TriStateFootball.com
Home / Features / Best Bets: Week 5

Best Bets: Week 5

Moeller RB Jordan Marshall (photo by: Sandy Mahoney / X: @InMotionBySandy)

Every year, we get to Week 5 and it’s hard to believe that we’re already nearly half way through the season. Most teams are now in their conference schedules and the sorting between the contenders and the pretenders begins to take form. That’s exactly what we’re beginning to see in the Greater Cincinnati high school football landscape.

After getting off to a slow 0-2 start, Lakota West has rebounded well with two good GMC wins headed into a big matchup at Colerain. Princeton leads the way in the GMC while surprises also include the rise of Hamilton and the fall of Fairfield. In the ECC, Milford has joined Winton Woods as the top dogs, which could stand until the two meet in Week 8. Edgewood picked up its first win since moving conferences while Beechwood’s offense is scoring just about as many points as the defense is giving up.

What can we still learn about these teams in Week 5? Here are this week’s Best Bets.

#16 HAMILTON AT #2 PRINCETON
Hamilton has been on a roll since their opening week loss to Badin, winning three straight GMC games by a combined score of 84-13. Following a shut out of Lakota East, the Big Blue proceeded to steamroll Mason and Oak Hills to go to 3-1 on the season. Hamilton will have a bit of a tougher test on Friday night when they take on one of the better teams in the area in the Princeton Vikings. What makes it even tougher is it’s on the road in Sharonville.

The biggest indicator that Hamilton has improved significantly since Week 1? They have a top five leader in passing yards, rushing yards and receiving yards in the GMC. The well-balanced offense is led by quarterback Antonio Mathis, who has thrown for 536 yards and five touchdowns. The Big Blue especially excel in the run game, where Cournell Bennett-McCoy has rushed for 293 yards and three touchdowns.

The Big Blue defense has also been stepping up in a big way in recent weeks. In the last three games, Hamilton has forced eight turnovers, with half of those coming in the win against Lakota East, where the Big Blue picked off Jamison Kitna three times. The defense has also racked up 16.5 tackles for loss in that three-game span as well. If the Big Blue wants any chance to take down the mighty Vikings, the defense will need to force turnovers and give the offense a chance to score.

In three GMC games, however, the Princeton offense has done just enough to win games. The Vikings have only scored 68 points in GMC play and some of their wins have not been too impressive, including a 20-3 win over Mason. In the game against Lakota East, it took some time for the offense to get going, not scoring until the 4:00 mark in the second quarter. The Vikings will want to avoid an upset by getting the scoring started early. The Vikings also are in the middle of the pack in the GMC in yards per game at 236 yards, while also averaging less than 100 yards passing.

Princeton should come ready and prepared for this game, particularly at home. Hamilton has the talent and the experience already this season to pull off the upset. Look for this one to be a close, low-scoring matchup. The edge goes to Princeton, but don’t be surprised if Hamilton gives the Vikings all they can handle.

#3 ST. XAVIER AT #11 MOELLER (at Welcome Stadium)
The St. Xavier Bombers got a one-week reprieve from traveling last week by hitting the road to Hyde Park to take on the Withrow Tigers after back-to-back weeks with extensive road trips – one to Michigan and the other to Tennessee. Unfortunately, another long bus ride is on top for Friday night (albeit not as long as Michigan and Tennessee) as the Bombers head north to Dayton to take on the Moeller Crusaders at Welcome Stadium.

The Bombers were involved in a low-scoring affair against a Withrow team did a great job of slowing down a tough Chase Herbstreit. After struggling to find a groove on offense against McCallie, St. Xavier could only muster up 14 points behind a performance of 212 passing yards and one touchdown from Herbstreit. The tough battle against Withrow said more about the Tigers, though, than it did about the Bombers. Both are very good, talented teams that could make noise in the playoffs.

Moeller, on the other hand, has struggled all season to put opponents away. Jordan Marshall is still a stud, rushing for at least 100 yards in every game so far this season while also tallying seven touchdowns. He also has three touchdowns through the air. Sophomore Matt Ponataski is slinging the ball with confidence and authority, with four games so far all over 200 yards passing. He’s also had two games with four touchdown passes.

