By Ed Letsinger
MaxPreps.com
A big purple presence is once again looming large in the Greater Catholic League South Division and across all of Cincinnati.
With just four weeks left in the regular season, Elder is not only off to its best start in five years, but appears to be hitting full stride at the right time.
The Panthers (5-1, 2-0 GCL South) proved that last week in resounding fashion with a dominating 33-15 win over defending state champion St. Xavier before a raucous, sold-out crowd of 10,000-plus at The Pit.
It was the Panthers’ first win over the Bombers since 2003 and moved them one game closer to their first league title in five years. Elder can clinch the title outright on Friday night when they take on Archbishop Moeller at University of Cincinnati’s Nippert Stadium in the area’s premier game of the night.
The Panthers are currently ranked No. 2 in the local coaches’ poll and jumped to seventh in the latest Associated Press state poll.
The road back to the upper echelon has been a long one for Elder, which won back-to-back league and Ohio Division I state titles in 2002 and 2003 before dropping back to mediocrity the past few years. St. Xavier has dominated ever since, winning four-straight league titles along with two state titles in 2005 and 2007.
Junior quarterback Mark Miller has been outstanding, completing 98-of-143 passes for 1,393 yards and 14 touchdowns with only two interceptions. Senior wide receiver Josh Jones leads the GCL with 32 receptions for 588 yards and seven touchdowns. The pair has helped lead an offense that is racking up 363.3 yards of offense and 34.7 points a game. Defensive lineman Orlando Scales and defensive end Carlos Ware lead the team with four sacks apiece.
Questions and whispers of another state title run were drifting through the air at The Pit following Elder’s big win over St. Xavier but head coach Doug Ramsey is being nothing more than cautiously optimistic at the moment.
“We’ve been waiting a long time for this one and it was a big one,” Ramsey said of the St. X win. “But we still need to get better in certain areas and we have to get better at finishing games. But we’re getting better every week.”
OHSAA Rankings Suggest Down Year For Cincinnati
If the Ohio high school football playoffs started today, 15 Cincinnati-area schools across six divisions would qualify based on the most recent Ohio High School Athletic Association Harbin Rankings. Colerain in Division I, Region 4 and Turpin in Division II, Region 8 would be awarded top seeds.
Last year, 20 area schools qualified with three schools earning top seeds including St. Xavier in Division I, Turpin in Division II and Indian Hill in Division III. Two of those schools, St. X (11th) and Indian Hill (11th), currently find themselves on the outside looking in for the one of eight spots awarded.
The biggest drop-off comes in Divisions II and III, where there are two less schools each in the mix compared to last year.
With four weeks left in the regular season there is still plenty of jockeying that can occur. If the numbers do not change, however, it will be the lowest number of qualifying teams from the Cincinnati area in recent memory suggesting a shift of power to the north in 2008.
Woodward On A Roll
Woodward started the season unranked in Cincinnati and was picked to finish third out of seven teams in league play by Cincinnati Metro Athletic Conference coaches.
Someone apparently did not get the memo that the Bulldogs are pretty good.
Heading into week seven of the regular season Woodward (6-0) is one of only two remaining unbeaten area teams in Division I. They are first in the CMAC (2-0) and ranked No. 8 by area coaches. With the numbers that the Bulldogs are putting up a loss does not appear to be on the radar any time soon.
Woodward is averaging 41 points a game and the defense is giving up just nine points a game for an average winning margin of 32 points, the best in the area. Their closest game to date was a 38-28 win over Badin in their season opener.
Senior running back Erik Finklea (833 yards rushing, 10 touchdowns) and quarterback Orlando Spikes (695 passing yards, 6 touchdowns) lead the explosive offense. Senior linebacker Chad Tillman leads the team with 25 unassisted tackles while Zahkeem Richmond has recorded six sacks.
Ed Letsinger covers Southwest Ohio and Northern Kentucky prep sports and can be reached at eletsinger@insightbb.com.
