Greater Cincinnati high school football: What we learned in week 1

The first week of high school football in Greater Cincinnati is in the books. Three games kicked off the season on Thursday night before the action really got going on Friday night.

After all the helmets were hung up in the locker room and the stadium lights turned off at the end of week one, here's what we learned about various teams and conferences around the tri-state.

More: Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky week 1 high school football scores

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Greater Miami Conference had an uncharacteristically down week

The GMC had a lackluster showing in Week 1, compiling a 2-8 record. That's the worst collective record among the five Cincinnati conferences that have at least 10 teams. The only winners were Middletown (31-16 over Loveland) and Princeton (41-7 over Elyria). Four teams scored five points or less, including two teams that got shut out.

With conference play beginning in Week 2, at least three more teams will find the win column for the first time this year. How will Lakota West, who gained 94 total yards of offense against St. Xavier, bounce back against Princeton? Can Middletown get off to its first 2-0 start since 2011 when it hosts Colerain?

New QBs at Taft, Withrow prosper with deep receiving corps

It will be more than a month before Taft and Withrow see each other on the football field for their highly touted CMAC showdown (Week 6), but both teams had impressive wins with new transfers at quarterback. Both teams had a known star at receiver, but several others stepped up with big plays, showing future opposing defenses that it could be dangerous to key on the big name.

Luke Dunn played his first game at Withrow after transferring from Moeller last year. Dunn, who was the GCL’s leading pass year, had a strong debut by completing 14-of-19 passes for 232 yards and four touchdowns as Withrow beat Walnut Hills 42-0.

'They all can be deadly': Receivers, Luke Dunn lead Withrow to 42-0 win over Walnut Hills

His top target was Chris Henry, Jr., the son of former Bengals standout Chris Henry. Henry, who transferred from West Clermont, is a sophomore who committed to Ohio State this summer. He had five catches for 77 yards and a touchdown. Meanwhile, other receivers made big plays.

Dantrell Moses had four catches for 71 yards and a TD. Myles Rochelle and Kristian Bonner had tough TD catches. Quintin Simmons had two catches for 43 yards, returned a punt 95 yards for a touchdown and had a kick return for a TD called back by penalty.

After the game, Dunn said he felt like Joe Burrow with his variety of talented targets. If they continue to play that well, the Tigers will be hard to defend all season.

Armoud Seals debuted for Taft after coming over from CMAC rival Woodward. Seals threw for 184 yards and five touchdowns to lead the Senators to a 40-18 win over visiting Pleasure Ridge Park from Louisville.

Jay’Quan Bostic, a West Virginia commit on defense, had two catches, both for touchdowns, and 45 receiving yards. Milton Godfrey had three catches for 65 yards and two touchdowns. Tayshawn Banks and Jahvion Jarmon each had a 35-yard catch, and Banks returned a kickoff for a touchdown. Godfrey had 12 catches all of last season.

New coaches take the helm

More than a dozen new head coaches debuted with their teams last week.

The highest-profile one was Jon Kitna, the former Bengals quarterback who takes over at Lakota East. His Thunderhawks lost 30-12 to Centerville, who was 10-3 last season.

Moeller, a Division I state semifinalist last season, took a 49-28 loss at home to Ben Davis, an Indiana big-school power from Indianapolis who went 6-4 last year. Moeller gave up more than 500 yards of offense to the visiting Giants for new head coach Bert Bathiany, a Highlands grad who came to Moeller after being head coach at Lexington Catholic.

'They will be ready': New Moeller head football coach keeps high standards for Crusaders

Also in the GMC, Carl Huber’s debut at Colerain ended in a 28-3 loss to nearby GCL rival La Salle.

Bryan Walker’s first game at Turpin, who went 1-9 last year, was a success as the Spartans won a tight 31-24 game against Oak Hills. Turpin only averaged 15 points per game last season.

Steve Poff returned to Middletown Madison after a few years away and led Madison to a 33-13 win over Preble Shawnee.

In the CMAC, Eric Isaacs’ Riverview East team took a 28-0 loss to Clermont Northeastern at Stargel Stadium. Derek Webster’s Western Hills squad lost 41-12 to Canton GlenOak. Ricky Story Jr.’s Woodward team lost 47-0 to Reading.

The five new coaches in the Miami Valley Conference had a rough week, going 1-4. Jeremy Pflug led Purcell Marian to a 40-22 win over Deer Park in the opening game at Purcell’s new on-campus stadium named after legendary QB Roger Staubach, who was there to root on his alma mater.

New Miami (Chris Fogle), Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy (Calvin Renfroe), Norwood (Matt Money) and Summit Country Day (Mark Hafner) all took tough losses to powerful foes.

State champions open the season with a bang

Fresh off their third straight state championship and 17th overall, Beechwood traveled to Beechmont Road and grabbed a 31-14 win over McNicholas in Jay Volker's head coaching debut with the Tigers. Clay Hayden threw for 264 yards and Luke Erdman accounted for three total touchdowns. The Tigers stay on the road to face Campbell County, who beat Scott 56-6 in their season opener.

