Crowd Pleasers - Deuce Finch

When the game is on the line, there's no question who St. Xavier coach Mike Glaser is giving the football. He's going to put Deuce to use.

That's Deuce Finch, the 5-foot-10, 205-pound senior running back.

"He's a great competitor, he's the kind of kid who wants to take over the game," Glaser says. "The tighter the game, the better he plays. If things aren't going well, you can always go to him."

Last season Finch finished second in Class 6A in rushing (173.6 yards per game) despite playing in only eight of 10 regular-season games because of a sprained MCL in his left knee. Finch came back in the playoffs, and rushed for 139 yards in St. X's loss to archrival Trinity in the state final.

Finch finished the season with 1,557 rushing yards and 15 TDs in only 11 games. That's why he's considered a frontrunner for Kentucky's Mr. Football award.

"I think he'll be the best back in the state," Glaser says. "He even looked the part in the state game, with one knee.

"He's got size for a running back, and he's got speed (4.5 in the 40) and athletic ability."

Those reasons, along with his 3.3 grade-point average, are why at least seven schools have offered him scholarships, including the universities of Louisville and Kentucky.

"I just like the contact and speed of football," Finch says.

And while Finch admits that he wasn't at his top speed in last year's 6-A final—"I was only like 70 percent, then I re-injured it during the game,"—he's hoping to get a second chance this season.

"State championship is the goal, it should be nothing less," he says.

And if St. X has the ball late and needs some yards, is there any question who is getting the pigskin? Nope.

"When it comes down to it I like the ball in my hands, I want to make the plays," Finch says. "It's fun."