As the second half of the high school football season begins, there are several high-profile games in Greater Cincinnati.
For the first time this year, all four Greater Catholic League-South teams are playing each other. Besides several exciting matchups in the Miami Valley Conference, Northern Kentucky opens district play this Friday.
Predicting games this year are writers Brendan Connelly, Shelby Dermer, Alex Harrison, Chase Souder and James Weber, as well as assistant sports editor, Melanie Laughman.
In addition, we are now giving fans a voice in the process. Be sure to cast your vote ‒ one vote per reader ‒ on Cincinnati.com until 4 p.m. Friday for readers' choice game predictions.
St. Xavier (2-3) at Elder (5-0)
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 25
What to watch: No one has been
able to slow down the Elder offense yet or score on its defense. Elder has outscored its five victims by a total of 199-30. Covington Catholic scored 20 of those points in a 56-20 loss to the Panthers in Week 2.
The past two weeks, Elder’s defense has been particularly stifling, limiting La Salle to 125 total yards and Louisville St. Xavier to 140. Overall, Elder is allowing 208 yards per game, 84 on the ground.
That’s potential trouble for a Bombers team that averages 22 points per game and was held to 15 by Moeller last week. St. X has scored 35 and 31 in its two wins and averaging 14 in its three losses. QB Aidan Newdigate is on a 1,000-yard rushing pace with 527 yards and eight TDs.
On the other side, Elder senior QB Kaden Estep is building a Mr. Football resume with 1,077 passing yards and 12 TDs while rushing for 561 and three. He has completed 80% of his passes (74-of-93) with two picks.
Predictions: Elder (Connelly, Dermer, Harrison, Laughman Souder, Weber)
Moeller (3-2) at La Salle (3-2)
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 25
What to watch: Both teams have had tough schedules. The Lancers snapped a two-game skid with a 27-14 win over previously unbeaten Badin last week. They are hoping to snap a five-game losing streak to the Crusaders.
Moeller scores 31 points per game, 39 per contest in its three wins. Quarterbacks Nick Monserez and Hunter McLaughlin have combined for 943 passing yards and seven touchdowns. They have split time in two different games, and McLaughlin started last week against St. X, delivering an outstanding game with 321 yards and three TDs.
Reggie Watson has 27 catches for 404 yards and four touchdowns, two against St. X. Juice Glover-Brown is on a 1,000-yard pace with 513 rushing yards and five TDs.
QB Garrett Fraley runs the La Salle offense, throwing for 568 yards and rushing for 369.
Predictions: Moeller (Connelly, Dermer, Harrison, Laughman, Souder, Weber).
Lebanon (4-1) at Kings (3-2)
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 25
What to watch: The Eastern Cincinnati Conference rivals, about 10 miles apart, renew their football pleasantries in the River’s Bend rivalry. Lebanon, 3-1 in the ECC race, is trying to stay in title contention after losing to Anderson in Week 4. Kings is 2-2 with losses to Anderson and Winton Woods. Kings has won five of six against the Warriors as league foes, including 38-20 last year.
Leading Lebanon is Logan Schmenk, who has rushed for 706 yards and 12 touchdowns. He was shut down by Anderson then only had 43 yards last week against Little Miami but scored three TDs in a wild 36-35 win. Wyatt Lassen has 393 receiving yards and five TDs.
Kings struggled against the two elites in the ECC, but has rolled over Loveland and West Clermont in league play by an average of 43-14. Kings did build some momentum against Anderson last week, rushing for 307 yards and battling the Raptors until the fourth quarter in a 49-33 Raptors win.
Oliver Young has had a standout season at running back for Kings. He rushed for 206 against Anderson and has 616 yards for the season with nine TDs. Nathan Tucker has 372 receiving yards and four TDs.
Predictions: Kings (Connelly, Dermer, Harrison, Laughman, Souder, Weber)
Winton Woods (4-1) at Little Miami (3-2)
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 25
What to watch: The Panthers have been an inspiring story this year. They have not had a winning record since joining the ECC in 2020, winning four games twice since then. They missed a chance to go 4-1 with the tough one-point loss to Lebanon, but have solid wins over Walnut Hills and Turpin.
Brayden Brown has thrown for 762 yards and 10 touchdowns this season to lead the offense.
Unfortunately for the Panthers, they are 0-6 against Winton Woods, including two playoff games, with the closest margin being 28 points. Winton Woods has outscored its last four foes 184-35 after an overtime loss to Springfield in the season opener. Josiiah Jones has had an outstanding season at QB, throwing for 770 yards and 10 touchdowns. Zeek Garrett has rushed for 350 yards and six TDs. A traditionally talented and swarming Winton Woods defense has averaged three sacks per game and has forced 13 turnovers, including eight interceptions.
Predictions: Winton Woods (Connelly, Dermer, Harrison, Laughman, Souder, Weber)
Princeton (5-0) at Lakota East (4-1)
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 25
What to watch: Lakota East is off to a solid start this season but has yet to have a signature win. Nile Knutson is having an outstanding season at QB with 1,174 passing yards and 14 touchdowns against only three interceptions. Braxton Thurman and Carter Jones have been his main targets.
