Week Four of the high school football season finds the Blitz 5 Game of the Week back in Ohio, this week at Kings Stadium in Kings Mills, as the #20 Kings Knights are aiming to keep pace in the Eastern Cincinnati Conference title race as they host another ECC rival in the West Clermont Wolves, who are seeking to get back on a winning track in the 2026 season after two consecutive conference losses.
WEST CLERMONT WOLVES (1-2) at #20 KINGS KNIGHTS (2-1)
Kickoff: 7:00 p.m., September 11
At: Kings Stadium, Kings High School, Kings Mills, Ohio
Follow on X: @TSFootball
PLAYERS TO WATCH:
Senior QB Colton Abner threw for 319 yards and two touchdowns for West Clermont last week in their loss to #16 Lebanon, and will need to duplicate that performance this Friday to give the Wolves a chance. His teammate in the West Clermont backfield, senior RB Caleb Abshire, will be looking to get back on track after being limited to only 37 yards on the ground last week, after averaging 91.5 yards rushing over the first two weeks of the season. The Wolves will also need another performance like junior wideout Jasiah Feliciano gave them against Lebanon, where he hauled in seven receptions for 143 yards and two touchdowns.
On defense, West Clermont will need their impressive linebacker duo, junior Riley Young and senior Cameron Anderson, to be on their game. The duo have combined, in the season’s first three games, for 32 total tackles, half a sack and two and a half tackles for loss.
Kings, meanwhile, will be relying heavily on the offensive side of the ball on their two-headed rushing attack of sophomore Oliver Young, who has rushed 40 times for 329 yards and six touchdowns, along with senior Jaden Hornbeck, who has rushed 40 times for 192 yards and two scores himself. They, along with wideout Nathan Tucker, who has nine receptions for 235 yards and two touchdowns, are the only Knights to score so far this season.
Defensively, the Knights will be led by junior defensive lineman Connor Johnson, who was Second Team All-ECC as a sophomore last year, and senior linebacker Jack Pearson. The duo have combined for 32 total tackles, three sacks and seven tackles for loss already this season.
TEAM TRENDS: West Clermont made the OHSAA Division I playoffs six out of its first eight years of existence, but saw its streak of four consecutive playoff berths come to an end last year in a disappointing 2-8 season. Over the team’s last 13 games, they are 3-11, with the latest loss being last week’s 34-20 defeat to ECC rival and #16 Lebanon at home. In those 11 losses, the Wolves have allowed an average of 45 points per game, while scoring only a paltry 11.4 points per game. It looked as if things might be turning around offensively after a Week One 42-12 victory over Mt. Healthy, where the Wolves threw for 307 yards in the air and added 180 yards on the ground. But then came Week Two and a 70-19 loss to #6 Anderson, and West Clermont has since dropped two straight.
Kings got back on the right track in a 41-14 victory over Loveland in Week Three, after being shut out for only the second time since 2013 – a span of 154 games – in a 35-0 Week Two loss to ECC rival Winton Woods. The Knights are 57-16 since 2020, with one outright ECC title during that span. Kings rebounded nicely in Week Three following that shutout loss to Winton Wood with the victory over Loveland, and in their two wins so far this season, have a margin of victory of 27.5 points.
HEAD COACHES:
West Clermont: Jeremy Pflug (1-2 at West Clermont, first year; 66-31 overall, ninth year)
Kings: Alex Garvin (63-20 at Kings, seven years; 63-20 overall, seven years)
PLAYOFF HISTORY:
West Clermont: (six appearances, 0-6) – 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2017
Kings: (20 appearances, 22-20) – 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022 (Regional Champion), 2021, 2020, 2018, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2011, 2010, 2008, 2007, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 1999
WEST CLERMONT KEYS TO VICTORY: Get the running game going to open up the passing attack. Lebanon held West Clermont RB Caleb Abshire to only 37 yards on the ground, forcing quarterback Colton Abner to go to the air often and reducing the Wolves offensive to one dimension. Abshire averaged 91.5 yards a game in the first two games of the year, and that production is going to be needed – along with repeat performances of Week Three from Abner and wide receiver Jasiah Feliciano, to give West Clermont a chance at the upset and their first victory of the season.
KINGS KEYS TO VICTORY: Run the ball and stuff the run. Offensively, the Knights can continue to ride the two-headed rushing attack of Oliver Young and Jaden Hornbeck – who have combined for 521 yards and eight touchdowns – while sprinkling in some firepower through the air with wide receiver Nathan Tucker and QB Jack Sills. On defense, Kings can use a similar approach as ECC rival Lebanon did last week against West Clermont, and that is shutting down the Wolves rushing attack and forcing them to rely on the passing game.
Prediction: Kings 42, West Clermont 28
