you want me, come get me."

"That gold is a piece of cake," she said, referring to the Olympic version. "I'm just waiting to put it on a plate."

St. Xavier 45, Elder 14

Ashley Committs to Louisville

By Jon Mahoney, Special to SI.com, RISE

St. Xavier (Cincinnati, Ohio) senior running back Darius Ashley gave a verbal commitment to Louisville on Monday over Virginia. The 5-foot-9, 190-pounder is the star player for a St. Xavier football team that is 10-0 and is ranked No. 2 in the SI.com Top 25.

Ashley jumped onto the recruiting scene as a sophomore when he ran for 1,633 yards and scored 28 touchdowns to help lead the Bombers to the Division I state title. He followed that up with 1,450 yards and 17 touchdowns last year.

This season, Ashley missed nearly four games with a sprained ankle. He has returned strong from the injury, however, by rushing for 821 yards and 10 touchdowns, including a 204-yard performance in a 28-14 win over Moeller (Cincinnati, Ohio) last weekend.