Princeton managed to beat Lakota West last week, 27-24, in the Cincinnati game of the year so far despite turning the ball over six times and allowing the Firebirds 363 yards on offense. They limited highly talented running back Kenyon Norman to four yards per carry, 128 yards overall. Monsanna Torbert and Jordan Hall were hard for the Firebirds' defense to stop, combining for 271 rushing yards and three scores. Hall scored the game-winning TD with three minutes to go. Torbert threw three picks, and the Vikings lost three fumbles. They will look to improve on that so they don’t give the explosive Thunderhawks' offense more opportunities. Princeton has won four straight in the series, including 42-7 last year.
Predictions: Princeton (Connelly, Dermer, Harrison, Laughman, Souder, Weber)
St. Bernard-Elmwood Place (5-0) at Summit Country Day (3-1)
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 25
What to watch: The Titans are entering uncharted territory this season, in a good way. They are 5-0 for the first time ever behind Lucas Cannady, Dameko Taylor, brothers Keon and Deon Campbell, John Farris and Zarius Westbrook. Two of their last three wins have come in shutout fashion and the offense is averaging 33 points per game.
Now in his fourth season, Mark Hafner has the Silver Knights as competitive as ever. They nearly beat Cincinnati Country Day earlier this season and are on track for their first winning season since 2022. SCD has held each of its last three opponents to less than 10 points and has forced four total turnovers. Dillon Minton is the only player to run for 100 yards in a game, doing so twice, but the Silver Knights are averaging 235 rushing yards per game.
The Titans have a two-game winning streak in the series.
Predictions: SBEP (Connelly, Dermer, Harrison, Laughman, Souder, Weber)
Madeira (4-1) at Deer Park (5-0)
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 25
What to watch: Deer Park is 5-0 for the second straight season and the fourth time overall since 2007. The most successful of those campaigns was 2007, when the Wildcats went 9-3 and won a playoff game. They will certainly look to break free from memories of last year, where they lost six straight games to end the season.
Morgan Brown and Tink Sellers are once again the stars of the show, lighting it up on offense while combining for five interceptions.
Madeira is another team that has exorcised end-of-season demons from 2025, currently at 4-1 to start the season. In its latest win over Reading, Cooper Blackburn threw for 237 yards and three touchdowns, the second time this season he has put up such gaudy numbers. Dom Beinke leads the defense with 46 tackles and two forced fumbles, while Asaiah Jefferson has two interceptions. The Mustangs have forced six turnovers and are winning games with hard-nosed play.
Predictions: Deer Park (Connelly, Dermer, Laughman, Souder), Madeira (Harrison, Weber)
Mariemont (3-2) at Wyoming (5-0)
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 25
What to watch: The Cowboys are back to winning games with their defense, despite giving up an average of 27 points in their last three wins. Sometimes it's just one play, like foiling Indian Hill's two-point conversion in triple overtime.
Jonas Whalen has emerged as the top running back after Tyler Johnson-Huff missed the first two games of the season.
The road doesn't get any easier for Mariemont, which has lost two of its last three games. In each of their losses, the Warriors gave up 272 rushing yards on average. First-quarter defense will be paramount for Mariemont; Williamsburg and Indian Hill both scored multiple times in the first 12 minutes against the Warriors.
Predictions: Wyoming (Connelly, Dermer, Harrison, Laughman, Souder, Weber)
East Central (4-1) at Harrison (5-0)
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 25
What to watch: Harrison is 5-0 for the first time since 2014 and looks like a serious contender in Division II, Region 8. The Wildcats get their most serious test of the season when East Central, an Indiana state-title contender, comes to town.
Harrison has shown the ability to win in multiple ways, dominating Milford, McNicholas and Ross while coming back to beat Beavercreek and Withrow. Trailing East Central within arm's reach or putting them away early will be the ideal game plan for Derek Rehage and the coaching staff. Offensively, quarterback Brady Lawhon isn't afraid to get dirty if it means team success.
Outside of a loss at Elder (who hasn't lost to Elder?), East Central has given up a grand total of 19 points. It's been defense by committee for the Trojans as no player has more than 28 tackles or two sacks. Andersen Deters has three interceptions for a defense that has eight takeaways as a whole. East Central is the epitome of a ground-and-pound offense as Ryan Minges and Colton Bellman have combined for 1,010 of the team's 1,337 rushing yards.
Predictions: East Central (Connelly, Dermer, Laughman, Souder, Weber), Harrison (Harrison)
Cooper (3-2) at Conner (1-4)
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 25
What to watch: The Cooper Jaguars have been a pleasant surprise in Class 5A, District 5. In what many thought would be a rebuilding year, they have a real chance to win the district once again. Unfortunately, weather prevented them from playing a full game in Week 5 during their trip to DuPont Manual. Corey Freihofer is still carrying the offense while Zach Kostopoulos continues to round into form at quarterback. Kody Meyer and Lincoln Maxey both have over 100 rushing yards on the season.
While Conner delivered Chase Floyd his first coaching win in Week 4, the Cougars couldn't establish a winning streak against Simon Kenton. The defense is the biggest work in progress, as the boys have allowed 47 points per game in four losses. The offense has shown potential and the Cougars will have chances to get into the postseason as they go through district play in the next four weeks.
Predictions: Cooper (Connelly, Dermer, Harrison, Laughman, Souder, Weber)
2026 season records
Chase Souder 43-7 (8-2 last week)
Brendan Connelly 41-9 (8-2)
Alex Harrison 41-9 (7-3)
Melanie Laughman 41-9 (7-3)
James Weber 41-9 (8-2)
Shelby Dermer 38-12 (6-4)
Readers 30-10 (7-3)
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Predicting top 10 football games in Week 6, with reader input
