Greater Cincinnati's top football matchups for remainder of 2022 season
Week one is in the books with several exciting finishes highlighting the beginning of the high school football season in Southwest Ohio. Among those, two Division I playoff teams from last season went down to the wire in West Chester with Lakota West coming from behind to defeat St. Xavier in the game's final minute.
Week 1 of high school football:Takeaways for Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky
Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky football:Week 2 schedule
There are still nine weeks to go before the Ohio High School Athletic Association playoffs begin. Here is a rundown of some of the better matchups looming ahead.
Friday, Aug. 26
Wyoming at Taft
The Senators avenged a 2021 loss to Roger Bacon by shutting them out 32-0 in a Skyline Chili Crosstown Showdown opener last Thursday. Can they do the same to Wyoming in week two? The Cowboys beat them 30-6 last year but Taft's defense is much improved. Geneo Jackson had three sacks against the Spartans while top junior recruit Elias Rudolph had seven tackles and one sack. Defensive back Quinton Price picked off two passes. Offensively, running back Gavin Crawford had 179 yards rushing and four touchdowns.
Wyoming wiped out Harrison 35-0 in their opener. Western Michigan commit C.J. Hester ran for 113 yards and three touchdowns while junior quarterback Quaid Hauer was 16-for-20 for 186 yards and a touchdown in addition to leading the Cowboys in tackles at linebacker with 10.
Going back to Wyoming's 15-0 Division IV championship season of 2018, their closest game was a 14-12 win at Taft in week two.
Lakota West at Lakota East
Lakota West coach Tom Bolden has never lost to Lakota East in his time with the Firebirds or previously with Colerain. Lakota East last won the Lakota district rivalry in 2018 when the Thunderhawks rolled 36-3.
Both Lakota East coach Rick Haynes and Bolden are former Kerry Coombs assistants at Colerain with similar philosophies. Lakota East fell short in week one to Centerville 9-6. Lakota West took the lead for the first time against St. Xavier last Friday with 21 seconds to go when Mitch Bolden hit Notre Dame commit Ben Minich on a 2-yard strike to the endzone. Lakota West won after the Bombers missed a 47-yard field goal attempt as time expired, 16-13.
Friday, Sept. 2
Monroe at Western Brown
Monroe's Hornets shared the Southwestern Buckeye League-East Division crown last year while Western Brown was second in the Southern Buckeye Conference-American Division to defending Division IV state champion Clinton-Massie. A year ago, the Broncos and Hornets nearly blew up the scoreboard in Monroe.
The teams combined for 124 points with Monroe prevailing 66-58. Elijah Jackson ran for 403 yards and three touchdowns as the Hornets hung 664 rushing yards on Western Brown. On the other hand, Broncos quarterback Drew Novak was 38-for-49 passing for 503 yards with four touchdowns. He also ran for 121 yards and four more scores.
Both Jackson and Novak are back as are the two polar opposite offenses.
Cooper at Ryle
All the matchups in the Boone County school district feature players who grew up together, played in PeeWee together, or went to feeder schools. Ryle has won seven straight in the battle of Union since 2015, three of them by seven points or less, and the Jaguars will be looking to snap that streak.
Saturday, Sept. 3
East Central at Moeller
After two seasons of traveling to Dearborn County, Moeller will now host the Indiana 4A power East Central at Norwood's Shea Stadium in a 5 p.m. Saturday start. The Trojans won two years ago but Moeller prevailed last year 39-22 in a season that saw them advance to the Division I state semifinals. However, top rusher Josh Ringer did not play in last year's contest. He should be back along with quarterback Cole Burton and all-purpose man Eli Aston.
Moeller has a new quarterback in Luke Dunn but recognizable offensive weapons in top junior Jordan Marshall and senior Tennel Bryant who had 10 catches and two touchdowns against East Central last season.
Friday, Sept. 9
Akron Hoban at Withrow
Hoban has a schedule loaded full of tough teams and they were last year's Division II state runners-up after losing to Winton Woods in Canton, 21-10. Withrow lost just twice last season (vs. Taft and vs. Piqua in a Division II quarterfinal).
