3 observations: How St. Xavier's Trevor Havill redeemed himself to beat Trinity football

Trevor Havill was having an awful night.

The St. Xavier High School junior quarterback completed just 1 of 8 passes in the first half, got sacked for a safety in the third quarter that cost his team the lead and then got benched.

But Havill took advantage of his shot at redemption, completing a 56-yard touchdown pass to Zach Marks with 9:41 left in the fourth quarter to lift the Tigers to a 13-8 victory over rival Trinity on Friday. Marks was named the game's most valuable player.

Havill, a 6-foot-4 lacrosse star who has committed to play the sport at Ohio State University, finished 4 for 13 for 89 yards but played a big part in the Play of the Night.

“I just had to stay resilient, keep my head up, wait until I got that chance again,” Havill said. “Obviously, things weren’t clicking with me at first. Clearly.”

A crowd of 16,884 at Cardinal Stadium saw St. X, ranked No. 1 in the state in Class 6A, improve to 4-1. No. 5 Trinity dropped to 3-3.

Trinity still leads the series 48-40-2, but St. X has now won two in a row after last year’s 35-28 victory. It’s the first time the Tigers have won two straight meetings against the Shamrocks since 2009.

“My freshman and sophomore year, we got dogged out,” St. X senior linebacker Jaxon Panariello said. “I remember telling one of the seniors, ‘That’s never going to happen again. I’m taking over, and we’re going to make things happen here.’ I’m glad I’m able to fulfill that.”

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Here are three observations from the game:

How Havill got another chance

Defenses dominated all night before Havill connected with Marks.

The Tigers managed just two first downs in the first half but still led 7-6 thanks to Adam Boone’s 19-yard touchdown pass to Jackson Campisano.

Havill was sacked in the end zone by Trinity’s Drew Davis and Mitchell Toney, giving the Shamrocks an 8-7 lead with 5:11 left in the third quarter.

Boone took over at quarterback for St. X’s next two possessions but had to exit because of cramping issues. Havill re-entered on a third-and-7 play and made a perfect pass down the right side to Marks, who went in untouched for the game-winning score.

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Havill, who attended Trinity as a freshman before transferring, said Marks was the No. 1 option on the play.

“I honestly just had to trust my guys,” Havill said. “I threw that pump (fake), got the safety to bite and Zach ran a phenomenal route. I hit him, and the line held up enough. That’s just what we needed.”

While Boone did have the first-down touchdown pass, Wallace said he’s St. X’s best wide receiver and prefers to play him at that position and have Havill at quarterback.

“More than the throws Trevor made, it was the throws he didn’t make tonight,” Wallace said. “That’s been part of his issue all along. He had gotten better at it until tonight … but we’re not going to give up on him.”

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Panariello leads St. X defense

Final defensive stats were unavailable after the game, but Panariello’s impact on the game was clear.

The 6-foot-2, 215 pounder had at least three tackles for loss and helped set up the Tigers’ first touchdown when he tipped a Drew Allen pass that was intercepted by Holden Siebel. Three plays later, Boone hit Campisano for a 7-3 St. X lead.

“Most under-recruited player in the state, in my opinion,” Wallace said of Panariello. “I don’t understand it. He’s been the best player on our defense for three years. We keep sending film out, and everybody keeps finding something wrong with him. He’s a pretty damn good football player as far as I’m concerned.”

Panariello said the key was holding Trinity to three field-goal attempts after driving into the red zone.

“For me, I get amped up,” he said. “I’m ready to go. I feel energized. I love those situations. I just love football.”

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Trinity's offense stalls

Trinity outgained St. X 270-155 yards but couldn’t convert in the red zone, getting just two field goals from senior Kellan McLaughlin. He also had a field goal blocked by St. X’s Jack Fitzgerald with 6:01 left in the third quarter.

Allen came back from injury and played the entire game at quarterback, completing 7 of 19 passes for 156 yards with one interception.

“He was able to play and looked fine to me,” Cobb said of Allen. “That’s not an excuse at all.”

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Sophomore Jeremiah Lynn had a big game with four receptions for 132 yards, but Trinity’s offense couldn’t take advantage when it mattered.

“Terribly coached tonight,” Cobb said. “Not-so-good play decisions down there, obviously. We didn’t finish drives, and we didn’t keep our poise offensively. That was a major problem tonight. It’s on us.”

TRINITY              0           6            2            0 - 8

ST. XAVIER         0            7            0            6 - 13

Second quarter

T – Kellan McLaughlin 28 FG

X – Jackson Campisano 19 pass from Adam Boone (Logan Zoeller kick)

T – McLaughlin 25 FG

Third quarter

T – Safety, Trevor Havill sacked in end zone

Fourth quarter

X – Zach Marks 56 pass from Havill (run failed)

Jason Frakes: 502-582-4046; jfrakes@courier-journal.com; Twitter: @kyhighs.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: KHSAA football: St. Xavier, Trevor Havill beat Trinity