Best Bets: Week 11

The moment has finally come: high school football playoffs in Ohio. The pairings have been announced, the matchups are set, and the teams are preparing for game one towards a state championship. The Road to Canton begins on Friday night. Here are this week’s Best Bets.

OHIO DIVISION I, REGION 4
#11 WEST CLERMONT AT #6 PRINCETON
This 6-11 matchup pits two teams that have done incredible things in the 2022 season. For Princeton, the team repeated its stellar 2021 regular season with a nearly-repeat performance, finishing 8-2 after a close loss to Mason in Week 10. West Clermont, meanwhile, went 5-5 in an massively difficult Eastern Cincinnati Conference while playing primarily underclassmen. None of the top five scorers (players who have tallied a touchdown or other points) are seniors and three are sophomores or younger.

The Wolves will have a tough matchup, however, against an experienced Princeton Vikings team led by a group of seniors who have seen a lot of wins. Senior quarterback RJ West is the second-leading passer in the Greater Miami Conference, only behind Lakota West’s Mitch Bolden. West has thrown for 1,487 yards and 15 touchdowns while also gaining 537 yards on the ground and 10 additional touchdowns. What has tripped up the Vikings in recent weeks is undisciplined play. In the loss to Mason, Princeton committed 16 penalties for 160 yards. In the last four games, the Vikings have lost 474 yards on 49 penalties. The team must clean up the sloppy play in order to make a run in a difficult Division I, Region 4.

As mentioned earlier, West Clermont has set themselves up for success for may years to come. The Wolves’ top passer, Bryson Earley, is a junior who has nearly as many yards rushing as he does passing. One concerning trend is that Earley is prone to turnovers. In all five of West Clermont’s losses, Earley has at least one turnover. Of the five wins for the Wolves, Earley had zero turnovers. If Earley can keep a clean sheet in the turnover battle, the Wolves can keep Princeton on the ropes for a little while. However, the Vikings offense should be too powerful against a defense that has given up 255 points this season.

This is an intriguing matchup because it tells two different stories. Princeton is built for this year and this moment behind a senior-laden team. West Clermont has made an incredible run with nearly no seniors and many of its big playmakers being freshmen and sophomores. As the Wolves get more experience in a difficult Eastern Cincinnati Conference, they should compete for an ECC title in the next year or two. In 2022, however, this is Princeton’s year in round one.

OHIO DIVISION II, REGION 8
#9 ROSS AT #8 NORTHWEST
It’s not very often an intraconference matchup is featured in the playoffs. In Division II, Region 8, we’re getting a Southwest Ohio Conference tilt that is a rematch of a one-point affair earlier in the regular season. In Week 6, the Northwest Wildcats hosted the Ross Rams at home after four straight road games and etched a close 36-35 win for its first in conference play.

Northwest is going into the playoffs with an incredible amount of momentum, currently on a three-game win streak. In the last two games, the Wildcats have scored 53 and 54 points, but also gave up 49 and 42 in those games, respectively. Offensive points come by way of the ground game for Northwest, having racked up 447 yards and six touchdowns on the ground in last week’s win over Talawanda. Kinxton Hill led the way with 16 rushes for 144 yards and two touchdowns, while Kaleb Jones added 13 rushes for 150 yards. Quarterback Diego Yun tallied three touchdowns via the rush as well.

The Ross Rams are winners of three of the last four, coming off a 46-30 win over Mt. Healthy. Despite outscoring the Owls by 16 points, the Rams were outgained on offense 313-290. Ross was the benefactor of a penalty-laden Owls team that had 18 penalties for 155 yards. When the Rams do have the ball, they are also a run-heavy offense, tallying 233 rushing yards in Week 10. In fact, the Rams have only attempted 44 passes all season.

There’s a reason why this is an 8-9 matchup. These are two evenly-matched teams who if they played 10 times in a season, each team would probably win five. Expect this to be a close game once again and for this to come down to the team who has the ball last.

OHIO DIVISION III, REGION 12
#10 MONROE AT #7 HUGHES
Looking at the schedules of these two teams, their wins and losses are nearly identical. In the weeks Monroe won, Hughes won, In the weeks Hughes lost, Monroe lost. The only week in which their results are different is Week 3 when Hughes’ game against Lockland was canceled. Both the Hornets and the Big Red are coming off back-to-back losses which followed a four-game winning streak. Both teams also started 2-0.

Monroe boasts one of the best running talents in the region in senior fullback Elijah Jackson, who led the Southwestern Buckeye League in rushing with 1,262 yards and 15 touchdowns. He broke the 200-yard mark in two games this season. Ryan Miles is also top five in rushing in the SWBL. The 270 points scored is good enough for second in the SWBL East Division.

Hughes, meanwhile, has been torched on defense the past two games, being outscored 93-0 in losses to Taft and Withrow. Prior to the two-game skid, the Big Red scored 40 points or more in six straight games. Quarterback Marvin Good has a breakout game Western Hills, where he threw for 318 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed for over 70 yards and a touchdown in that game.

This game could ultimately become a shootout. Both of these offenses know how to light up a scoreboard, even though the way in which they go about it is completely different. Monroe is more run-oriented while Hughes does damage through the air. The team who wins the turnover battle and plays disciplined football will be the team that comes out on top.

OHIO DIVISION IV, REGION 16
#10 ALTER AT #7 READING
For the second straight season, the Reading Blue Devils finished the regular season with seven wins. Reading could’ve had an eighth win but gave up a safety in the regular season finale against Indian Hill that ultimately became the difference in the game. Next up for the Blue Devils is the Alter Knights, who finished the regular season 5-5 for a second consecutive season.

This game will come down to the Reading defense making plays to slow down an Alter offense that is second to last in the GCL Co-Ed in points scored. The Blue Devils boast the Cincinnati Hills League leader in interceptions (Antwon Brooks); numbers two, three and four in tackles (Vincent Eadicicco, Austin Fancher, Dickie Engel) and the third-highest leader in sacks (Patton Johnson).

Reading is coming into the playoffs looking to gain some steam after the Week 10 setback against Indian Hill. The defense should step up and make enough plays to give the offense enough time and room to score some points. The Blue Devils are in good position to win their first playoff game since 2017.

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GAME OF THE WEEK
Make sure to check out the COMPLETE PREVIEW for this week’s featured game,  No. 9 St. Xavier at No. 8 Fairfield.

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