Outside of the Bishop Dwenger shutout, however, the Crusaders defense has not been up to the task of stopping high-power offenses. East Central is a team that the Crusaders beat with relative ease in 2022 but had issues this season, resulting in a loss. Moeller has surely been battle-tested, however, which should help them with the rest of their schedule going forward.

In the GCL South, you never know what you’re going to get. With all the teams only getting three conference games, schedules are loaded up with some of the best teams from around the country and in the Greater Cincinnati area. The Bombers and the Crusaders will be putting on a show for all of the Greater Cincinnati high school football fans in the Dayton area. It’s hard to pick an edge in this game.

#8 MILFORD AT #14 KINGS
It’s not very often a team is outgained on offensive yardage by 176 yards and still win the game. That’s exactly what happened in Week 4 when the Milford Eagles knocked off the Anderson Raptors in an exciting ECC matchup that vaulted the Eagles into a tie of the ECC lead with Winton Woods. The Eagles face the Warriors in Week 8 of the season, but Milford will first have to get past the Kings Knights, a perennial ECC juggernaut since the creation of the league in 2012.

Despite having a gunslinger in quarterback Luke Brand, Milford used its run game effectively and constantly to steal the win over Anderson. Brand still threw for 171 yards and a touchdown, but it was Nathan Webster’s 170 rushing yards and three touchdowns that were the highlights of the game. Tofa Luani also added three rushing touchdowns for Milford. If the Eagles offense can be this balanced when it needs to be, they could be incredibly dangerous come time for the playoffs.

Kings, meanwhile, has slid just a bit after the graduation of a star-studded senior class last year. The Knights were upset by Loveland in Week 4, a team they haven’t lost to since a 49-0 loss in 2013. The defense gave up 444 yards of total offense to the Tigers, who employed a balanced passing-rushing attack on the Knights. The Knights were also unable to effectively convert on third downs, only converting two on the game.

Milford has all the momentum in this one and the offensive firepower to beat Kings. The Knights have not shown enough on the defensive side of the ball this season to write a new narrative that they can stop the Milford offense. Milford has the edge.

#9 COVINGTON CATHOLIC AT #19 BEECHWOOD
Is there anything more exciting than a matchup between two Top 25 teams in Northern Kentucky? Especially a regional rivalry between two schools that separated by only 2.3 miles? Not to mention, both teams are undefeated. This has the making of a “Game of the Year” type atmosphere in Fort Mitchell.

Covington Catholic and Beechwood have two common opponents so far this season in Dixie Heights and Simon Kenton. Both teams had issues with putting away the Colonels, although Beechwood had a little more a trickier time by going into overtime and winning by one. Covington Catholic blew out Simon Kenton while Beechwood had a much closer four-point result.

These two programs are juggernauts in Northern Kentucky high school football. This feels like the type of game that both teams circle on their calendars, knowing full well they both could be undefeated going into it. If Beechwood wants to continue its streak of 5-0 starts, however, its defense will need to step up. Covington Catholic has the edge.

GAME OF THE WEEK
Make sure to check out the COMPLETE PREVIEW for this week’s featured game on the Blitz 5 Tour, No. 24 Mason at No. 20 Fairfield..

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

OHIO
Little Miami at No. 1 Winton Woods

No. 5 Elder at Louisville St. Xavier (KY)

No. 6 Lakota West at Colerain

Trotwood-Madison at No. 7 Withrow

Walnut Hills at No. 10 Anderson

No. 12 Taft at Purcell Marian

Buffalo Canisius (NY) at No. 13 La Salle

Hughes at No. 15 Badin

Oak Hills at No. 17 Sycamore

Lakota East at No. 18 Middletown

No. 21 Clinton-Massie at Harrison

Fenwick at No. 22 Mount Healthy

Taylor at No. 25 Wyoming

KENTUCKY
No. 23 Highlands at Raceland

INDIANA
No. 4 East Central at Batesville

 

 

 

You must be logged in to post a comment Login