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Best Bets: Firebirds welcome Big Blue

Lakota West RB Aden Miller (photo by Dan Beineke/TriStateFootball.com)

One week is in the books and there are still more questions than answers surrounding high school football in the Queen City. The GCL South has some amazing offenses, but they didn’t look like the typical polished units we normally see from the league. The four schools combined to turn the ball over 12 times.

The GMC beat each other up as expected. It doesn’t appear that anyone is going to separate themselves from the pack any time soon. Lakota West had a great win over Colerain. The Cardinals looked very pedestrian.

The SWOC went a combined 1-5. There were so many things that left us scratching our heads from the opening week of 2020.

Here is a look at the Best Bets in Cincinnati for Week 2:

No. 14 Hamilton at No. 4 Lakota West
Is there a new king of the hill in the GMC? Lakota West certainly took the first step in staking that claim with the program’s first-ever win over Colerain. The Firebirds snapped the Cardinals 83-game winning streak in the GMC with a 10-0 shutout. Now, Lakota West must avoid a letdown. Hamilton who couldn’t hold a fourth quarter lead against Princeton will be looking for some vengeance. The Big Blue squandered opportunities and should look much better after another week of practice. Lakota West was special on defense against Colerain. This week’s test will be just as hard versus a veteran Hamilton offense.

Hamilton RB Keyshawn Stephens (photo by Dan Bieneke/TriStateFootball.com)

No. 8 Moeller at No. 13 East Central
It is a step up in class for East Central, who lost 10-0 to a very good Bishop Chatard team last Friday. The Trojans have played their first two games without starting RB Jake Fike. He will be a game-time decision for this affair. Despite five turnovers in the opener, Moeller still managed to put up 489 yards on offense and 34 points in a victory at Bishop Hartley. Big Moe QB TJ Rotello racked up 315 yards of total offense (195 passing, 120 rushing) and accounted for four touchdowns (three rushing, one passing). Rotello must take better care of the ball, he was picked off three times and fumbled once. The Trojans are always a very opportunistic defense. The best matchup of the night will be in the trenches with East Central OT Luke Collinsworth (Cincinnati commit) battling Crusaders DE Nate Pabst (Bowling Green commit).

Moeller DE Nate Pabst (photo courtesy of ScoutingOhio.com)

No. 11 Sycamore at No. 9 Princeton
These two teams pulled out last-minute wins in their openers. Still fuming from last year’s heartbreaking last second loss to the Aviators, Princeton will look to show the Aves no mercy. Sycamore RB William Ingle had a coming out party last week with 199 yards and three touchdowns rushing. They also got 130 yards and two touchdowns passing from QB Andrew Fehr. Vikings’ RB Thomas Boyd had his fourth 100-yard game rushing in his last seven games in Week 1. As long as Boyd remains the focal point of the offense, Princeton will be tough to beat.

Princeton RB Thomas Boyd (photo by Dan Beineke/TriStateFootball.com)

No. 10 Mason at No. 15 Lakota East
Mason flexed its defensive muscle in a 24-12 win over Fairfield last week. The Comets, who have been to the playoffs the last five years, have had their problems closing out Lakota East. The Thunderhawks are 3-2 versus their GMC rival in that span. Those three victories by East have been by three, four and six points. It will be very surprising if both teams score more than 20 points. That hasn’t happened in this series since 2007.

Mason RB Nolan McCormick (photo by Dan Beineke/TriStateFootball.com)

No. 20 Badin at Alter
Badin leaps into the top 25 after blitzing then No. 17 Ross, 41-7. We will find out if the Rams are for real on the road at tough Alter squad. The Knights will be out for blood after falling to Clinton-Massie. Badin was very balanced in its win. Junior QB Landyn Vidourek threw for 238 yards and three running backs ran for more than 50 of the team’s 243 yards against Ross. Sophomore WR Lucas Moore had five receptions for 107 yards and two touchdowns. They will need that kind of effort again. Alter needs to tighten up its rush defense as they gave up 243 yards against Clinton-Massie. The Rams manhandled the Knights a year ago, 42-7.

Alter DL Derrick Shepard (photo by Shelby Frieszell/TriStateFootball.com)

BLITZ 5 GAME OF THE WEEK: No. 2 St. Xavier at No. 1 La Salle
Make sure to check out the COMPLETE PREVIEW for this week’s featured game.

Other games for teams ranked inside the Blitz 5 Top 25:

OHIO
Lebanon at No. 5 Winton Woods
No. 6 Colerain at Oak Hills
Kings at No. 17 Anderson
Milford at No. 17 Turpin
Talawanda at No. 19 Harrison
No. 20 Badin at Alter
No. 24 Middletown at No. 12 Fairfield
Mariemont at No. 22 Wyoming
No. 23 Ross at Northwest

INTERSTATE
Floyd Central (IN) at No. 3 Elder

 

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