[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 16027]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 ST. XAVIER FOOTBALL STATE CHAMPIONSHIP

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Ohio 
(Mr. Wenstrup) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. WENSTRUP. Mr. Speaker, on Friday, December 2, my alma mater, St. 
Xavier High School in Cincinnati, Ohio, beat the odds in a true 
underdog story and won the Ohio high school Division I football State 
championship. They join the St. Xavier water polo team as State champs 
this year as well.
  Through a tough regular season schedule, the St. X Bombers went into 
the final regular season game with a record of 4 and 5, needing one 
more win to make it to the playoffs, and they were losing at halftime. 
They won and went on to win five more times, ultimately beating a tough 
Cleveland Saint Ignatius team, in front of 13,000 people at Ohio 
Stadium, to win the State championship.
  In one of the most thrilling high school football games, St. X won 
27-20 in double overtime. In fact, three of the five playoff victories 
were won in overtime.
  In a historic year, St. X became the first team in Ohio high school 
athletic history to lose five regular season games and then go on to 
win the State championship. The 2016 football season can teach us all 
something about perseverance and never giving up.
  I would like to congratulate the St. Xavier players, Coach Steve 
Specht, and his staff, for their hard work and dedication. This win 
adds to a long history of sportsmanship and commitment on the field at 
St. Xavier High School.
  Go Bombers.

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