Elder at St. Xavier, Taft at Withrow and other prep football games to watch, Sept. 26-27

The second half of the regular season begins with several key showdowns among contending teams as league races come into focus. With the Ohio High School Athletic Association computer ratings being released this week, teams know what they have to get into the playoffs and get a high seed.

Our staff is competing with each other and will try to predict the winners of the best games of the week. Picking games are assistant sports editor Melanie Laughman and writers James Weber, Brendan Connelly, Alex Harrison, Shelby Dermer and Chase Souder.

Princeton Vikings (4-1) at Mason Comets (3-2)

When: 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 26

What to watch: The Vikings have been an unstoppable force in Greater Miami Conference, outscoring their four opponents 148-19. After dispatching winless Colerain and Sycamore, the Vikings have rolled over both Lakota teams, beating West 27-10 then East, 42-7 last week. The East Thunderhawks came into the game last week on a roll offensively, but Princeton’s defense put a stop to that, holding standout running back Ryder Hooks to only nine yards and the team to 128 yards overall. Princeton also shut down West’s running game, limiting them to 29 yards rushing and sacking West QB Jackson Smith five times.

Mason has won three straight, winning close games over Lakota East, Oak Hills and Hamilton. The East win was a 40-35 offensive showcase, while the last two were defensive struggles.

This is a reunion of Mason quarterback De’Angelo Birch with his former Vikings teammates. Birch has thrown for 438 yards and rushed for 457 yards and seven TDs. Alex Brown leads the defense with 11.4 tackles per game, and A.J. Kaylor has four sacks. Princeton has 14 sacks this season, led by Terrance Jones with four.

Princeton has won the last two in the series after a 10-7 Comets win in 2022, including 30-7 last season.

Picks: Princeton (Connelly, Dermer, Harrison, Laughman, Souder, Weber)

Fairfield Indians (3-2) at Lakota East Thunderhawks (3-2)

When: 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 26

What to watch: Fairfield picked up a signature win last week, knocking off Lakota West 10-7 to improve to 3-1 in the GMC. East is coming off its 42-7 loss to Princeton and is 2-2 in the league. In league play, Fairfield routed winless Colerain and Sycamore, and lost 19-2 to Middletown. and they will get a big challenge from the explosive Thunderhawks' offense. The Indians held West to 202 yards in last week’s win. East allowed over 400 to Princeton and has allowed 38 points per game the last three weeks, and will have to work on those issues to win this one, while the offense tries to get back on track.

East QB Nile Knutson has over 1,000 yards, 1,094, with nine TD passes. Ryder Hooks, though shut down by Princeton, has 708 rushing yards for the year and six TDs. QB Dominic Back and RB Corrious Booker lead the Indians' offense.

East won 59-17 last year but the Indians won 38-35 in 2023.

Picks: Fairfield (Dermer, Harrison); Lakota East (Connelly, Laughman, Souder, Weber)

Middletown Middies (5-0) at Lakota West Firebirds (2-3)

When: 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 26

What to watch: This is the biggest game for the Middies in recent memory as they go after their first GMC title since 2010. They visit a struggling Firebirds squad, who has lost to Princeton and Fairfield the last two weeks. Middletown is undefeated after routing winless Colerain and Sycamore the last two weeks. The Middies have only allowed one touchdown in league play, shutting down Fairfield 19-2 and Oak Hills 14-9. The West offense did well in its two league wins, beating Mason 35-13 and Hamilton 38-6.

Middletown has a lot of history to overcome. They have lost 10 straight to the Firebirds since their 10-2 season in 2011, including 51-7 a year ago. But this would be a huge win for their program.

Picks: Lakota West (Dermer, Harrison, Laughman, Weber); Middletown (Connelly, Souder)

Kings Knights (4-1) at Lebanon Warriors (4-1)

When: 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 26

What to watch: These teams are 3-1 in the Eastern Conference, with their only loss coming to undefeated Anderson. The winner will still have title hopes if Anderson slips up down the road, and they will try to improve their playoff positioning in their divisions. Lebanon is in Division I, and Kings DII, and both have hopes of getting a first-round bye.

The Warriors' offense has been on a roll, racking up nearly 500 yards of offense in a 49-32 win over Little Miami last week. Lebanon rushed for over 300, led by QB Luke Faler and RB Daniel Wallace. Faler accounted for five touchdowns, three in the air and two on the ground. Faler has thrown for 957 yards and 10 TDs this year, and Wallace has 540 offensive yards and five TDs.

Kings has thrived on defense all season and will look to bounce back after allowing 49 points and 478 yards to the high-powered Raptors. Before Anderson came to Kings Mills, the Knights had allowed 35 points in their four wins. Kings limited Loveland and West Clermont to under 200 yards offense.

Kings won 38-7 last year, but Lebanon prevailed 20-14 in overtime in 2023.

Picks: Kings (Connelly, Dermer, Harrison, Laughman, Souder, Weber)

Elder Panthers (5-0) at St. Xavier Bombers (4-1)

When: 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 26

What to watch: Elder is enjoying its first 5-0 start since 2009. The Panthers outlasted another St. Xavier, the Kentucky power in Louisville, 26-24 last week. The Ohio St. X Bombers were rolling this season until running into Moeller, where the Crusaders won 30-13. Until then, St. X had allowed only 20 points on defense. Elder has allowed one touchdown or less in three of its five wins.

Elder junior Kaden Estep has been outstanding all season. Against Louisville St. X, he threw for 225 yards and rushed for 128. He has thrown for 863 yards and six TDs, and is Elder’s leading rusher with 398 and four scores. St. Xavier’s Jackson Frey has thrown for 769 yards and 10 TDs, but the Bombers have struggled on the ground, rushing for 95 yards per game against their tough schedule.

