Elder at La Salle, Indian Hill at Wyoming, and other top football games to watch Sept. 12

It seems like high school football season just started, but we’re already getting close to the halfway point. This week, league play starts in two of Cincinnati’s biggest conferences, the Greater Catholic League-South and Cincinnati Hills League, and there are lots of other big-time matchups.

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 (2-1) at Lakota West Firebirds (2-1)

When: 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 12

What to watch: The two co-champions of the Greater Miami Conference last year are currently tied for first place with Middletown at 2-0 in the league. As was the case in 2024, this game will likely go a long way in deciding this year’s champion.

Princeton has won the last two matchups, 14-6 last season and 18-3 in 2023. Points will likely be at premium again this year, so it will come down to which offense executes better.

Princeton has handled the bottom two teams in the league, Colerain and Sycamore, by a combined score of 79-2. West has rolled over Mason and Hamilton by a combined score of 73-19. Both teams opened the season with losses to Greater Catholic League-South schools, as Princeton fell to Moeller 41-20 and West to St. Xavier, 14-7.

Jackson Smith has a solid season as West’s QB, averaging 194 passing yards per game with six touchdowns, and completing 67 percent of his passes. Tyson Davis is one of the city’s leading receivers with 20 catches for 365 yards and four TDs. Princeton is still getting untracked offensively. Arizona State commit Landen Miree leads the way with 13 catches and three TDs.

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

Mason Comets (1-2) at Oak Hills Highlanders (1-2)

When: 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 12

What to watch: The two largest high schools in Ohio meet up this week. They are two programs that probably feel they are better than their records. Both have played Lakota East, with Mason winning 40-35 last week, and the Highlanders losing 14-7. Oak Hills lost 14-9 to Middletown, while Mason lost 35-13 to Lakota West.

The Oak Hills defense, led by Max Rhodes with 47 tackles, will look to slow down the Comets’ offense, which got untracked in a big way last week against the Thunderhawks. De’Angelo Birch, who transferred from Princeton, had a huge game on the ground. He has rushed for 349 yards and five TDs for the year. Brandon Birdsong has rushed for 153 yards and three scores and is the team’s leading receiver. On offense, the Highlanders will need to find some answers. They have only averaged 40 yards per game on the ground. Lincoln Schreiber averages 176 yards per game passing and has thrown for three TDs.

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

Lebanon Warriors (3-0) at Anderson Raptors (3-0)

When: 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 12

What to watch: The winner will be at least tied for first in the Eastern Cincinnati Conference. Both teams are 2-0, as are Kings and Turpin.

Hardly anyone has had answers for the Anderson offense in recent years, and Lebanon has not been alone. In five games against Anderson as Eastern Cincinnati foes, Anderson has scored 44 points per contest and won all of them. But Lebanon is on a roll, starting 3-0 for the first time since 2012. Luke Faler has thrown for 660 yards and seven touchdowns. Anderson has outscored its three foes 151-24. Owen Scalf has stepped in at QB and thrown for 910 yards and eight touchdowns, completing 76 percent of his passes. Three players have more than 200 yards receiving, and Jordan Davis has rushed for 220 yards and six touchdowns. Anderson will hope to keep winning heading into a road game at Kings next week.

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

Elder Panthers (3-0) at La Salle Lancers (3-0)

When: 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 12

What to watch: This is the league opener in the always rugged Greater Catholic League-South. These teams are undefeated, as is St. Xavier, and Moeller is 2-1 with a one-point loss to one of the top teams in Illinois.

La Salle won last year’s matchup, 35-24, snapping a three-game losing streak to the Panthers. Points have been plenty between these teams in recent years, but both squads are thriving on defense this season, which adds extra intrigue to this one.

Elder has outscored foes 83-27. The Panthers have had two strong defensive efforts and struggled a bit to hold off Covington Catholic in Week 2, 28-20. La Salle rallied to beat Fairmont 24-23 after dominant wins over Colerain and Northmont.

Senior Avier Carter has taken over at QB for the Lancers and had a solid season. Junior Kaden Estep has thrown for 498 yards and four touchdowns for the Panthers. Cincinnati commit Derek Uran leads the defense at linebacker.

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

Roger Bacon Spartans (2-1) at McNicholas Rockets (1-2)

When: 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 12

What to watch: The Rockets have owned this rivalry since Roger Bacon left the Greater Catholic League and joined the Miami Valley Conference. McNick has won the last four years, including 27-6 last season.

Both teams are somewhat unknown quantities due to their schedules. Bacon started by losing to Indian Hill 30-7 then rolling over two Cincinnati Metro Athletic Conference foes. Veteran QB Bubba Smart has thrown for 365 yards and seven touchdowns, and two Spartans have rushed for nearly 200 yards.

