The high school football season is in full swing with area teams now having two games under their belt.
Here are some of the top storylines from Week 2 action on the gridiron.
More:Cincinnati, NKY high school football scores in Week 2
Top 22The top 22 Ohio high school football players in 2022
Fairfield looks strong again as Indians move to 2-0
The schedule will get tougher down the road, but Fairfield has checked all the boxes in starting 2-0 on the season with back-to-back 40-point performances. After topping Huber Heights Wayne in the season-opener, 41-24, Fairfield brought the fireworks in Week 2 against Middletown, scoring on its first two plays from scrimmage en route to a 42-14 victory.
Fairfield quarterback Talon Fisher is third in the Greater Miami Conference in passing with 251 yards and leads the league in rushing (330 yards) after another big night Friday. The junior ran for 156 yards and a touchdown and also threw a 69-yard touchdown to Jordan Jackson. Jackson, a West Virginia commit, now has four touchdowns in just two games and Fairfield’s rushing attack has plenty of options like Juseters Fataki, Kavi Bivins and Ki’Arran Love.
Fairfield is 2-0 for just the second time since 2016 and they’ll visit 0-2 Colerain next week.
Moving the chains
1ST DOWN: Western Hills is 2-0 for the first time since 2010 after going on the road and edging Deer Park, 20-14. It’s a dream start for first-year head coach Charles Boyd, a Western Hills graduate. The Mustangs easily dispatched Dayton Meadowdale in the opener, then got two long touchdown connections from Omar Beckley Jr. to Rahson Hutchinson in the first quarter to set the table for the win over Deer Park. Beckley Jr. also ran for a score.
Western Hills is one of just two unbeaten teams in the CMAC. The other? The Hughes Big Red started 2-0 and have outscored their opponents (Summit, North College Hill), 91-13. T.J. Engleman had another huge game, running for 153 yards and three touchdowns on just seven attempts.
2ND DOWN: The game of the week in Cincinnati went down in the Eastern Cincinnati Conference between Lebanon and Milford. The game featured over 1,000 combined yards of offense and seven lead changes, the last coming from Milford on quarterback Austin Hardin’s 16-yard touchdown toss to Cam Livingston with 51 seconds remaining, pushing Milford to a 39-35 win.
Milford’s Jacob Smith had an 81-yard punt return touchdown, an 89-yard kickoff return score and intercepted a pass on defense. Hardin may be the ECC’s next great passer after throwing four touchdowns for a second-straight game. The senior signal-caller has thrown for 594 yards on the year and completed an ECC-best 68.1% of his throws.
Lebanon totaled 636 yards of offense but came up short. Standout running back Braden Kay ran for 282 yards and three touchdowns on 26 carries and quarterback Brayden Everitt threw for 194 yards, ran for 113 and totaled three touchdowns (two rushing). Lebanon is 0-2 for the second-straight year, though they’ve lost those games by a combined five points.
3RD DOWN: There were more first-year head coaches cracking the win column with their new club in Week 2. In Mt. Healthy, Jordan Stevens picked up win No. 1 when the Owls overwhelmed Dayton Ponitz, 42-7. Mt. Healthy was led by quarterback Jahmeir Spain, who finished 18-of-30 for 251 yards and three touchdowns, spreading the wealth as the Owls had four receivers with at least three catches and over 45 yards. Mt. Healthy was impressive on the ground, too, with Spain finding the endzone and Michael Watson running for 164 yards on 18 attempts.
Nate Mahon was victorious for the first time as a West Clermont Wolf. In a close ECC-opener, West Clermont prevailed on the road over Little Miami, 21-16. While West Clermont’s rushing tandem of Zach Moats (152 yards) and Bryson Earley (99 yards) controlled the game, the Wolves found the endzone twice threw the air on touchdown tosses from Earley and Michael Corcoran to Hayden Jones. Highly-touted wide receiver Chris Henry Jr. may have only had one catch for one yard, but the freshman did record his first interception.
In Roselawn, Jeremy Pflug picked up his first win as head coach of the Woodward Bulldogs as the blue and white stormed past Shroder, 54-12. Woodward quarterback Armoud Seals threw for 302 yards, ran for 105 and totaled four touchdowns (two passing, two rushing).
In New Richmond, the Brian Pitzer era is off to a 2-0 start. The Lions won a thriller in Week 1 over Northwest, then cruised past Bethel-Tate, 42-20, in their home-opener on Friday. New Richmond quarterback A.J. Metzger is not the most talked-about quarterback in the SBAAC-American, but he’s now thrown for 515 yards and seven touchdowns in two games. The senior was 24-of-48 for 340 yards and five scores against the Tigers, three of which went to Tanner Skaggs (seven catches, 124 yards), who was one of two 100-yard receivers for the Lions, joining Cooper Tidball (seven catches, 113 yards, TD).
