CINCINNATI, Ohio – On a beautiful late-August Friday night at The Pit, the opening stop of the 2026 Blitz 5 Tour belonged to Kaden Estep, Andrew Lyman and the Elder Panthers.
Estep accounted for five touchdowns and Lyman, a senior transfer from Kings, caught four scoring passes as Elder opened its season with an emphatic 35-3 victory over Middletown.
After a scoreless first quarter, Elder broke through when Estep found Lyman for a two-yard touchdown to cap a 17-play, 87-yard drive. Middletown answered with a 27-yard Carson Haggins field goal, but the Estep-to-Lyman connection struck again from 11 yards out with 1:14 remaining before halftime.
Elder blew the game open after the break.
Estep, a Miami (Ohio) commit, raced 67 yards for a touchdown early in the third quarter. He then connected with Lyman for touchdowns of 45 and 61 yards as the Panthers scored on four consecutive possessions.
Estep finished 11-of-18 passing for 195 yards and four touchdowns while rushing 12 times for 147 yards and another score. Lyman made quite a first impression in purple, hauling in seven passes for 145 yards and all four Elder receiving touchdowns.
The Panthers dominated the line of scrimmage, outgaining Middletown 377-164 overall and 182-2 on the ground. Pete Fortkamp led the defense with 10 tackles and 1.5 sacks, while Brayden Tepe added eight tackles and two sacks.
Elder (1-0) travels to Covington Catholic next Friday.
SCORING BY QUARTERS
Middletown: 0-3-0-0-3
Elder: 0-14-14-7-35
SCORING PLAYS
E: Andrew Lyman 2 pass from Kaden Estep (Tyler Homan kick)
M: Carson Haggins 27 FG
E: Lyman 11 pass from Estep (Homan kick)
E: Estep 67 run (Homan kick)
E: Lyman 45 pass from Estep (Homan kick)
E: Lyman 61 pass from Estep (Homan kick)
RECORDS: Middletown (0-1); Elder (1-0)
UP NEXT: Middletown vs. x; Elder at CovCath
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