TriStateFootball.com
Home / Football / Best Bets: Week 7

Best Bets: Week 7

Taft DE Elias Rudolph (photo By: James Bates / TriStateFootball.com)

Six weeks into the season and the playoff picture is beginning to take shape. There are still some playoff implications in the coming weeks, including this week, when a big GCL South matchup takes place at Nippert Stadium. Other conference matchups on Friday could also go a long way in determining conference champions. Here are this week’s Best Bets.

#10 MASON AT #1 LAKOTA WEST
The Mason Comets are 5-1 going into the Week 7 clash with one of the top teams in Ohio, Lakota West. However, one could argue this is the biggest test for the Comets since their Week 1 loss to Lincoln. Lakota West, on the other hand, continues to dominate, coming off a 38-0 victory over Hamilton in Week 6, notching a second shutout of the season. The Comets may have a tough time against a Firebirds’ defense that has only given up 33 points all season against good competition, only given up double-digit points once (Week 1 against St. Xavier.)

Firebirds’ quarterback Mitch Bolden will be a tough test for a Comets’ defense that also keeps opponents out of the end zone at an excellent clip, only allowing 38 points all year. In fact, if you take out a safety in the game against Lincoln and a fumble recovery score in the Middletown game, the Comets defense has only given up 29 points. But Bolden’s stat line is the best in the Greater Miami Conference, being the only quarterback to throw for over 1,000 yards this season. As a whole, Lakota West scores more points per game, averaging 37.3, well above Mason’s 20.2 points per game.

Statistically, this game pits the two best defenses in the GMC against each other. However, the offenses are a different story. Lakota West comes into this game brandishing one of the most dangerous offensive weapons in the state in Mitch Bolden, while Mason is a distant fourth in points scored this season in the conference. Both teams come into this game 5-0 in conference play, but the roads forged by the Firebirds and the Comets are completely different. Lakota West has been challenged in games against St. Xavier and Princeton, while four of Mason’s wins came against four of the bottom five teams in the conference standings.

In the GMC, anything can happen. But bet on Lakota West being too powerful for the Comets and being the only undefeated GMC team remaining at the end of Week 7. If the Firebirds take down the Comets, they are solidly in the driver’s seat for a third straight conference title.

#16 BADIN AT ALTER
Another log-jam at the top of a conference standing will lessen by one on Friday night when the Badin Rams travel to Kettering to take on the Alter Knights in GCL Co-Ed action. The Rams and the Knights are both 1-0 in conference play and joined by Fenwick at the top of the standings. Badin, however, is the only team with an unblemished overall record, while Alter comes in with some momentum after knocking off McNicholas 28-7 in Week 6.

Badin quarterback Alex Ritzie is among the top passers in the area with nearly 1,100 passing yards. Ritzie has thrown for at least 100 passing yards in all but one game and threw for 300 yards two weeks ago in a shutout win over Ross. In the Week 6 defeat of Carroll, the Rams’ running game combined for 254 yards and four touchdowns, with Ritzie only throwing nine passes, all completions, for 159 yards and two touchdowns. This Badin offense is dangerous on multiple fronts and can be tough to gameplan around, particularly when six different players had at least 25 rushing yards against Carroll.

Alter, meanwhile, does a ton of damage on the ground. Led by running back Jacob Schaefer with 389 yards and four touchdowns, four different players have at least 100 rushing yards on the season and six different players have scored a rushing touchdown. Quarterback Gavin Connor can also sling it when he needs to, coming off a game when he threw five completions for 142 yards and three touchdowns against McNicholas. Alter can wear a defense down with the running game then blitz a defense with a long ball.

This has been Badin’s conference for the past three years. Alter could seriously challenge the Rams for the first time since the narrow 14-12 Rams win in 2020. However, if the Knights defense allows Ritzie to score early and score often, the conference title could come down to a matchup between Badin and Fenwick in Week 9.

#6 FAIRFIELD AT #18 HAMILTON
The Fairfield Indians are looking to right the ship after its first loss of the season on Saturday against Princeton. Awaiting them are the Hamilton Big Blue, who are reeling after three straight losses and losses in four of their last five. To Hamilton’s credit, they’ve played the top teams in the conference in Lakota West, Princeton, and Mason. The Big Blue also lost to Lakota East after shutting out Middletown the week before.

Unfortunately for the Big Blue, their offense has scored the second-least amount of points in the GMC (59). Only Lakota East has scored less. Flip sides and the Fairfield defense has given up the fourth-least amount of points in the conference. Despite the loss against Princeton, the Indians held the strong Viking offense to only 28 points, an impressive feat.

There’s one name that should dominate this game: Talon Fisher. Fisher ranks in the top five in passing in the Greater Miami Conference and is the leading rusher in the conference with 761 rushing yards. Fisher had his biggest game throwing the ball against Princeton with 197 yards and a touchdown. As long as Fisher is on the field, Fairfield should be considered the favorite to win this important GMC matchup heading into the final weeks of the season.

#25 TAFT AT WESTERN HILLS
The Cincinnati Metro Athletic Conference Red Division certainly has a log-jam at the top of its standings as well. Five of the six teams are at or above .500 going into Week 7 of the season. Two of those teams, Taft and Western Hills, face off Friday night to either provide clarity in the standings or muddy the standings even more. The Mustangs are coming off an impressive 42-24 win over Woodward, while the Senators fell in a close one to a very difficult Withrow team.

The unit to watch in this game will be the Taft defense facing off against a good Mustangs offense. Elias Rudolph is one of the leaders in sacks in the CMAC with seven, while also accumulating 18 solo tackles and 26 total tackles. Rudolph has also recovered a fumble. Overall, the defense has tallied a remarkable three shutouts in six games.

When comparing the two teams’ schedules, Taft appears to be more battle-tested, with close losses to Wyoming and Withrow. But Western Hills is coming in with a ton of momentum, outsourcing its last two opponents 72-24. Will that momentum carry the Mustangs to the upset or will Taft get back on course for its fifth win in a row?

+++

GAME OF THE WEEK
Make sure to check out the COMPLETE PREVIEW for this week’s featured game on the Blitz 5 Tour,  #3 Winton Woods at #8 Kings.

+++

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

OHIO
No. 2 Moeller at No. 4 Elder (at Nippert Stadium)
Oak Hills at No. 5 Princeton
No. 7 St. Xavier at Louisville Trinity
No. 11 La Salle at Indianapolis Cathedral (IN)
Middletown at No. 13 Colerain
Walnut Hills at No. 14 Milford
No. 15 Lakota East at Sycamore
Northwest at No. 17 Edgewood
No. 19 Anderson at Little Miami
No. 20 Wyoming at Taylor
Clinton-Massie at No. 22 Western Brown

INDIANA
No. 9 East Central at Connersville

KENTUCKY
No. 12 Covington Catholic at Boone County
Dixie Heights at No. 21 Beechwood
No. 23 Highlands at Conner
No. 24 Ryle at Louisville St. Xavier

You must be logged in to post a comment Login