1. Eying perfection
Fairfield and New Miami are now three wins away from perfect regular seasons. The Indians (7-0, 5-0 GMC) play at Sycamore (4-3, 2-4 GMC) on Friday, while the Vikings (7-0, 4-0 MVC) travel to North College Hill (5-2, 4-0) for a battle between the MVC Gray division leaders.
New Miami won its first league title since 1988 last year and is looking to repeat but still has to play two of the top four teams in the division.
Fairfield remains on a crash course for a GMC showdown with Colerain in the regular-season finale Nov. 1; however, last year the Indians started out 7-1 overall and 6-0 in the conference and ended up finishing with three straight losses, including a first-round playoff exit. They’ll be looking to finish what they started this time.
2. Butler County Bowl
Middletown (1-6, 0-5 GMC) hosts county rival Hamilton (3-4, 1-4 GMC) in the Butler County Bowl on Friday, looking to end a six-game skid with what would be the Middies’ first GMC win of the season. Hamilton has lost two straight.
The Middies hold a 36-31-3 record against the Big Blue in a series that dates back to 1912. The teams played in Middletown’s inaugural season and continued matching up through 1958, but the series took a twist when Hamilton split into Garfield and Taft in 1959. The Middies were 15-6 against Garfield and 18-3 over Taft before the schools reunited in 1980.
Hamilton won the last meeting, 15-14, for its lone victory of the 2018 season, as Keyshawn Stephens rushed for 257 yards and a touchdown on 36 carries. Stephens has 513 yards rushing this season.
3. The Battle of Lakota
The two Lakota rival high schools clash Friday, as West (5-2, 4-1 GMC) plays host to East (4-3, 3-2 GMC) for the 23rd "Battle of Lakota" meeting since the district split in 1997.
Both teams are in position to make the playoffs according to the current Division I, Region 4 computer ratings, but the game has some extra attention for other reasons as well. It's part of the annual Skyline Chili Crosstown Showdown and is one of the six games in the Tri-State area hosting Cincinnati Bengals players Friday as part of their "Fantennial Weekend" in celebration of the NFL's 100th season. Tight end Tyler Eifert and defensive end Sam Hubbard will spend time with fans of both teams and will serve as honorary captains for the coin toss at approximately 6:35 p.m.
West enters on a two-game winning streak and sits in fourth in the regional computer ratings to determine playoff pairings. East is coming off a 41-0 win over Oak Hills, which snapped a two-game losing streak, and the Hawks are eighth in the computer ratings. The top eight teams make the playoffs.
East earned its first ever home win in the series last year, prevailing 36-3 after punting its first three possessions, but West leads the all-time series 13-9. The first eight of the Thunderhawks’ wins against the Firebirds occurred on the road or on neutral field.
4. GCLC rivalry game
Badin will be looking to end a drought in the Greater Catholic League Co-Ed rivalry with Fenwick when the teams meet Friday at Hamilton High School.
Fenwick has won nine of the last 15 matchups with Badin and six straight in the series. Three of the consecutive losses were by seven points or less, including a playoff game in 2015 when the Falcons made a run to the state semifinals.
The Falcons (4-3, 2-0 GCLC) are coming off a big win over Alter last week and remain one of two teams without a GCLC loss, joined by Chaminade Julienne, which beat Badin in Week 7 after the Rams routed Alter for a fourth straight victory Oct. 4.
5. Ross still rolling
Ross continues to surprise this season. The Rams (6-1, 3-1 SWOC) collected a 41-18 win over Northwest last week to clinch the program’s first winning season since 2013, and they remain in the mix for the league title heading into this week’s game at home against Little Miami (5-2, 2-2 SWOC).
Harrison remains atop of the conference standings without a loss, and the Wildcats account for Ross’ lone defeat. The Rams finished 5-5 last year in coach Kenyon Commins’ second season. They were 1-9 in 2017.
C.J. Boze (916 yards rushing) and Jackson Gifford (861 yards rushing) have led the offense and are the SWOC’s top two rushers.
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