There is nothing like a Top 10 matchup to kick the 2026 high school football season in Greater Cincinnati off in style, and there is a dandy that will be taking place in Price Hill this Friday. The Blitz 5 Game of the Week will find itself at Elder High School and The Pit on Friday night, as #4 Elder, the defending Greater Catholic League South champions, will host #7 Middletown, the defending Ohio Division I, Region 2 champions, to open the year. Both squads have lofty goals for the 2026 season, and are looking to start the year off on the right foot in what should be a great battle between two respected programs.
#7 MIDDLETOWN MIDDIES (0-0) at #4 ELDER PANTHERS (0-0)
Kickoff: 7:00 p.m., August 21st
At: The Pit, Elder High School
Follow on X: @TSFootball
PLAYERS TO WATCH: On offense, Elder returns senior quarterback Kaden Estep, a Miami of Ohio commitment who guided the Panthers to a perfect regular season, the GCL South title and a regional runner-up spot. The dual-threat Estep, who was first-team All-Ohio Division I, threw for 2,430 yards and 15 touchdowns, while adding another 924 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground. One of his favorite targets also returns for the Panther offense, senior wide receiver Chase Walpole, who was second-team All-GCL South in 2025 after hauling in 43 catches for 615 yards and three touchdowns. The Panthers aren’t hurting on the defensive side of the ball, either, as they return 2025 first-team All-GCL South defensive lineman Jayven Hutchinson, along with second-team All-GCL South linebacker Brody Turner. The junior linebacker racked up 90 tackles in 2025, while adding 1.5 sacks.
Middletown, meanwhile, brings an impressive mix of both returning starters and transfers to 2026, starting with senior transfer quarterback Kolby Morgerson from Division V Carlisle. Morgerson, a third-team All-Ohio Division V in 2025, completed 71.8 percent of his passes for 2,352 yards and 24 touchdowns. His addition gives the Middies some firepower under center. Joining him on the offensive side of the ball is returning wideout Will Gibson, a second-team All-GMC in 2025 after hauling in 33 receptions for 418 yards and three touchdowns. Defensively, Middletown was one of the stoutest defensives in southwest Ohio in 2025 – allowing only 9 points a game – and looks to be just as formidable this season, as the Middies return senior defensive tackle Jaiden Davis, a second-team All-GMC in 2025 who has committed to Northwestern, and senior defensive back Jordan Crider, a transfer to Middletown who as a junior at Badin tied for second in the Greater Catholic League Co-Ed with four interceptions. Crider has committed to Iowa State.
TEAM TRENDS: Elder has won the last eight games in this series, which dates back to 1934. The last time the two teams met was in 2022, with Elder running away with a 49-7 victory in The Pit.
Middletown’s last victory in the series – which Elder leads 10-2 – was in 1992, a 35-17 victory in Middletown. The only other time the Middies have defeated Elder was in 1934, also at Middletown, in which the Middies blanked the Panthers 26-0.
The margin of victory in Elder’s last eight wins in the series has been 25.2 points, while Middletown has averaged only 10.8 points per game in those eight straight losses.
HEAD COACHES:
Middletown: Kali Jones (16-9 at Middletown, two years; 55-44 overall, nine years)
Elder: Doug Ramsey (235-108 at Elder, 30 years; 235-108 overall)
PLAYOFF HISTORY:
Middletown: (11 appearances, 8-11) – 2025 (Regional Champion), 2024, 2023, 2022, 2020, 2011, 2010, 2009, 1990, 1989, 1987
Elder: (27 appearances, 47-25 overall) – 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019 (State Runner-up), 2018, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2009 (Regional Champion), 2008 (State Runner-up), 2007, 2004, 2003 (State Champion), 2002 (State Champion), 2001, 2000, 1999, 1996 (Regional Champion), 1995, 1991, 1989, 1988
MIDDLETOWN’S KEYS TO VICTORY: Getting in the backfield and disrupting Estep will be key for a Middletown defense that prides itself on stopping offenses. Estep is not immune to turnovers, evidenced by the eight interceptions he threw in 2025 – three of those interceptions coming in the postseason against Princeton and St. Xavier. If the Middie defense can make the stops when needed, it will take some pressure off of the Middletown offense, which has a lot of transfers on that side of the ball, including its field general in quarterback Kolby Morgerson.
ELDER’S KEYS TO VICTORY: Keep Estep clean and give him time. The first-team All-Ohio Division I is capable of great decision-making and playmaking, when given the time and space. The Panther offensive line will be tasked with giving Estep that, as it showed last season – such as in the playoff battles with Princeton and St. Xavier – that when he didn’t have the time, Estep was prone to mistakes. The Panther defense will also have to be stout and not have a similar performance as they did in the last two games of 2025, where they gave up an average of 32 points per game in their playoff contests with Princeton and St. Xavier.
Prediction: Elder 21, Middletown 17
