Class 6A football finals preview: St. Xavier vs. Male

Jared Peck
·5 min read

It’s championship weekend for the 2021 UK Orthopaedics State Football Finals. Here’s a look at Saturday’s Class 6A state title game at Kroger Field.

St. Xavier (13-1) vs. Male (13-0)

Kickoff: 8 p.m. Saturday.

RPI Ratings*: No. 2 St. Xavier (.65381); No. 1 Male (.66701).

Cantrall Ratings*: No. 2 St. Xavier (91.1); No. 1 Male (94.2).

Championship history**: St. Xavier (12-5) — The Tigers have won 12 titles, the last in 2009. They last appeared in the finals in 2017. Male (8-8) — The Bulldogs have won eight titles, the last in 2018. This is Male’s fourth straight finals appearance.

Quick hits:

▪ Sadly, Brian Schutte, father of Male quarterback Nic Schutte, died Tuesday at the age of 49. The cause of death has not been reported.

Nic Schutte told the Courier Journal in a story published Wednesday that he plans to play in the championship.

“I know there’s no other place he’d want me to be than out here competing and trying to win the state championship,” Schutte told the CJ’s Jason Frakes. “He’d be more disappointed in me if I sat out, especially in this game.”

Brian Schutte was a former high school football coach in the Louisville area for a number of years at stops including Jeffersontown, South Oldham and Fern Creek in the early 2000s.

▪ Nic Schutte, a Western Kentucky baseball commit, has been a two-year starter for the Bulldogs and led Male to the state finals in last season’s 28-0 championship loss to Trinity. Male hasn’t lost since. Schutte has completed 143 of 220 passes for 2,519 yards and 29 TDs with only one interception.

▪ Of Male’s 13 wins this season, the 28-21 victory over St. X on Sept. 3 was the closest. The Bulldogs led 28-7 at halftime and then held off a Tigers charge by turning St. X over on downs as they drove for a potential tying score with 19 seconds left in the game.

Chris Wolfe is in his 11th season as Male head coach. He’s led the Bulldogs to two state championships in five state finals appearances.
Chris Wolfe is in his 11th season as Male head coach. He’s led the Bulldogs to two state championships in five state finals appearances.

▪ Not to be overlooked, the St. X defense shut Male down in the second half on Sept. 3 just as it did Madison Central last week when it trailed 21-14 at halftime. The Tigers won that game 31-21.

▪ This is Male Coach Chris Wolfe’s 11th season with the Bulldogs. He’s won two titles in five finals appearances. This is St. X Coach Kevin Wallace’s first state finals appearance with the Tigers. He took Bowling Green to their class’s state finals eight times and won five of them.

▪ Male features a number of highly regarded recruits, including three-star senior defensive lineman Selah Brown, who recently committed to Louisville, three-star senior wide receiver Vinny Anthony, who has as many as 13 offers and is reported to be favoring Wisconsin, three-star senior linebacker Elijah Manning, an Air Force commit, and four-star junior defensive lineman William Spencer, who has Kentucky among his offers.

▪ Jack Sivori, St. Xavier’s 5-foot-11 senior dual-threat quarterback, is putting up Mr. Football-like numbers, completing 163 of 238 passes for 2,013 yards and 24 TDs while rushing for 1,213 yards and 22 TDs. His 87 yards per game rank him 10th-best in Class 6A in a category dominated by running backs.

▪ Incredibly, this is the first KHSAA state championship meeting between these two powerhouse Louisville programs. But dating to the beginning of the KHSAA’s online records, these teams have played 35 times, 13 of those in the playoffs. St. X leads the series in that time frame 18-17, but Male has won five straight.

St. Xavier standouts: Jack Sivori, Sr. QB (2,013 yards/25 TDs passing, 1,213 yards/22 TDs rushing); Justin Walsh, Sr. RB (588 yards/three TDs rushing); Mekhi Smith, Sr. WR (795 yards/eight TDs receiving, 238 yards/four TDs rushing); Michael Duddy, Sr. WR (465 yards/nine TDs receiving). Benjamin Marks, Sr. LB (96 tackles/four for a loss/one sack); Luke Saner, Sr. LB (67 tackles/seven for a loss/six sacks).

Male standouts: Nic Schutte, Sr. QB (2,519 yards/29 TDs passing, 85 yards/two TDs rushing); Daniel Swinney, Jr. RB (1,538 yards/29 TDs rushing, 285 yards/three TDs receiving; Vinny Anthony, Sr. WR (979 yards/13 TDs receiving, one kickoff return TD); Max Gainey, So. WR (562 yards/eight TDs receiving): Elijah Manning, Sr. LB (91 tackles/three for a loss); Noah Thomas, Sr. LB (62 tackles/16 for a loss/seven sacks).

@HLpreps pick: Male 21, St. Xavier 14.

*End of regular-season ratings.

**Championships before 1959 not recorded in KHSAA record books.

State championships

At Kroger Field in Lexington

Tickets: Available by advance sale digitally at KHSAAtickets.org. No walk-up paper tickets sold.

Online: Subscription required for live video stream at KHSAA.tv. Pay-per-view live HD video at Go.PrepSpin.com. Free audio stream at KHSAA.net.

FRIDAY’S GAMES

Class A: Pikeville (13-2) vs. Russellville (12-1), Noon

Class 2A: Beechwood (14-0) vs. Lexington Christian (14-0), 4 p.m.

Class 4A: Boyle County (13-1) vs. Johnson Central (12-2), 8 p.m.

SATURDAY’S GAMES

Class 3A: Belfry (8-6) vs. Paducah Tilghman (8-6), Noon

Class 5A: Frederick Douglass (13-1) vs. South Warren (13-1), 4 p.m.

Class 6A: Male (13-0) vs. St. Xavier (13-1), 8 p.m.

John Clay Podcast: Previewing Kentucky’s high school football championships

Class 5A football finals preview: South Warren vs. Frederick Douglass

Class 4A football finals preview: Johnson Central vs. Boyle County

Class 3A football finals preview: Paducah Tilghman vs. Belfry

Class 2A football finals preview: Beechwood vs. Lexington Christian

Class A football finals preview: Pikeville vs. Russellville

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