Week 8 of the Greater Cincinnati high school football season was full of rivalries, blowouts, and the occasional surprise.
As the postseason draws ever nearer, the dividing line between contenders and those who may just miss out draws ever thinner.
Here are the top headlines from the latest edition of Friday night lights.
Sycamore wins first game in over two years
Thanks to a 10-yard touchdown pass from Zachary Brandan to Zeontay Smoot with less than one minute left, the Aviators snapped a 23-game losing streak and ruined Oak Hills’ homecoming game, claiming a 36-35 victory.
In its first win since Sept. 20, 2024, Sycamore never trailed by more than six points. In fact, it had the lead for most of the night. The Aviators also overcame two turnovers in a game that featured nearly 1,000 yards
of total offense.
Quarterback Ty Thomas threw for 363 yards and three touchdowns and Smoot and Trenton Meadows combined for 242 receiving yards and four touchdowns.
The Aviators did more than just win, they threw a wrench into the Division I, Region 4 standings. Oak Hills entered the game at 4-3 and sitting on the 10-seed. Now the Highlanders are squarely on the bubble and close the schedule against league leaders Princeton and Lakota West.
Elder snaps skid with thrilling road win over Highlands
The game of the night went down in Fort Thomas, where Elder and Highlands battled in a game that went down to the wire. There were three lead changes and 20 fourth-quarter points between two of the area's top teams, and Elder came away with a 30-27 victory after kicker Tyler Homan nailed a 30-yard game-winning field goal with four seconds remaining.
Elder is now 9-1 all-time against Highlands and has won five straight in the series dating to a 2011 loss at The Pit. This was the first matchup since 2013 that was decided by one possession. The two high-powered offenses traded blows and combined for 826 yards with each squad running 59 plays.
Elder quarterback Kaden Estep finished 22 of 36 for 390 yards and two touchdowns while Highlands was led by standout sophomore Bryce Armstrong, who threw for 220 yards, ran for 112 and had two total touchdowns. Armstrong gave Highlands a 24-20 lead with less than six minutes to go, but the Bluebirds couldn't contain the Elder passing attack.
Estep hit top target Andrew Lyman for a go-ahead touchdown with 4:53 remaining. Lyman had six catches for 187 yards and two touchdowns, while Jake Bier's 31-yard toe-tap catch near the Elder sideline in the final half-minute of regulation set up the winning field goal.
It was a much-needed win for Elder, which dropped back-to-back GCL-South games before heading across the river. The Panthers clinched a playoff spot and can still grab a first-round bye with a strong end to the regular season.
NewCath rallies with clutch defense to keep winning streak alive against rival Newport
Terry Brown was a player for Newport Central Catholic the last time the football team lost to derby rival Newport.
Twenty-seven years later, the first-year head coach of the Thoroughbreds was staring at another loss to the Wildcats. But his players forced three turnovers in the final six minutes of the game and rallied for a 17-6 win in the Newport Firemen’s Bell game at the Ciafardini Family Complex.
NewCath, 2-5 this season, won a key Class 1A district battle over the Wildcats. NCC has now 29 straight games over Newport since 1999, including two playoff contests.
Brown didn’t know about the streak until recently.
“This is my first experience winning the Bell,” Brown said. “I told these guys before, that I don't want to get into much of it, but our buddies still talk about this 26 years later. It's still a little bit embarrassing. So it's one of those rivals you want to take care of. I was glad to get that monkey off the back. And I'm glad for these guys right here. They deserve it. I know that was great stuff.”
Friday was one of the closest games in that span. Three of the previous 28 were one-score decisions. The 17 points by NewCath matched the lowest by the team in the streak.
That didn’t matter in the end, when NCC shook off a tough night on offense to score all 17 of its points in the final minutes.
Trailing 6-0, NewCath drove down the field in the middle of the fourth quarter. On successive plays, Jonathan Meyer dropped a wide-open pass in the endzone, and Van Hundemer had his hands on a pass near the goal line on fourth down after the ball was deflected.
