Best Bets: Week 2

Week two is here and we are one small step closer to the 2024 playoffs. Week one saw a slate of rivalry games kickoff the season with gusto. Moeller, Hamilton, Ryle, and East Central all picked up solid wins to start the season and earn some bragging rights. They and many others look to continue the momentum in week two. Those coming off of a loss hope to tighten the ship.

This week conference battles ensue in both the Greater Miami Conference and the Eastern Cincinnati Conference. Some truly colossal battles are right in front of us and we cannot wait for the matchups. Hamilton travels to West Chester for a key challenge against Lakota West in GMC action. In the ECC, Kings makes the trip to Winton Woods for an early showdown that could go a long way in deciding a conference champion. East Central takes on Harrison in a border rivalry and Reading heads east for a tilt with Batavia.

What will we learn in week two? Is there a new sheriff lurking in the town  of the GMC? Can Harrison pull off a massive upset? We can’t wait to find out. Here are the Best Bets for week two.

# 9 HAMILTON at #2 LAKOTA WEST

Game one of the conference slate is a great matchup with a ton riding on the outcome. There is a lot of football to play but Hamilton and Lakota West look to be fighting for the GMC crown. Hamilton’s defense lived up to the preseason hype by pitching a shutout against city rival Badin. Players like C.J. Bryant came to play and stood out by delivering some big-time hits all over the field. Even more impressive for Hamilton is that they shut down the Rams without star defensemen Trey Verdon who is out with an ACL injury.

Hamilton’s offense did enough to get by with a win. They rode the legs of tailback Gracen Goldsmith who had 95 yards and 2 touchdowns on 21 carries. Quarterback Antonio Mathis completed 16/21 passes for 132 yards but the Big Blue offense will need some big plays to open up the West defense.

Lakota West used a great defensive effort themselves to slide past St. Xavier in week one. They forced the Bombers into being one dimensional as they closed off any aerial attack that came their way. Grant Beerman led the way with 13 tackles and Rece Mason added 9 for a West defense that hasn’t given up many points over the last several seasons.

Offensively, second year starter Sam Wiles was the catalyst for success. He did it with his legs as well as his arm and kept St. Xavier off balance all game long. With 106 yards passing and 71 yards rushing, Wiles showed off his dual threat ability in accounting for two scores. West will want to get some more wideouts involved in the passing game against a stout Hamilton defense. Trey Barnette caught six passes for 76 yards but no one else was really effective. If this game is close, look out for kicker Kofi Adubofour who has range out to 50 yards and possibly beyond.

The belief is that Hamilton is ready to step up in these types of games and challenging perennial powers. For Lakota West who has been in and won these types of games before, experience just may pull them through a very physical and tight ball game.

Check out Greg and Dan talking about these games and more on our YouTube Page…

#11 KINGS AT #6 WINTON WOODS

Kings came out of the gate swinging in week one and connected on the knockout of Sycamore. The offense full of returners were clicking early and often and putting up points. Grant Nurre passed for 263 yards while Carson Lindholm and Max Lockwood both rushed for over 100 yards on the night. The defense held Sycamore to a mere 76 yards of total offense. Zach Hoying paced the Knights with five tackles and Caden Walker added two tackles for loss in only giving up one score.

Winton Woods went on the road and shocked the back-to-back state runner-up in division I. Defense and special teams led their attack as they turned two blocked punts into 9 points en route to the ten-point win. Landen Anderson had 10 tackles to lead the way and Justin Hill added two sacks as the Warriors were flying around making plays. Winton Woods leaned on their rushing attack to control the game. Isaiah Garrett and Tyler Gooding both rushed for over 50 yards and quarterback Bryshawn Brown added another 33 on the ground.

The Kings and Winton Woods rivalry winner often produces the ECC champ, and the Knights have had some recent success in their meetings. Bet on that to continue Friday night.

 

#10 EAST CENTRAL AT HARRISON

East Central has dominated its border bowl game with Harrison over recent seasons. Over the past three meetings, the Trojans have outscored the Wildcats by a whopping margin of 125-14. They have done most of their work on the ground as they have amassed 600 total rushing yards in those three games. They’ll be riding high off of a week one win over Lawrenceburg.

Harrison is coming off of an impressive win over Loveland where they themselves put up 40 points. Running back Cole Koops rushed for two touchdowns and 196 yards. He was nearly unstoppable while averaging 9.8 yards per carry. The Harrison defense was able to shut down the Loveland running game, and they’ll need to be great again in order to pull the upset.

Harrison may finally have the best running back on the field during this rivalry but bet on East Central to be physical and aggressive in a big win.

READING AT BATAVIA

Reading made somewhat of a statement by handling Woodward in week one by a score of 34-0. The Blue Devils. Quarterback Charlie Hess passed for two touchdowns and rushed for another to lead the offensive charge in a game where they could do no wrong. Also providing a strong game was Landen Schafer who rushed for a touchdown and had an interception on defense. The defense limited anything Woodward attempted and were never really threatened to be scored on in the win.

Batavia lost a close game to Madeira and will continue with another CHL team this week. The Bulldogs had plenty of offense but could not pull through to the win. Carson Harris passed for 302 yards and 2 touchdowns but four costly turnovers didn’t bode well for his offense.  Harris also rushed for 100 yards and another TD. Xavier Ison ran for 96 yards in a solid game as well. Marcus Hughbanks and Max Mehlman combined for 275 receiving yards in the loss. Andrew Manz led the team in tackles.

Batavia will again have the home crowd riled up in this one, but the best bet is that Reading will do what they need to do for a road win.

 

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GAME OF THE WEEK
Make sure to check out the COMPLETE PREVIEW for this week’s featured game on the Blitz 5 Tour, No. 15 Highlands at #17 Covington Catholic

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

OHIO

No. 1 Moeller at Bishop Dwenger

No. 3 St. Xavier at Centerville

No. 4 Princeton at Sycamore

No. 5 Anderson at West Clermont

No. 12 Mason at #19 Lakota East

Northmont at No. 13 La Salle

No. 14 Milford at Walnut Hills

No. 22 Oak Hills at No. 18 Middletown

KENTUCKY

No. 7 Cooper at Henry Clay

No. 16 Ryle at Conner

Campbell County at No. 25 Beechwood

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