By Ed Letsinger
MaxPreps.com
Two of the biggest regular season games of the year in Cincinnati take place on Friday night with major league implications and city rankings on the line.
In Division I, defending state champion St. Xavier (3-2, 0-0 GCL South) travels to “The Pit” to take on Elder (4-1, 1-0 GCL South) in a key Greater Catholic League South Division contest. Elder is ranked No. 2 in the local coaches’ poll and St. X is third.
Both teams appear to be headed in different directions.
The Panthers have won three-straight games in dominating fashion since losing to St. Thomas Aquinas (Fla.) in week two, including an impressive 52-31 thumping last week over state-ranked Lakewood St. Edward. The Bombers are coming off a 17-6 loss to Kentucky Class 6A power and three-time defending state champion Louisville Trinity.
Elder is averaging 35 points and 385.6 yards a game behind junior quarterback Mark Miller (1,206 yards, 12 TDs), who has emerged as one of the top quarterbacks in the area. Miller is coming off a huge 449-yard, six-touchdown performance against St. Edward.
St. Xavier is still having trouble scoring points (just over 12 per game) and is once again without the services of starting quarterback Luke Massa who injured his collarbone against Trinity and is out. Defense (allowing 10.6 points per game) is keeping the Bombers in games.
This is not only a key league game for both schools but St. X is in desperation mode just to stay on track for a playoff berth. Unless the Bombers can find a way to score more points, they could be staring at a second-straight loss further jeopardizing their postseason chances.
In Division II, Anderson (4-1, 0-0 FAVC) travels to Winton Woods (4-1, 0-0 FAVC) in a Fort Ancient Valley Conference (Buckeye Division) opener for both teams.
Defending state champion Anderson is ranked No. 1 in Cincinnati while Winton Woods comes in at No. 3.
Both teams can score a lot of points with Anderson (42.2) and Winton Woods (32) both ranked in the top five in the Fort Ancient Valley Conference. Redskin running back Kyle Slater (541 yards, 8 TDs) has been a standout while Warrior quarterback Dominique Brown (over 600 yards total offense) is a double threat.
Whether or not Anderson starting quarterback Daniel Rod (injury) plays or not will be a big key for the Redskins on the road.
Football: OHSAA Football Harbin Ratings Update
The Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) has released another update on the status of their weekly Harbin Ratings. The ratings will be published once games for week five have been completed, results reported and the ratings calculated.
The OHSAA typically releases its ratings beginning with week four of the regular season but major power outages caused by the remnants of Hurricane Ike last week has put the process on hold.
The Harbin Ratings are used to calculate and ultimately determine what teams will qualify for the football playoffs in six divisions.
Football: New Richmond Dominant
New Richmond is not only unbeaten at the halfway point of the season but its are racking up eye-popping numbers in the process.
The Lions (5-0, 2-0 Southern Buckeye Conference) have outscored their opponents by a 214-6 margin (42.8-1.2 points per game). The offense has put up 62 and 63 points, respectively, in its last two games while the defense has posted four shutouts.
Senior running back Steve Gantzer leads the team in rushing (469 yards). The defense is led by a host of players, including Brandon Branson (8 sacks) and leading tackler Kyle Frizzell.
Volleyball: New No. 1 in Division I
There is a change at the top of the Ohio Division I volleyball rankings this week.
Cincinnati Ursuline of the Girls Greater Catholic League has taken over the top spot in the most recent Ohio High School Volleyball Coaches Association state rankings. The unbeaten Lions (12-0) have been impressive in their climb to the top, winning 35 out of 39 games played to date.
The GGCL has three of the top five teams in the poll including No. 2 Mother of Mercy and No. 4 Mount Notre Dame.