McNick edged rival Turpin 34-28, but has since lost to reigning Division V state champion Ironton 29-7, then 10-7 to Wheelersburg, who lost to Ironton in the regional final. Ironton shut down McNick senior running back Caleb Naumann but he has two 100-yard rushing games so far.

Picks: McNicholas (Connelly, Dermer, Harrison, Laughman, Weber), Roger Bacon (Souder)

Reading Blue Devils (0-3) at Deer Park Wildcats (3-0)

When: 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 12

What to watch: The Deer Park Wildcats have been one of the best surprises of the young season. They’re averaging 41 points per game, led by quarterback Tink Sellers and running back/linebacker Morgan Brown, and the defense is getting better with each game. Caden Lewis leads the way with 19 tackles, five different players have recorded an interception, and Sefa Sackey (appropriately named) has eight sacks.

Reading has had a tough go of it but has gotten more competitive each week. Marc Smith is averaging 7.7 yards per carry. On defense, five different players have 10 tackles or more. This is an opportunity for the Bluedevils to start a winning streak and turn the season around.

Reading has a 48-22-1 lead in the all-time series. Deer Park’s last win in the series was in 2019.

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

Indian Hill Braves (3-0) at Wyoming Cowboys (3-0)

When: 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 12

What to watch: Could the Cincinnati Hills League title really be decided in the first week of league play? One of these two teams has won the league every year since 2013, with the winner of this game going on to win each of those titles.

For the 11^th straight season, the Cowboys are 3-0 to start the season. They’ve needed a little good fortune to get to this point, coming back to beat Ross and holding off Monroe. Brylan Miltenberger is one of the most dangerous skill players in the city with the ball in his hands; he has 217 receiving yards and three touchdowns and returned one of his three interceptions for a touchdown.

Indian Hill is only allowing nine points per game, but their opponents so far have a combined record of 3-6. Continuing a trend under John Rodenberg, the Braves are dominating on the ground with 673 rushing yards and seven touchdowns so far. Dylan Hartman is a defensive dynamo with 14 tackles and five interceptions so far.

Picks: Indian Hill (Harrison, Laughman, Weber), Wyoming (Connelly, Dermer, Souder)

Cincinnati Country Day (2-1) at Cincinnati College Prep Academy (2-1)

When: 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 12, at Woodward High School

What to watch: Cincinnati College Prep is coming off a stellar season in which the Lions advanced to the regional semifinals. Marian Robertson leads this year’s ground game with 346 rushing yards. Sir Michael Miller is among the city’s leaders with 28 tackles and 10 sacks.

Cincinnati Country Day is starting to settle into the season after a shaky start. Thomas Huckleby had 147 receiving yards and four total touchdowns in a 46-0 win over Irvington Prep. In two wins, the Nighthawks have only allowed six points.

Cincinnati College Prep won a back-and-forth, 50-42 showdown last year. Both teams are coming off of blowout, shutout wins against meager opponents.

Picks: CCD (Souder, Weber), CCPA (Connelly, Dermer, Laughman, Harrison)

Aiken Falcons (3-0) at Lloyd Memorial Juggernauts (3-0)

When: 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 12

What to watch: Only one team will walk out of Erlanger undefeated on Friday night.

If it’s the Juggernauts, they could win their remaining six games and finish the regular season 10-0. The offense is averaging 44 points per game, and the defense looks like a classic Kyle Neiderman defense. Nine players have recorded a sack, but no players have more than two sacks. The Juggernauts have also forced two fumbles. Colten Barger has made 13 tackles, recovered a fumble, and caught six of Kaleb Evans’ eight touchdown passes.

Aiken is very evenly balanced on offense with 480 passing yards and 477 rushing yards. Quarterback Andre Underwood is also averaging 8.8 yards per carry and Romello Mitchell has eight catches for 173 yards and three touchdowns. The Falcons have been physical on defense, forcing four fumbles. They could use a refreshing win after a nail-biting 24-20 win over Reading.

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

Simon Kenton Pioneers (2-1) at Beechwood Tigers (2-0)

When: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 12

What to watch: Beechwood currently has the second-longest winning streak in the Bluegrass at 12 games. Having one of the top offenses in the state is no surprise (50.5 points per game), but it’s the Tigers’ defense that is raising eyebrows. They have only allowed two touchdowns so far and an average of 125 yards per game.

Simon Kenton got a wake-up call against CovCath, gaining just 283 yards of offense. The Pioneers displayed some team versatility as Moise Smith returned a kickoff for a touchdown. Defensively, they forced two fumbles and Jason Rabe had an interception. CovCath ran for 293 yards, but Beechwood presents a different challenge through the air.

The Tigers have won five straight and eight of 10 in the series.

Picks: Beechwood (Connelly, Dermer, Harrison, Laughman, Weber)