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Best Bets: Week 16

Week 16 is here, and it tells us two things. The 2024 high school football season is in its final week and that week is very special as it is state championship week. Programs have the opportunity to put themselves in elite company by winning a state title. They’ll be able to speak on being a champion for the rest of time if they can put together a complete 48 minutes in their championship games this week. All the talking and preparation is just about complete and all that is left to do is to go out a perform to the best your ability. A game of football to decide a champion is on the horizon and we wouldn’t want it any other way.

Several area teams have made it to the final game, and we have some great matchups that we hope favor our local squads. In division I, the Moeller Crusaders collide with Olentangy Liberty. The game takes place at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio. Over in Kentucky, the Ryle Raiders look for a 6A crown against Louisville Trinity. Cooper once again battles with Bowling Green in 5A and Beechwood aims to claim a 2A crown again. It’s time to go win a championship and we hope our local stars align to go 4-0 this week. Thanks for coming along for the ride. Here are the Best Bets for week 16.

OHIO

DIVISION I

OLENTANGY LIBERTY VS. MOELLER

Olentangy Liberty is 13-2 and come into the state title game riding an eight-game win streak. The Patriots knocked off St. Edward’s last week in the semi-final in a tough physical game. They will be looking to pull another upset this week. The Patriots have turned a 4-8 2023 season into a state championship appearance and appear to be playing with a chip on their shoulder in hopes of making it a Cinderella story. St. Edward’s was seeking a four-peat and the Patriots would deny them by jumping out to a 21-0 lead and not allowing any big comeback. Olentangy Liberty is led by quarterback Andrew Leonard who rushed for a score and passed for a score last week. The Patriots deploy a tough defense and physical running game.

Moeller QB Matt Ponatoski (photo by: Sandy Mahoney/ X: @InMotionBySandy)

Moeller will look to finish the season undefeated against teams from the state of Ohio with a win this week. The Crusaders pushed through the state semi-finals this season after four straight losses at that stage. Moeller cruised by Centerville with an explosive offensive performance and a dominating defense. They sit at 14-1 and have won 11 in a row to get to this point. Moeller has used a balanced attack to hurt teams in various ways.

Matt Ponatoski has been the key for Moeller as the junior quarterback has put together a fantastic season. Ponatoski is a finalist for Mr. Football and has thrown for over 4,000 yards and has 56 touchdown passes on the season. Running back Tyler Joselyn has been a major threat in the running game. Mattew Fogler and Jovan Love has led the receiving core for Moeller. Jonah Hayes and Jacob Cravens have been the tough guys on defense.

Moeller does what they have been doing all year, and they bring home another state crown.

KENTUCKY

CLASS 6A

LOUISVILLE TRINITY VS. RYLE

Trinity has won eight in a row and they sit at 12-2 on the season. The Chamrocks pitched a shutout last week against Fredrick Douglass and will need another stellar defensive performance this week to slow down the Raiders. Their defense has only given up 3 PPG during their eight-game run and have been the backbone of the team’s success. They’ve also scored over 35 points five times in that span including a 63-point outburst against Southern.

Ryle sits at 13-2 and have been on a mission to get a 6A state title. They now have a shot at the championship and may be considered the favorites as long as they don’t overlook their opponent. The Raiders dominated Great Crossing last week and looked great in doing so as their offense got going and put up 35 points. Ryle knocked off Great Crossing and another strong showing like that one will catapult them into being state champions.

Ryle RB/LB Jacob Savage (photo by: Chris Granger/X: @regnargc)

Jacob Savage has been the man for the Raiders on both sides of the ball as he has been able to hurt teams with his running abilities on offense and also easily stop the run on defense. He has been a leader both with his play and vocally as well. Nathan Verax has run the show at quarterback and Drake Meadows has been the quarterback of the Ryle secondary.

Ryle has all the makings of a state champion, they now just have to go out and do it. Raiders get it done in Lexington.

 

CLASS 5A

BOWLING GREEN VS. COOPER

Bowling Green is the defending state champion having defeated Cooper in the championship game a year ago. They will look to repeat and catapult themselves with a tough defense and an offense that can make a defense pay for its mistakes.

Cooper has been the cream of the crop all season long in 5A and will need to play a clean game this week to finish that way. The Jaguars have been great on offense and need to ttay away from turnovers and continue to put points on the board. The defense and special teams have been able to put points on the board. If they can do that again, they have a great chance to win a championship.

Cooper quarterback Cam O’Hara has thrown for over 3,200 yards with 49 touchdown passes and only two interceptions. The junior has 117 touchdown passes in his career, 11th most in Kentucky history. He is 28 touchdowns away from the state record. The recipient of most of those scoring tosses (22 in 2024) is senior Isaiah Johnson. That is good for eighth most in state history. Balancing out the offense is running back Keagan Maher, senior Austin Alexander is a problem on both sides of the ball as he has 280 plus tackles and over 45 sacks in his career. The North Carolina-bound Alexander also has over 150 receptions, 2,500 plus yards receiving and 38 touchdown catches (tied for 26th most in Kentucky history) in a Jaguars’ uniform.

Cooper avenges last season’s 28-14 championship loss to Bowling Green for the school’s first state crown.

 

CLASS 2A

OWENSBORO CATHOLIC VS BEECHWOOD

The Aces are 14-0 and have not been threatened all season long as their closest game was a 13-point win last week against Somerset. The Aces present a balanced attack as they have passed for over 4,100 yards as a team and have rushed for over 2,000 yards as a team. The defense has held all but one opponent to 16 points or less this season making them a great all-around team.

Brady Atwell has 45 touchdown passes for the Aces at quarterback and Miles Edge has rushed for 711 yards. Atwell also has 552 yards rushing and 18 more scores on the ground. Vincent Carrico leads the team with 111 tackles on defense.

Beechwood sits at 15-1 and it’s one loss came to class 4A powerhouse Covington Catholic in a shootout. The Tigers have now won 11 straight games and have been dominant in every single one of them. They look to continue that trend in the state championship game and have a great chance of doing so. The Tigers are making their 23rd state title game appearance.

Clay Hayden leads the team at quarterback as he is in search of his second state title in his career. Hayden was 13-20 for 258 yards and two touchdowns last week. Chase Flaherty has been a great runner all season at running back and Nathan Pabst had a big game last week with 110 rushing yards and a 50-yard touchdown reception.

Beechwoods gets their 18th state title in their illustrious history this weekend.

GAME OF THE WEEK

Make sure to check out the COMPLETE PREVIEW for this week’s featured game, Avon vs Anderson.

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