What we learned in Week 7 of the 2025 Greater Cincinnati high school football season

For the first time since a 2009 game against Colerain on ESPN, The Pit was at capacity as two of the city’s top teams battled for the GCL-South championship Oct. 3. 

The sellout crowd on the west side was treated to a thriller as Elder defended its home turf with a milestone 24-16 win over Moeller. 

More: Undefeated Elder beats Moeller 24-16, wins first solo GCL-South crown since 2008

“That’s really sweet,” head coach Doug Ramsey said amongst a frenzied student section that had rushed the field. “Just an awesome, awesome victory for us.”

Elder improved to 7-0 for the first time since 2001, just four years after Ramsey became the head coach of the Panthers. Elder is the outright GCL-South winner for the first time since 2008 after September wins over St. Xavier (23-13) and La Salle (16-8). 

“Growing up, you come to all these games. This is something you dream about when you’re a kid. You dream of coming to Elder and then winning a GCL championship at home in front of all of your family and friends,” wide receiver Jackson Ruth said. “It’s just awesome.” 

Ruth had a dream performance in one of the biggest Elder games in recent history. The GCL-South’s leading receiver had nine receptions for 139 yards and a pair of first-half touchdowns to give the Panthers a 15-13 lead at the break. Junior quarterback Kaden Estep threw for a career-high 286 yards and tied another with three touchdown passes.

Estep’s 17-yard touchdown toss to Chase Walpole (5 catches, 72 yards) late in the third quarter was enough for Elder to hold off the Crusaders. 

“We’ve been doing great all year and we decided we want to keep that going. We just had that mentality of ‘we’re not gonna lose,’” Estep said. “We’re pumped up, man. We’re so excited. This feels great.” 

Elder was the main high school football storyline as the season flipped into the all-important month of October, but there were plenty of more big-time performances and marquee games in Week 7, including a thrilling finish in the Northern Kentucky clash between Highlands and Covington Catholic.

Here are all the top headlines and performers from the latest Friday night in the tri-state.

Highlands beats Covington Catholic in Northern Kentucky 'game of the year'

Five plays, 75 yards, 35 seconds.

Those are the stats from the final drive of Highlands' 31-28, last-second win over their chief rival, Covington Catholic.

CovCath battled back from an early 10-0 deficit to take a 28-24 lead on Cash Harney's eight-yard run with 41 seconds left, but as has been the Bluebirds' mantra all year, they took the final drive one play at a time.

"Nobody panicked, and what's so beautiful is you never know whether they'll take it to the field, and I really give the players all the credit, but we do a mock game every Thursday at 6:30 a.m.. Those scenarios that presented themselves down the stretch are the exact scenarios we rehearse religiously every week," Highlands head coach Bob Sphire said.

Junior running back Tayden Lorenzen was the player of the game, racking up 79 rushing yards and three touchdowns. But his play of the game was an 18-yard touchdown catch with three seconds left. It was his second-game winner of the season, the other one coming in double-overtime of a Week 1 win over Frederick Douglass.

"I talked to Rio (Litmer) before the play. We were walking out there and I said, 'There's gonna be a linebacker. Right when I get past that linebacker, I want you to fire the football. I'll make a play, we're gonna score and we're gonna win.'" Lorenzen said.

Entering the final drive, Litmer had completed 10-of-15 passes for 115 yards. With the game on the line, he found three different receivers for completions of 18, 19, 10 and 18 yards.

It's been an up-and-down year for Litmer. He's thrown for over 100 yards in six games, but Week 7 was just his second game this year with multiple passing touchdowns.

"I always try my best to stay confident because I know, no matter what, they're gonna need me at some point in the game. I try to keep all my levels high and make sure that I'm the guy that's smiling," Litmer said.

It was the closest Bluebirds win in the rivalry since a 14-10 victory on Oct. 17, 2010, the last time Highlands beat Covington Catholic at home in the regular season.

"It's either No. 1 or No. 2, for sure. CovCath games are great. I love the atmosphere and I think, if we embrace it, then we're gonna succeed every single time," Lorenzen said of where this win ranks in his varsity career.

Cooper Jaguars reach multiple milestones in blowout of Dixie Heights

After starting 0-2, the Cooper Jaguars have turned things around and now have some program history to show for it.