The Bombers won 22-17 last year and have won three of the last four in the series. This one could come down to which one executes better on offense against the other’s stout defense.

Picks: Elder (Harrison, Souder, Weber), St. Xavier (Connelly, Dermer, Laughman).

Taft Senators (5-0) at Withrow Tigers (4-1)

When: 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 27

What to watch: It's become the game of the year in the Cincinnati Metro Athletic Conference and, as such, has garnered a standalone spot on Saturday afternoon every year since 2021.

The Senators are no strangers to long winning streaks during the season, but they're 5-0 for the first time. It's been a dominant start with three shutouts and just 34 total points given up. The Torbert brothers lead the way. Monsanna has thrown for 1,212 yards, 16 touchdowns and no interceptions, while Key'Sean has recorded 28 tackles, forcing two fumbles and returning both of his interceptions for touchdowns.

Withrow had been equally dominant before a Week 5 loss to La Salle. In four wins, the Tigers have an average margin of victory of 36 points. Sa'Vion Davis has 787 passing yards and 361 rushing yards. The defense has forced 12 turnovers. Dantrell Moses has two kick returns for touchdowns. Simply put, the Tigers will perform in all three phases.

Withrow owns a 30-17-2 lead in the series. Taft won, 19-14, in 2024. Expect another close rivalry game this time around.

Picks: Taft (Connelly, Dermer, Harrison, Laughman, Souder, Weber).

Deer Park Wildcats (5-0) at Madeira Mustangs (3-2)

When: 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 26

What to watch: Deer Park is 5-0 for the first time since 2018 and has a chance to move to 6-0 for the first time since 1981.

Tink Sellers and Morgan Brown put on another show in Week 5 with Sellers throwing for 213 yards, 145 of those to Brown. Tahj Ingram anchored the ground game with 129 yards even though he didn't find the end zone. The defense continues to wreak havoc as Caden Lewis, Sefa Sackey and Andre Warren have combined for 16 sacks.

Madeira is on a two-game winning streak thanks to a 7-6 win over Reading in which the Mustangs stopped a potential game-winning two-point conversion, then blocked a field goal at the horn. Quarterback has been a bit of a rotating door for Chris Stewart, but Dom Schueler stepped in to command Madeira to its Week 5 win.

Madeira leads the all-time series 41-22-3. Deer Park last beat the Mustangs in 2021.

Picks: Deer Park (Connelly, Dermer, Harrison, Laughman, Souder, Weber).

Harrison Wildcats (4-1) at CHCA Eagles (4-1)

When: 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 26

What to watch: Derek Rehage has the Wildcats rolling once again. They're a couple of special teams plays away from being 5-0.

Brady Lawhon leads the Southwest Ohio Conference with 749 passing yards, and he and Preston Flick have combined for 782 rushing yards. One area to watch is Harrison's run defense, which has allowed three teams to run for 100 yards.

CHCA is averaging 122 rushing yards per game, led by Pedro Guimieras. The Eagles are allowing around 100 yards of total offense in their wins. While the defense has seven interceptions, it has recovered just six of the 11 fumbles it has forced.

This is the first-ever matchup between the Wildcats and Eagles.

Picks: Harrison (Connelly, Dermer, Harrison, Laughman, Souder, Weber).

Batavia Bulldogs (3-2) at Goshen Warriors (4-1)

When: 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 26

What to watch: Who will take an early upper hand in the Southern Buckeye Athletic and Academic Conference-American?

Batavia is coming off a win over Bethel-Tate in which Makhi Taylor and Bryce Eads both threw for 100 yards. Mark Englert tied the team lead with two sacks and Bryson Greggs returned an interception 64 yards for a touchdown. For the year, Carson Harris is second in the conference in passing and Marcus Hughbanks leads the conference with 662 receiving yards.

Goshen has received a major contribution from Gage Croley, who has 869 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns. Camden Telinda is one of Caden Slusher's top receiving options and is also tied for the team lead with two interceptions.

Batavia won last year, 62-25, but the Warriors prevailed from 2017 to 2023, scoring 40 points in all but one of those games. There could be more offensive fireworks as the Warriors (40.6 points per game) and the Bulldogs (32.2 ppg) lead the SBAAC in scoring.

Picks: Batavia (Weber), Goshen (Connelly, Harrison, Dermer, Laughman, Souder).

South Dearborn Knights (4-1) at East Central Trojans (4-1)

When: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 26

What to watch: East Central has been downright dominant in three of its four wins, outscoring Lawrenceburg, Franklin County and Batesville by a combined score of 119-26.

With starting running back Ryan Minges out, Colton Bellman has answered the bell, racking up 778 yards and seven touchdowns. On defense, at least five players have recorded 20 tackles. Jake Lutz has three sacks, and Karson Dorsey and Mitchell Karaus each have two interceptions.

South Dearborn is 4-1 for the second straight season. In 2024, a 45-0 loss to East Central was the first of four straight defeats to end the season. No matter how Week 6 goes, the Knights will look to avoid a downward spiral to end the season.

Picks: East Central (Connelly, Dermer, Harrison, Laughman, Souder, Weber).

Standings

Melanie Laughman: 42-8 (8-2 last week)

James Weber: 42-8 (9-1)

Alex Harrison: 41-9 (9-1)

Brendan Connelly: 39-11 (7-3)

Chase Souder: 36-14 (6-4)

Shelby Dermer: 35-15 (9-1)

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Elder at St. Xavier, Cincinnati high school football games, Week 6