TriStateFootball.com
Home / Football / Best Bets: Week 8

Best Bets: Week 8

Fairfield QB Talon Fisher (photo by Shelby Frieszell/tristatefootball.com)

Week eight is upon us and we are headed towards the home stretch of the high school football regular season. This week, a gigantic Greater Miami Conference matchup will go a long way in deciding a champion. Elsewhere, several top teams should be tested in both conference and out of conference tilts. Yes, there is plenty of action all across the area and these are your best bets.

#1 LAKOTA WEST AT #6 FAIRFIELD
The Fairfield Indians are 6-1 coming into week eight as they will entertain the unbeaten Lakota West Firebirds at Alumni Stadium. Fairfield looks to pass a severe test and put themselves in the conversation as a threat in Division I, Region IV. The Firebirds look to continue their recent GMC dominance by taking a huge step to claiming their third consecutive conference crown.

Lakota West features perhaps the most formidable defense in the state of Ohio as they only give up 5.7 points per game. If there is a weakness however, the Firebirds do give up a shade over 100 yards per game on the ground, Fairfield’s run game has been their strong suit as they tote the rock for 270 yards a night on the ground. Quarterback Talon Fisher has rushed for 884 yards and 10 touchdowns to lead the league. Jordan Jackson, his mate in the backfield sits in third (580 yds, 5 TD).

The Firebird offense is no slouch itself. Mitch Bolden leads the league in passing (1,293 yds, 17 TD) and he has a bevy of targets to choose from. Lakota West puts up an astounding 37.3 points a game but this game may ultimately come down to which defense stays in character the most. The Indians’ defense always comes to play, only allowing two scores a game with seven takeaways.

There have been upsets before but bet on Lakota West going on the road and taking care of business in a win. If so, they’ll be knocking on the door of yet another conference title.

#3 WINTON WOODS AT #12 MILFORD
Winton Woods is riding high after a tough victory a week ago against Kings to keep their record unblemished. They’ll travel this week to once beaten Milford to take on an Eagles team capable of pulling an upset if things go their way. The Warriors can put a stranglehold on a league title with a win. The Eagles could make a mess at the top of the standings if they can somehow stop the juggernaut out of Forest Park.

Milford quarterback Austin Hardin is a gunslinger under center. He ranks second in the ECC in passing yards with 1,922 and leads the league with a whopping 26 touchdown passes. Three of his targets, Reece Davis (27 rec, 490 yds, 9 TD), Cam Livingston (19 rec, 431 yds, 6 TD), and Luke Ray (30 rec, 398 yds, 2 TD) all rank in the top 10 in the league in receiving. A stout Winton Woods defense only allows 14 points per game but have been susceptible to the air attack specifically over the last two weeks.

The Warriors offense is driven by running back Trey Cornist who hasn’t met a defense he doesn’t like yet this season. With 1,096 yards rushing and 16 touchdowns, Cornist has been a terror for opposing defenses all year long. The Warriors have also gotten 430 yards and six scores from James Minor III. Winton Woods scores 46 points per game which doesn’t bode well for a Milford defense that has had tremendous trouble keeping its opponents out of the endzone.

It should be a great atmosphere out in Milford on Friday night but bet on Winton Woods to put up a ton of points on their way to a big victory on the road. With two below .500 teams left on their schedule, a win puts them in prime position to reclaim the ECC crown.

#18 MIDDLETOWN AT #4 PRINCETON
After an early four game losing skid, the Middletown Middies have won two straight and feel as if they have turned a corner late in the season. At 3-4 they’ll travel to Sharonville to take on the Princeton Vikings who are fresh off a blowout win. Middletown looks to continue to right the ship on their season as Princeton hopes to prime themselves for a postseason run.

The Middies finally found some offense in the last two weeks in scoring over 20 points in both outings. Senior quarterback Kellen Davis is fifth in the league in passing with 864 yards and tailback Lemond Chambers ranks fourth in rushing with 557 yards on the year. They’ll need to have big nights to overcome a Viking defense that only gives up 11.6 points a game and to keep pace on the scoreboard to try and secure the upset.

The Middletown defense gives up the fourth most yards per game in the GMC. This is not a good sign as the Middies haven’t faced an offense with the explosive capabilities of the Vikings yet this year. A week two 42-14 loss to Fairfield is likely the closest they’ve come to seeing the type of big play ability Princeton can bring to the table. RJ West ranks second in the conference in passing (1,098) and ninth in rushing (399) to lead a Princeton offense with no shortage of high-octane athletes that average 37.6 points per outing.

Middletown and Princeton have played a ton of tough, high-spirited wars over the years. In the 2022 affair, don’t bet on Middletown laying down but it’s safe to bet on Princeton lighting up the scoreboard in a big win that keeps them rolling near the season’s end.

#7 ST. XAVIER AT #14 LA SALLE
The king of the road showdown has been a GCL staple for many years and always brings the best out of both teams. Both St. Xavier and La Salle enter this year’s rivalry reeling and needing a win to get back on course as both programs are having uncharacteristic rough seasons. The Bombers (2-5) have played some of the state’s best to close margins while not being able to come through with wins and the Lancers (2-5) have dropped five straight with losses to several top teams.

La Salle has had trouble putting points on the board all season long. The Lancers haven’t scored more than 17 points against any team from the United States. If it weren’t for a 70-point scoring outing against RICC (Canada), they’d be only scoring 11.5 points per game. Mason Mattingly has thrown for 701 yards and six touchdowns. The Lancers’ leading rusher (Jaylen Grant) and receiver ( Zander Bernecker) both have a bit over 200 yards on the season.

St. Xavier has struggled as of late as they have dropped three straight contests. The Bombers have only averaged a tick over 11 points per game in those losses, unable to keep pace with their opponents. St. Xavier has played both of its quarterbacks in the last two outings, seemingly trying to find anything that can give their offense a boost. Whether it be Jack O’Malley (1174 yds, 9 TD) or Chase Herbstreit (237 yds), it would behoove them to get the ball to playmakers Steven Napier (128 car, 548 yds, 2 TD) and Jamaal Sharp (33 rec, 560 yds, 3 TD) to get themselves back in the win column.

Bet on St. Xavier to end their losing streak and get the good juices back flowing again in a win over the Lancers. If things go really well, maybe they will get back to the form that played a couple of the state’s top teams to three-point losses and be a team no one wants to see come playoff time.

+++

GAME OF THE WEEK
Make sure to check out the COMPLETE PREVIEW for this week’s featured game on the Blitz 5 Tour, Sycamore at #10 Mason.

+++

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

OHIO
No. 2 Moeller at St. Ignatius
No. 5 Elder at Roncalli (IN)
Lebanon at No. 8 Kings
No. 13 Lakota East at No. 20 Colerain
Chaminade Julienne at No. 15 Badin
No. 16 Edgewood at Talawanda
West Clermont at No. 17 Anderson
No. 18 Hamilton at Oak Hills
Mariemont at No. 21 Wyoming
No. 23 Western Brown at Goshen
Aiken at No. 25 Taft

INDIANA
No. 9 East Central at Guerin Catholic

KENTUCKY
No. 11 Covington Catholic at No. 24 Highlands
Holy Cross at No. 22 Beechwood

You must be logged in to post a comment Login