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Best Bets: Cincinnati – Week 4

All four GMC South teams will face out-of-area opponents, while the wide-open GMC features a pair of crucial tilts early in conference play.

Here are the Best Bets for Week 4 of prep football in Cincinnati:

Lexington Lafayette (1-3) at Moeller (2-1), 7 p.m. – One of several GCL-vs.-Lexington-area-opponent matchups, Lafayette has lost its last three since winning on opening night. The Generals are averaging just 15.8 points and 228 yards per game. Passing has been a particular weekness for Lafayette, which is throwing for an average of 93 yards, completed 44 percent of its passes and had nine percent of its attempts intercepted. For Moeller, Miles McBride has exceled in that capacity. He is 46-for-61 (75.4 percent) for 718 yards, 11 touchdowns and two picks. The Crusaders are the only team in the South with a loss on its record, although they only fell by eight at Louisville Trinity. This opens a three-game homestand for Moeller, which will face all three of its division foes in Weeks 5-7.

Scott County (3-1) at La Salle (3-0), 7:30 p.m. – Scott County won its first three games but dropped a 38-28 decision last week at home against Moeller. The Cardinals are averaging 46.5 points, and their play efficiency is video game-esque. Scott County gains 9.9 yards per rushing attempt and 14.4 every time it throws the ball. Brice Fryman has gained 586 ground yards, and Glenn Covington is the Cardinals’ top receiving threat with 299 yards on 16 catches – he has 80 percent of his team’s receptions. La Salle has managed to start 3-0 despite scoring just 50 points. That’s because the Lancers have given up just three points all season. Opponents have 37 passing yards and are gaining 127.0 yards per contest, with Jarred Uran (30 tackles) and Craig Willis (3 interceptions) leading the way.

Elder (3-0) vs. Lakewood St. Edward (3-0) at Bedford, Saturday, 7 p.m. – A battle on unbeatens features the fourth-ranked team in Region 1 and the second-best team in Region 4. Elder heads upstate for the second straight week after edging Gahanna Lincoln, 27-23 in its first road game of the season in Week 3. The Panthers throw nearly half the time and have had ample success with the short passing game, completing 67 percent of their passes while averaging just 6.4 yards per attempt. Luke Massminter and Michael Bittner have combined for nine rushing touchdowns. St. Edward is scoring an average of 42.0 points per game and have reached the 40-point plateau in each contest this season. The Eagles have surrendered just 36 points. The home team has won the last four annual meetings between these teams, with Elder pulling out a 15-9 win last year in Cincinnati.

Sycamore (3-0) at Colerain (1-2), 7 p.m. – No, those records aren’t backward. Sycamore is now solidly in the top echelon of the GMC, having gone 5-2 in league play last season parlayed with a 21-7 win in its conference opener last week. The Aviators pitched consecutive shutouts in their first two games – vs. Loveland and Mount Healthy – and is allowing 2.3 points per game. Sycamore runs about 80 percent of the time and is averaging a pedestrian 4.2 yards. Opponents have managed 311 yards total vs. the Aviators this season and 42.0 per game on the ground. Colerain’s run through the GCL South gauntlet hasn’t been fun, as the Cardinals lost 7-3 at La Salle and 20-17 in overtime vs. St. Xavier. Colerain’s first win came last week over Middletown. Four Cardinals have rushed 20 times or more but no one has gained over 125 ground yards. Colerain has thrown the ball slightly more than in previous years – and has been efficient in that area – but it needs its running to click to have success.

Hamilton (1-2) at Mason (2-1), 7 p.m. – Hamilton won its GMC opener, beating Oak Hills, 41-21 last week, and Mason slipped to 0-1 after losing by 14 at Sycamore. This game presents a huge opportunity for Hamilton, which has been improving gradually over the past couple of seasons. Mason has been one of the top GMC teams for several years but finished 6-4 and 4-3 last regular season and needs to beat a rejuvenated Big Blue team to avoid an 0-2 start in the conference. Maleek Jarrett and Khaliyal Sowell have combined for 536 rushing yards and six touchdowns to pace the Hamilton offense. Matt Sora has been the Comets’ top offensive weapon with 243 yards on the ground and four TDs.

Indianapolis Cathedral (1-3) at St. Xavier (3-0), 7 p.m. – Cathedral is having a down year, as it finally recorded its first win last week, 34-13 at Indianapolis Chatard after road losses to Louisville St. Xavier, Detroit King and Pickerington Central. But all of those losses were by a total of 15 points, so the Fighting Irish have been competitive in all of their contests, and all have been away from home. St. Xavier has won a pair of blowouts and another in overtime (20-17 over Colerain). Bombers QB Chase Wolf is 48-70-459 with five TDs and RB Matthew Fox has rushed for 249 yards and five scores, averaging 6.7 yards per carry. St. Xavier escaped with a five-point win when these teams met last year, and the Bombers are 14-0 vs. Cathedral the past 30 years.

Kings (1-2) at Anderson (3-0), 7 p.m. – The ECC opens conference play this week, and league power Kings is in unfamiliar territory with a losing record. After a six-point win at Lebanon, The Knights lost at home to both Lakota East and Covington Catholic. Anderson’s program hit bottom in 2015, going 1-9, and bounced back with a third-place finish in the conference last year and is heading into ECC play unbeaten. Kings has the league’s top rusher to this point (Nakemon Williams – 488 rushing yards) and Anderson boasts the best passer through three weeks (Jay Volpenhein – 1,049 passing yards).

Indian Hill (2-1) at Madeira (2-1), 7 p.m. – The CHL also begins league play this week, and Indian Hill has gone 13-1 vs. conference opponents the past two seasons. Madeira was the conference power in the earlier part of the decade, and a win over the Braves to open its CHL slate would be a huge boost for the program. Indian Hill QB Cole Dein leads the league in passing yards with 743, and the Mustangs’ Tyler Richmond is second (565), so both teams should go to the air frequently.

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