4TH DOWN: The early-season forecast is calling for some high-stakes showdowns in the Greater Catholic League-South this season. Elder has allowed the most points in the league in each of the last four seasons, but the Panthers have brought the defense in their first 2-0 start since 2019. Elder allowed some garbage-time points in Week 1 against Covington Catholic, then returned to The Pit to permit just 110 total yards and no offensive points in last week’s 17-7 win over Pickerington Central.
More:Lakota East mourns 2 former Thunderhawks during loss to rival Lakota West
La Salle opened the year with a 17-13 win over Colerain, then blitzed RFCC (Canada) last Friday, 70-7, racking up over 400 rushing yards. The Lancers visit Kettering Fairmont next week.
Moeller has answered the bell in back-to-back road games to start the year. After a shootout win over Massillon, the Crusaders thumped Kentucky powerhouse Louisville Trinity, 28-3. Running back Jordan Marshall ran for 199 yards and two touchdowns.
St. Xavier is 0-2 for the first time since 2016 but lost to the No. 2 team in Ohio (Lakota West) and Illinois (Loyola Academy), per the MaxPreps rankings. Expect the Bombers to still be in the mix later in the season with GCL-South play slated to start in Week 5. St. Xavier hosts Olentangy Liberty next week, a team they blanked 49-0 last fall.
Northern Kentucky/Southeast Indiana
After two weeks of high school, only five Northern Kentucky teams are undefeated.
Beechwood, two-time defending Class 2A state champion, has not missed a beat and is 2-0 after beating Fairdale and Paintsville by a combined score of 82-7. Ludlow is 2-0 after beating Lockland 46-21 and has scored 94 points in its two wins.
Walton-Verona shut out Holy Cross 14-0 after beating Scott 31-14 in the opener.
Boone County is 2-0 for the first time since 2019 after rallying to beat Scott 14-13. The Rebels have not had a winning season since 2011.
Simon Kenton, 2-9 last year, is 2-0 after edging Highlands 42-40 last week.
In Indiana, Dearborn County and conference rivals East Central, Lawrenceburg and South Dearborn all won last week. East Central beat Harrison 41-7 with a high-powered passing attack for the second game in a row. Cole Burton threw for 291 yards and four touchdowns: 190 yards and three touchdowns to Ryan Brotherton and 101 and one to Eli Aston. Josh Ringer rushed for 106 yards.
Lawrenceburg rebounded from its opening loss to East Central to beat Taylor 27-8. South Dearborn improved to 2-0 by edging Madison 15-12.
FIRST DOWN: Simon Kenton senior quarterback Chase Crone called his offensive line the best in the state after the Pioneers beat Highlands 42-40 Friday.
The Pioneers, 2-9 last year, improved to 2-0 after their massive front line allowed the team to pave the way for a 353-yard rushing night. They did that without the services of explosive running back Jayden Lawson, who missed the game due to injury. Crone rushed for 150, junior Kaleb Bleier 101 and senior Chase Williams 81. Williams, Simon Kenton's top returning receiver, lined up at running back at times and caught two touchdown passes from Crone.
Aba Selm, who has several college offers, is part of a massive offensive line with all five starters returning, including Nathan Bieber, C.J. Heflin, Jake Puthoff and Kaleb Russell. Selm is listed at 295 pounds and Russell at 285.
SECOND DOWN: Cooper and Dixie Heights both struggled on offense during their season openers. Cooper was shut out 28-0 by George Rogers Clark while Dixie squeaked out a 13-12 decision over Lloyd Memorial.
Both teams found some answers in their second game, as the Jaguars went to Edgewood and won a wild 41-36 decision over the Colonels.
Dixie racked up 494 yards offense against the Jaguars, who countered with 427 and was able to win on the scoreboard.
Cooper was led by senior running back Eli White, who rushed for 215 yards and three touchdowns and caught two passes for 69 yards and a score. Freshman quarterback Cam O’Hara threw for 194 yards and three scores, two to Austin Alexanders, and Isaiah Johnson rushed for 77 yards on just three carries.
Meanwhile, Dixie, with a new quarterback and set of offensive weapons, put up 36 points. Team stats weren’t available on Monday.
Cooper will test its offense against rival Ryle on Friday, while Dixie plays at Conner.
THIRD DOWN: After a disappointing opening loss to Mason County, 48-6, Newport gave head coach Ryan Hahn his first win as a head coach with a 7-0 win over Bishop Brossart. The Wildcats handed Brossart, 12-1 last season, its first regular-season loss since 2020, limiting the Mustangs to 107 yards of offense. The Wildcats scored in the final minute after a long pass play.
FOURTH DOWN: Beechwood improved to 2-0 with a 46-7 win over Paintsville. Wake Forest commit Antonio Robinson made his Tigers debut with three catches for 34 yards and a touchdown. Mitchell Berger rushed for 175 yards and three touchdowns, and freshman Cash Harney threw for 96 yards and two scores. Beechwood posted four sacks, three by standout Xavier Campbell. Beechwood, now winners of 25 straight games, plays at Somerset Friday.