The Tigers coached by Kali Jones are much improved featuring junior cornerback Terhyon Nichols, who has numerous Division I offers including Cincinnati, Kentucky, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Pitt, Ole Miss, Georgia Tech and Tennessee.
Saturday, Sept. 10
Elder at Lakewood St. Edward
The Greater Catholic League-South teams rarely duck anyone and this tilt is proof of that as the Panthers will travel to Cuyahoga County to take on the defending Division I state champions. St. Edward beat them at the Pit last season 48-14 and the Panthers have plenty of new faces.
Elder's last win over St. Edward was eight years ago when coach Doug Ramsey's son Peyton (Indiana, Northwestern) was the quarterback. In addition to Elder, the Eagles come to Cincinnati to play Moeller on Saturday, Oct. 15.
Friday, Sept. 16
Lakota West at Princeton
The two Greater Miami Conference teams met in mid-September last year with the Vikings coming in unbeaten and averaging over 50 points per game. Lakota West shut them out 24-0. Coach Andre Parker's Princeton squad rebounded and reeled off eight straight victories from there before falling to Moeller in the playoffs 28-21. Likewise, Lakota West lost to Moeller the following week in the Division I regional final.
Princeton has a new quarterback in Boone County transfer R.J. West, who will have to solve the staunch defense of the Firebirds featuring a Division I secondary of Malik Hartford (Ohio State commit), Ben Minich (Notre Dame commit), Josh Fussel (Northwestern commit) and Taebron Bennie-Powell (several DI offers). Princeton last beat Lakota West and Tom Bolden 41-35 in 2019.
Beechwood at Covington Catholic
Entering this season, the nearby rivals now have 24 combined state championships, eight by the Colonels and 16 by the Tigers. Beechwood snapped a five-game losing streak to the Colonels with a 27-7 win last year in Fort Mitchell and will look to prove they can do it again as both teams begin this season dealing with graduation losses.
Friday, Sept. 23
St. Xavier at Elder
It's tough to pass up a GCL-South match in the Pit. After defeating the Bombers twice in their 2019 run to the Division I final, Elder's dropped four straight against them the past two seasons. Both teams have noted personnel changes due to graduation on both sides of the ball.
Newport Central Catholic vs. Newport
The Wildcats haven’t won the Fireman’s Bell since 1999 but have come close several times. This year’s version will be the first outside of Newport Stadium after the team’s normal home was condemned earlier this year.
Saturday, Sept. 24
Withrow at Taft
Withrow finished second to Taft in the Cincinnati Metro Athletic Conference last season and their only regular season loss came against the Senators, 13-7. This year's meeting is at Taft's Stargel Stadium with a 2 p.m. kickoff.
Friday, Sept. 30
Winton Woods at Kings
Kings won the Eastern Cincinnati Conference last season with an 8-0 mark and defeated Winton Woods in week three 14-13. The Warriors faced the Knights again in the second round of the OHSAA playoffs and ended their season with a 31-21 win on their way to the Division II state championship.
Fairfield at Hamilton
Coach Jason Krause's Indians won the Butler County battle against Hamilton 28-14 last season. The previous season the Big Blue won 28-25. Hamilton has a new coach this season in Arvie Crouch.
Elder at Moeller (at Nippert Stadium)
Moeller again will host a game at the University of Cincinnati after losing there to St. Xavier last season. In 2021 the two teams combined for 117 points at Elder with the Panthers prevailing 59-58 in overtime on a touchdown pass from Ben Hambleton to Andrew Harp with David Maurer's extra point being the difference. Both Hambleton and Moeller's Noah Geselbracht threw for over 400 yards in the game.
Both teams have different quarterbacks with Ben Schoster and Jack Reuter taking snaps for Elder and Luke Dunn and Cooper Robinson for Moeller.