The turnover on downs left Newport backed up near its goal line. The Wildcats fumbled, and junior Drake Ramirez scooped up the ball near the sideline and goal line and ran it in. The PAT gave NewCath the lead.
“I just saw it rolling,” Ramirez said. “I saw my guy, Will Stevie hit it out. I was like, I got to pick it up. I got to score. We got to get this momentum.”
Stevie forced another turnover right after, intercepting a pass in Newport territory. Hundemer redeemed himself by bursting free up the middle for a 25-yard score. Another Newport fumble set up a NewCath field goal to clinch it.
“We just came out on offense and then we just scored with Van with that great run,” Ramirez said. “It just brought everything up. I thought our defense stepped up a lot. Our linebackers made a big play. Our linemen really stepped up from the first quarter. They really brought it home.”
NewCath has had a rough season so far, scoring 37 points total in its five losses, and is 2-5 overall. But the Thoroughbreds have a chance to build momentum when they travel to undefeated Dayton next week.
“We’re going to be good,” Hundemer said. “Rest of the season, we're going to be good. Come playoff time, we're going to be ready. (Dayton) is good this year, undefeated, but we're going to be ready for them.”
League rivals combine for 163 points in a wild night in the Eastern Cincinnati Conference
Turpin and Lebanon put on one of the games of the year in Cincinnati as the Spartans outlasted the Warriors 63-60. Turpin is 4-4 and Lebanon 6-2.
Turpin rallied from a 49-35 deficit in the second half. Full stats weren't yet available, but both teams posted touchdown plays on their X accounts. Turpin quaterback Will Schmittauer threw for six touchdowns and rushed for two. Two of the TD passes were from long range, and Schmittauer rushed for a 60-yard score. Callan Poland had three of the TD catches.
For Lebanon, Mason Reed threw four touchdown passes, two each to Wyatt Lassen and Jordan Foster. Logan Schmenk rushed for three touchdowns as Lebanon led 42-35 at halftime.
Turpin and township rival Anderson combined for 141 points. The Raptors stayed unbeaten in the ECC with a dominant 78-19 win at Walnut Hills. Anderson scored 70 in the first half and had 454 yards offense for the game. Owen Scalf was 16 of 17 for 230 yards and five TDs. Harrison Sefakis had a pick-six interception and Ace Alston returned a punt for a TD to help the big first half.
The win was the 150th in the career of Anderson head coach Evan Dreyer. He was 43-19 in six seasons at Western Brown, 1-9 in one year at Oak Hills, and now 106-30 with the Raptors. Anderson now preps for a huge showdown with Winton Woods, which is also 7-1 and 7-0 in the ECC. The Warriors beat West Clermont 57-0 Friday. That game is 7 p.m. Oct. 16 at Anderson.
How did the undefeated teams in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky do in Week 8?
The undefeated teams had a successful Week 8, going (You guessed it) undefeated on Friday night.
In Northern Kentucky, Beechwood is 7-0 after shutting out St. Henry 62-0 and Dayton is also at 7-0 thanks to a 42-6 rivalry victory over Bellevue.
The duo of Cincinnati Hills League undefeateds kept it going. Deer Park pulled away from Taylor for a 31-14 win and Wyoming took care of Finneytown 51-0. Both are now 8-0 and the possibility of an undefeated matchup between the two in Week 10 is still on the table.
Goshen survived a scare from two-win Clinton-Massie. The Falcons led Goshen 23-6 at halftime and 23-20 after three quarters, but the Warriors pulled out the 27-23 win to improve to 8-0.
After giving up their first points of the season last week (a Summit Country Day field goal), North College Hill pitched another shutout, beating Clark Montessori 62-0. At 7-0, the Trojans have outscored opponents 362-3 this season.
