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Best Bets: Week 6

Western Brown QB Drew Novak (photo by: AJ Fullam/6SPHOTO.COM)

Let’s get this out of the way first. Last week was one of the most exciting weeks of high school football in a long time. There was an exciting, star-studded affair at St. Xavier that saw the Moeller Crusaders knock off the Bombers. Highlands and Ryle put a combined 103 points on the scoreboard in a Bluebirds victory. The Colerain Cardinals notched their first win of the season and Kings flexed their power in the ECC in a dominating win over Milford.

Week 6 has some intriguing matchups, including conference rivalries, battles for first, and offensive affairs. Here are this week’s Best Bets.

#25 NEW RICHMOND AT #24 WESTERN BROWN
The Southern Buckeye Athletic and Academic Conference may have the brightest lights of the week. The undefeated New Richmond Lions travel to Mount Orab to take on the high-powered offensive juggernaut in the Broncos from Western Brown. The Broncos dominated in the 2021 edition of this game, cruising to a 41-0 victory on the road. Western Brown still has Drew Novak but New Richmond has returned to its winning ways.

This game will feature two of the biggest arms in the Tri-State. We all know what Drew Novak is capable of. On his way to moving up the state leaderboard in several categories, Novak has thrown for 1,635 yards and 15 touchdowns so far in 2022. Playing with a big lead in Week 5, Novak threw for his lowest yardage all season, 192 yards and three touchdowns. Zachary Chisman added 121 yards on the ground and three touchdowns. The Broncos can be balanced when need be. When Novak needs to throw for 300 yards, he can. When Chrisman needs to run for 100 yards, he can.

New Richmond quarterback AJ Metzger also has a cannon for an arm. Ranking second in passing in the SBAAC behind Novak, Metzger has thrown for 1,353 yards. He has more passing touchdowns than Novak with 19 and more rushing touchdowns with 16. The Lions are less balanced than the Broncos, but that may not matter. Western Brown should put a lot of points on the board. Unless the Lions can get ahead first, expect Metzger to have a big night through the air as he will have to throw a lot while playing from behind.

Both defenses have the capability of stepping up as both the Lions and Broncos have double-digit turnovers on the season. But these offenses are too good and too powerful to not light up the scoreboard. Expect a shootout at Western Brown.

#18 ANDERSON AT #3 WINTON WOODS
Three teams in the Eastern Cincinnati Conference have scored more than 220 points of offense this season. Two of those face off on Friday night when the Anderson Raptors travel to Winton Woods. Neither team has scored less than 36 points in a game, despite one of the teams having two losses. The big difference? Defense. Winton Woods has allowed 125 less points than Anderson and only allows 167.8 yards per game to Anderson’s 345 points. Bear in mind, however, Anderson has already faced two of the top offenses in the region in Princeton and Milford.

Anderson’s Griffin Scalf is the passing leader in the ECC with 1,698 yards and 11 touchdowns. However, despite scoring 51 points in last week’s win over Walnut Hills, Scarf did not throw for one touchdown. That’s because the Raptors boast a dangerous weapon in Brodey Berg, who is a dangerous weapon running the ball and catching the ball. Berg rushed for five touchdowns in the win over Walnut Hills. If the Raptors defense can find a way to get a couple of stops early, Anderson has enough firepower on the offensive side of the ball to keep them in the game.

The Winton Woods offense is a bit tougher to analyze. The Warriors boast a two-headed beast in the backfield with Trey Cornist and James Minor III, who have combined to rush for nearly 1,000 yards. Quarterback Vance George is a consistent passer, who has passed for over 100 yards in every game this season and hadn’t thrown an interception until Week 5 against Little Miami. This balanced offensive attack is unpredictable which could cause fits for the Raptors defense.

On paper, this should be an easy win for the Warriors. But who was the last team to beat Winton Woods? Anderson in Week 7 of the 2021 season. Winton Woods would go on to win the rest of its games last season, including bringing home a state title. The Warriors have also won every game so far this season. Bet on the unexpected in this matchup.

#2 MOELLER AT #9 LA SALLE
Moeller has to have a break sooner or later after playing some of the best teams in the country and in the area, right? Awaiting the Crusaders is another road trip to North Bend Rd. After narrowly edging out St. Xavier in front of the likes of Luke Fickell and Zac Taylor, Moeller heads to the other GCL South school on North Bend Rd. in the La Salle Lancers. The Lancers, meanwhile, are looking to right the ship in the midst of a three-game skid. Two of those losses came at the hands of two of the best teams in Louisville. Can the Lancers get back on track against the Crusaders?

That’ll be a tough ask, considering the Crusaders have one of the most exciting players in the region in Jordan Marshall. Through five games, Marshall has rushed for 728 yards and 11 touchdowns. He’s also added 165 yards and four touchdowns receiving. Quarterback Luke Dunn is also a threat through the air, having passed for over 200 yards in three of the first five games, throwing 13 touchdowns in the process. 

Meanwhile, for the Lancers, they have not scored more than 16 points on offense since their 70-point showing against RICC from Canada. Quarterback Mason Mattingly is headed into this game with some momentum after a 225-yard affair against duPont Manual. That’s a career high for him.

Before handing this game over to the Crusaders, remember that this is the GCL South. Anything can happen. Moeller won this by two touchdowns a year ago on their home turf. Despite the game shifting to Lancer Stadium, the Crusaders are just too good and too powerful. They should overwhelm the Lancers early en route to an easy win. But again, nothing in the GCL South would surprise.

#10 EAST CENTRAL AT SOUTH DEARBORN
Southeast Indiana will feature one of the top matchups in the state when the East Central Trojans hit the road to take on the undefeated South Dearborn Knights. The Trojans would be undefeated too if they hadn’t played the No. 2 team in the Blitz 5 Top 25 in the Moeller Crusaders. On the surface, these two are pretty evenly matched. East Central has scored 182 points while South Dearborn has put 180 on the board. Points against? East Central, 53. South Dearborn, 48.

Both the Trojans and Knights feature quarterbacks who also share similar stats. Cole Burton (965 yards, 10 touchdowns) and Adam Kunkel (981 yards, 9 touchdowns) lead the teams in passing. Expect this game to be close and within a touchdown. This may come down to whoever possesses the ball last.

GAME OF THE WEEK
Make sure to check out the COMPLETE PREVIEW for this week’s featured game on the Blitz 5 Tour,  #6 Princeton at #4 Fairfield.

Here are some other games for teams ranked inside the Blitz 5 Top 25:

OHIO
No. 15 Hamilton at No. 1 Lakota West
No. 7 St. Xavier at No. 5 Elder
No. 8 Kings at West Clermont
No. 11 Mason at No. 12 Lakota East
No. 14 Colerain at Oak Hills
No. 15 Milford at Little Miami
Carroll at No. 16 Badin
No. 19 Wyoming at Deer Park
Withrow at No. 20 Taft
Mt. Healthy at No. 22 Edgewood

KENTUCKY
No. 13 Covington Catholic at Cooper

 

 

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