Thursday, Oct. 6
Simon Kenton at Dixie Heights
The Colonels have won the last four in this Kenton County school district rivalry, knocking the Pioneers out of the playoffs the last two seasons. This is a key district game in the competitive 6A bracket. Simon Kenton won the previous six before that and is looking to bounce back from a 2-9 season in 2021 as the Colonels rebuild following major graduation losses from a 7-5 team in 2021.
Friday, Oct. 7
St. Xavier at La Salle
The Battle of North Bend continues this year at Lancer Stadium. St. Xavier's Bombers won last year's contest at RDI Stadium 49-14. The current starters are the backup quarterbacks from that game, La Salle's Mason Mattingly and St. Xavier's Jack O'Malley. The Lancers last won the rivalry in 2019 on their way to the Division II state championship.
Dayton at Bellevue
The historic river rivals have the most games played between them of any rivalry in all of Kentucky: 147. Dayton has won two straight for the first time since 2006-2007 and three of four in the series after a 44-7 win last season. Bellevue leads the all-time series 98-46-3. It is also a district seeding game.
Friday, Oct. 14
Turpin at Anderson
Anderson Township bragging rights is on the line once again, this time at Brown Stadium. Records have not always been the deciding factor in this rivalry. The Raptors won last year at Turpin 21-14 but the Spartans held ECC-leading and first-team All-Ohio quarterback, Griffin Scalf, to 122 passing yards.
The teams didn't play in 2020 when the coronavirus pandemic affected the schedule. In 2019, Turpin was a 29-28 winner on their home field with the game-winning score coming with just 19 seconds on the clock.
Highlands at Covington Catholic
This historic rivalry has 31 combined state championships, 23 for the Bluebirds (second in state history) and eight for the Colonels. CovCath has won nine straight over the Bluebirds since Highlands’ last win in 2015, and the Colonels have allowed a touchdown or less to the Bluebirds in six of those nine games. Before that, Highlands had won 15 straight since 2007 and will hope to improve and win again as head coach Bob Sphire enters his second season.
Friday, Oct. 21
La Salle at Elder
La Salle had two late scores on their home field last season but still lost to Elder 28-21. The year before they had a memorable Skyline Chili Crosstown Showdown opener at the Pit with the Lancers winning in double overtime 53-52. Current Notre Dame player Gi'Bran Payne scored and then-quarterback and current Navy player Zach Branam ran in the two-point conversion for the win.
Colerain at Lakota West
Tom Bolden was Colerain's head coach from 2007-2018 with his last game coming in the Division I state championship, Colerain's lone loss of the season. Not long after, he accepted the head coaching job at Lakota West making this a rivalry for obvious reasons. Though they didn't meet in 2019, they've played four times since with the Firebirds winning each game.
Scott at Holmes
The Eagles will travel a short distance up Kentucky 16 to take on the Bulldogs in what is always a game with major 4A seeding implications. Holmes has won the last three regular-season meetings only to have Scott get revenge in the playoffs in two of those seasons: 2019 and 2021. Scott won six in a row before that from 2013 to 2018 after Holmes took five straight from 2008 to 2012.
Saturday, Oct. 22
McNicholas at Badin
Badin's Rams were Division III state runners-up last season playing their final two postseason games with sophomore back-up Alex Ritzie at quarterback as starter Landyn Vidourek was injured. Ritzie is now the starting quarterback and has Cincinnati Bearcat commit Braedyn Moore as a target.
Badin beat McNicholas during the 2021 season, 48-21. The Rockets nearly knocked off eventual Division IV state champion Clinton-Massie in the regional final last year and have several top names back from that team including running back Ty Snyder and receiver Ben Bobo.
McNicholas last beat Badin in the 2017 season finale, 42-20.
Ryle at Simon Kenton
This matchup could decide the top seed in the 6A district at the end of the regular season. Ryle has won the last two meetings as the Pioneers have struggled the last two years, including 2-9 last season. SK won in 2018 and 2019 after Ryle won in 2016 and 2017, including a 2017 game in which Ryle running back Jake Chisholm, now a senior with the University of Dayton football team, rushed for a Northern Kentucky-record 449 yards.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: High school football matchups to watch before KHSAA, OHSAA playoffs