Finally, there was no upset in Hamilton as the Princeton Vikings cruised to a 60-6 win, improving to 8-0.
Cincinnati College Prep and Hughes also remain undefeated, playing each other on Oct. 10.
Which players impressed us in week 8 of Greater Cincinnati high school football?
Landen Brandenburg, Williamsburg: In a 69-18 victory at Blanchester, Brandenburg was 7-for-7 passing for 230 yards and two touchdowns with a rushing score as well.
Kru Collins, Springboro: The junior receiver had 10 catches for 159 yards and a touchdown in Springboro's 21-14 win at Fairmont.
Wyatt Dennis, Harrison: The senior turned 16 carries into 143 yards and a touchdown, leading Harrison to a 20-7 win against Talawanda.
David Dupee, Wyoming: The senior completed 7 of 10 passes for 200 yards and five touchdowns in a 51-0 win against Finneytown. His 73 career touchdown passes are a school record, surpassing 2019 Mr. Football Evan Prater.
Kaden Estep, Elder: Estep finished 22 of 36 for 390 yards and two touchdowns in Elder's 30-27 win over Highlands. Estep led a game-winning drive in the final minute of regulation. He also ran for 66 yards and a score.
Chase Even, Badin: In a bounce back 49-20 win against Carroll, Even tied a school record with five rushing touchdowns, all of which came in the first half.
John Feldbrugge, Highlands: The senior receiver had five catches for 168 yards and a touchdown in Highlands' 30-27 loss to Elder.
Brian Ferguson, Holy Cross: The junior quarterback tallied four touchdowns, three on the ground and one through the air, in a 41-14 win against Bishop Brossart.
Juice Glover-Brown, Moeller: Juice provided just that, running for 183 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries in the 43-21 win over St. Ignatius.
Wyatt Kirk, Clermont Northeastern: In a game where his Rockets didn't complete a pass, Kirk led them a 13-6 win over Bethel-Tate with 143 yards on five carries, including a 76-yard score.
Davis Koehler, Mariemont: In Mariemont's 22-14 win at Reading, the junior quarterback had season-highs with 13 completions, 234 yards and three touchdowns.
Kenyon Norman, Lakota West: The senior had 15 carries for 182 yards and three touchdown, all in the first half, of a win over Colerain.
Callan Poland, Turpin: In Turpin's crazy 63-60 win against Lebanon, Poland hauled in 17 catches for 269 yards and three touchdowns.
Josiah Puller, Wilmington: In Wilmington's 21-15 win over Batavia, Puller had 19 carries for 146 yards and a touchdown.
Mason Reed, Lebanon: In the back-and-forth 63-60 loss to Turpin, Reed was 20-of-29 for 321 yards, four touchdowns and an interception.
Eric Ruther, Fairfield: The senior had three interceptions in a 21-10 win at Mason, giving him seven picks for the year and five in the last two weeks.
Will Schmittauer, Turpin: The Turpin quarterback threw for six touchdowns and rushed for two in a crazy 63-60 win over Lebanon. He threw TD passes of 60 and 75 yards and rushed for a 60-yard score, finishing with a 33-for-42 day with 532 yards passing and 132 more on the ground.
Ty Thomas, Sycamore: He threw for a career-high 363 yards and three touchdowns as the Aviators snapped a 23-game losing streak.
Key'Sean Torbert, Princeton: Torbert was 10-of-13 in the air for 176 yards and four touchdowns, with a 33-yard rushing touchdown, as Princeton beat Hamilton 60-6 to stay undefeated.
Logan Von Holle, St. Xavier: The senior led the Bombers to a 38-14 win over La Salle, catching six passes for 167 yards and three touchdowns from 64, 38 and 38 yards out.
Oliver Young, Kings: Kings edged Milford 31-28 as Young ran 19 times for 171 yards and three touchdowns, including a pair in the third quarter to tie then give Kings the lead.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Which Greater Cincinnati football teams made statements in week 8?