In a 42-13 win in Edgewood in Week 7, quarterback Cam O'Hara threw for 147 yards to pass the 10,000-yard mark for his career. His career totals through 48 games played are 10,019 passing yards and 129 touchdowns. According to the Kentucky High School Athletic Association record book (which hasn't been updated since 2021), O'Hara now has the fourth-most passing touchdowns and 12th-most passing yards in state history.

Just two weeks after becoming the school's all-time leading points scorer, running back Keagan Maher broke D'Vontae Bradley's school rushing record as he recorded 173 rushing yards and three touchdowns against the Colonels. He has 3,546 yards and 53 rushing touchdowns for his career. Maher has flourished in an increased role this season, rushing for 100 yards in five of seven games.

Several other teams remain unbeaten

∎ Badin is 7-0 for the fourth time in the past five seasons after a 41-13 win over Fenwick on their homecoming night at their new on-campus Matandy complex. Lem Grayson rushed for more than 150 yards and three touchdowns in the first half, as the Rams rolled up all their points in the first half with ease. The Rams scored on three straight offensive plays in the first half, then got a TD off a blocked punt, with Krew Brown scoring the points. Hudson Heid ran for a 65-yard touchdown during that run. Badin plays at Carroll next week in league play.

∎ Williamsburg defeated Roger Bacon 27-13 to stay unbeaten at 7-0. The Wildcats trailed 13-8 at halftime then pulled away in the second half behind 316 rushing yards, 219 from Gray Robinson. Williamsburg hosts Blanchester next week for first place in the SBAAC-National as both teams are undefeated in league play.

∎ Holy Cross improved to 6-0 with a 39-0 win over Frankfort at home. The Indians have allowed only one touchdown in their last three games, and will next play at Bishop Brossart.

∎ Indian Hill rolled over Finneytown 48-0 to remain unbeaten at 7-0 and in first place in the Cincinnati Hills League. The Braves scored 42 points in the first 18 minutes of play, and next face nearby rival Madeira on the road.

∎ Taft posted its fourth straight shutout in a 41-0 win over Hughes to improve to 7-0. Outside a 33-27 overtime win over Alter, the Senators have allowed one touchdown in their other six wins. Taft hosts Western Hills next week.

∎ Talawanda kept rolling with a 35-3 win over Northwest to begin league play in the Southwest Ohio Conference. Lance Cantrell rushed for 176 yards and three touchdowns and now has 1,711 yards and 23 scores for the season, as he and the Braves host Harrison in a major showdown next week.

∎ Anderson rolled over rival Turpin 58-16 to improve to 7-0 and hosts Walnut Hills next week.

∎ Lloyd Memorial held on against Bourbon County 22-20 to advance to 7-0. They'll prepare for Henry County next week for a chance at their first 8-0 start since 1976, when they won state with an undefeated season.

Which high school football players played the biggest roles in their team's wins?

Tayden Lorenzen, Highlands: He had rushing touchdowns of one yard, two yards and seven yards, and caught the game-winning touchdown pass with three second left to beat Covington Catholic, 31-28.

Gray Robinson, Williamsburg: He rushed for 219 yards and two touchdowns as the Wildcats stayed unbeaten with a 27-13 win over Roger Bacon.

Daniel Wallace, Lebanon: The senior threw an 85-yard touchdown pass to Wyatt Lassen and ran for 49 yards and a pair of scores in Lebanon's 37-21 win over Milford.

Max Duckwall, Mariemont: Duckwall ran 20 times for 127 yards in Mariemont's 23-21 victory over Deer Park.

Lance Cantrell, Talawanda: It was another big night for one of the nation's leading rushers as Cantrell racked up 176 yards and three touchdowns on 26 attempts in Talawanda's 35-3 win over Northwest.

Ayden Depenbrock, Conner: He had seven catches for 129 yards and two touchdowns in Conner's 53-14 win over Boone County.

Preston Flick, Harrison: Flick ran just 10 times but finished with 125 yards and three touchdowns in Harrison's 51-13 win over Mt. Healthy.

Charles Oglesby, Holy Cross: He ran 11 times for 117 yards and three touchdowns as Holy Cross blanked Frankfort, 39-0.

Eddie Bivens, Newport Central Catholic: Bivens picked up 195 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 28 carries as the Thoroughbreds nosed past Campbell County 28-21.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Greater Cincinnati high school football takeaways, top performers