Monster October weekend for Ohio high school football

When asked to recall the last time his team played in a regular season game as big as the one awaiting it Friday, Lakota West (West Chester, Ohio) head coach Larry Cox offered up Week 10 of the 2009 season.

That night the Firebirds beat arch rival Lakota East 17-5 to win a share of their first Greater Miami Conference football title. The 10-team GMC doesn't play a round-robin schedule and instead employs a seven-game slate for its teams. Colerain (Cincinnati) and Lakota West both went 7-0 in 2009 to earn a share of the championship.

This season, if Lakota West wants a second GMC title it will have to beat Colerain to do it. The undefeated squads meet Friday at "The Cage" in Colerain.

Big weekend? Huge. And for more reasons than one.

Ohio is no stranger to monster high school football games, but this week's October slate in Cincinnati is exceptionally strong. Six state title contenders collide in a colossal 24 hours that will shape the postseason and national landscape. Two matchups feature potential Division I state title games. Consider these:

Friday: Lakota West (8-0) at No. 19 Colerain (8-0), 7 p.m. Lakota West hasn't been to the playoffs since 2009 when it was led by All-American linebacker Jordan Hicks (Texas). Since then the Firebirds have posted back-to-back 3-7 seasons. This year Lakota West is one of Ohio's bigger surprises. Junior running back Mychel Horton (6-foot-2, 225 pounds) has 898 yards and 12 touchdowns on 174 carries, while junior quarterback Malik Grove has thrown for 747 yards and eight scores and rushed for 376 yards and seven touchdowns. Senior lineman Kyle Meadows (6-5, 270) – who owns 12 offers including Florida State, West Virginia, Ohio, Louisville and Purdue – anchors the offensive line. Senior defensive back Tyler Cross (6-0, 175) has six interceptions.

Colerain is looking for its 13th-straight GMC title and 14th in 15 years. The Cardinals own the conference's top offense (442 yards and 39.8 points per game) and defense (225 yards and 10.5 points per game). Senior quarterback Alfred Ramsby has thrown for 1,107 yards and 12 touchdowns and rushed for 583 yards and eight scores. Senior running back Chris Davis (5-10, 185) and junior running back Detuan Smith (5-5, 118) each have eight TDs.

The winner is assured a spot in the Region 4 playoffs.

Saturday: St. Edward (8-0) at Moeller (6-2) at Lockland Stadium, 2 p.m. A week after beating St. Xavier in Cleveland, St. Edward (Lakewood) heads south. The Eagles have won 31 of their last 35 games, including two straight against Archbishop Moeller (Cincinnati).

This is the schools' biggest matchup since 2003 when the recent series started. St. Ed holds a 5-4 edge. See the results in the MaxPreps record book.

Senior defensive backs Soloman Warfield (6-0, 185) and Domenic Abounader (6-0, 190) and senior linebacker Lavonte Robinson (5-11, 215) headline the Eagles defense. Seniors Ryan Fallon (quarterback, 6-1, 185), AAnthony Young (wide receiver, 6-1, 175), Kenny Butler (running back, 5-10, 190) and Dwayne Aaron (running back, 5-7, 170) lead the offense. Warfield is committed to Iowa. Young holds 13 offers, including Northwestern, Cincinnati, Minnesota and Indiana.

Moeller opened the season nationally ranked but losses to Elder and St. Xavier dropped it. Don't be fooled – the Crusaders could still win the state title, they're that deep.

Miami (Fla.) offensive line commit Alex Gall (6-5, 295) and Indiana tight end commit Evan Jansen (6-5, 240) anchor the offensive front. Northwestern running back commit Keith Watkins II (6-0, 180) leads the GCL in rushing (1,160 yards and 16 touchdowns). Linebacker Shane Jones (6-1, 215), who is headed to Michigan State, is the team's leading tackler (74).

Saturday: No. 4 St. Ignatius (8-0) at St. Xavier (5-3), 2 p.m. All indications out of Cleveland are that this year's St. Ignatius (Cleveland) team is even better than the one that won a record 11th D-I state championship last year. The Wildcats have won 14 straight games. Their last loss? A 14-12 setback to St. Xavier (Cincinnati).

St. Ignatius – led by senior defensive linemen David Katusha (6-3, 274/Air Force commit) and Kevin Kavalec (6-3, 240/Boston College commit) – has allowed 17 points in its last five games. Senior running back Tim McVey (5-9, 185/Buffalo commit) has 22 touchdowns on the season and 44 in his career, which ranks second in school history. Senior quarterback Mike Lamanna (6-2, 185) has tossed 16 scores. Head coach Chuck Kyle needs just two wins to reach 300.

St. Xavier is arguably the best 5-3 team in the country. The Bombers have lost to Colerain (31-28), Louisville Trinity (14-13) and St. Edward (27-16). Junior quarterback Nicholas Tensing (6-4, 190) is second in the GCL with 1,649 passing yards and 16 touchdowns. His favorite target is senior receiver Kevin Milligan (5-8, 180), who has 56 receptions for 548 yards and six touchdowns. A player to watch is senior wide receiver Trey Kilgore (6-2, 180). A Michigan State recruit who suffered a preseason foot injury, Kilgore saw his first action of the season last week and had six catches for 45 yards and a score against St. Ed.

This is the 19th time St. Ignatius and St. Xavier will meet. The Bombers own a 10-8 edge and have won the last two.

Eric Frantz is the managing editor of JJHuddle.com and the Publisher of Miamivalleysports.com and MVP Magazine. He can be reached at efrantz@jjhuddle.com .