East Central began the hunt for their second straight championship by running all over Lawrenceburg. The Trojans now have 27 straight wins in the series. Josh Ringer became the first player in school history to record five rushing touchdowns in one half as part of his six-score performance. He finished with 154 rushing yards. East Central will continue its homestand with games against Harrison (defeated Taylor 37-8) and Moeller (lost 49-28 to Ben Davis).

Early contenders in Kentucky's Class 5A

Highlands, which won Class 5A, District 6 in 2022, opened its season with a 34-27 road win against Lexington Catholic. It was head coach Bob Sphire's first win against his former team; he coached the Knights for 15 years. Quarterback Brody Benke had a hand in all five touchdowns and Griffin Taylor had a game-altering interception in the end zone.

Quarterback Cam O'Hara threw for 315 yards and five touchdowns, and Jack Lonaker and Austin Alexander combined for four sacks as Cooper defeated 2022 Class 4A runners-up Bardstown 35-14. The Jaguars, who are searching for their third straight winning season and a first playoff victory since 2018, certainly made a statement by going on the road and beating the Tigers the way they did.

The Conner Cougars opened their season with a promising 45-21 win over a Paul Laurence Dunbar team that had a 6-6 record in 2022. This is notable because the Cougars' only two wins last year came against Scott and Boone County, two teams that combined for seven wins. Cordion Abernathy and Wyatt Hatfield eclipsed 100 rushing yards and combined for five of Conner's six touchdowns. The Cougars face Ryle in week two. The Raiders will surely be hungry after a 37-22 loss to Covington Catholic.

New players step in for all-time greats

Several highly successful teams from last season had to replace superstars lost to graduation.

Kings, who reached the Division II state semifinals last year, lost the ECC’s leading quarterback (Will Kocher, 4,741 passing yards) and receiver Michael Mussari (1,750) plus third-leading receiver Jake Cameron (1,182 yards). Kings held off Sycamore 29-22 behind 233 total yards offense from Paul Kelly.

Anderson had to replace Griffin Scalf (4,637 passing yards) and two receivers who combined for 2,600 yards from the team that lost to Kings 46-42 in the regional finals. Anderson had no trouble with South Oldham from the Louisville area, winning 44-15 as new QB Justice Burnam completed 17-of-18 passes for 256 yards and six touchdowns.

Winton Woods had to replace the ECC’s leading rusher Trey Cornist (1,629 yards). The Warriors only generated 202 yards of offense but won a defensive struggle at Trotwood-Madison, 21-7.

Wyoming, Division IV state runner-up, must replace all-time great C.J. Hester at running back (3,000 yards, 39 TDs). The Cowboys won 16-12 at Ross as returning QB Quaid Hauer threw for 164 yards and the Cowboys rushed for 132.

Surprise shutouts

In a neighborhood rivalry game that hadn't been played since 2000, Badin walked into Hamilton's Schwarm Stadium and beat the Big Blue 18-0. The Rams capitalized on several Hamilton mistakes to take a 4-1 lead in the series that dates back to 1980.

Boone County now has a 10-1 all-time record against Holmes thanks to a 31-0 win. The Rebels, who had one previous shutout win over Holmes, bounced back from a loss to the Bulldogs in 2021.

Cincinnati Country Day may have had the most surprising shutout of week one, beating Summit Country Day 30-0 to win its first game in the series since 2015. The final result is a bit of a shocker considering CCD hasn't been particularly competitive against the Silver Knight in recent years. The Nighthawks' average margin of defeat in this game in the past six years was 27 points.

For the second year in a row, Finneytown won the first game of their season by beating Attica 28-0. The Wildcats matched their win total from 2022 and will have chances to surpass it in the next two weeks against St. Bernard-Elmwood Place and Lockland.

Reading opened the season with a 47-0 win over a depleted Woodward team. It was a bit more surprising for Reading, who lost quarterback Dickie Engel in the high school transfer portal, so to speak. The Bulldogs will have to find a way forward without Armoud Seals, who transferred to Taft in the offseason.

St. Xavier blanked Lakota West 10-0. Head coach Tom Bolden knew his offense would experience some growing pains, but he was happy that the defense only allowed 10 points and is confident that that trend will continue throughout the season.

St. Xavier's defense stands out against Lakota West

As the Enquirer reported, St. Xavier won the marquee game of the opening weekend with a 10-0 shutout of Lakota West, who was 13-1 last year.

The Bombers' defense gave up only 94 yards and seven first downs to the Firebirds, who only ran one play in Bombers' territory in the second half. St. X made an early statement in the pecking order of Cincinnati’s Division I powers.

Fairfield makes a statement in a wild loss

The highest-scoring game of the week came in Huber Heights, with Fairfield losing a wild game to Wayne, 58-51.

QB Talon Fisher had a big game for the Indians, throwing for 245 yards and three touchdowns, while rushing for 144 and three scores. Fairfield racked up 466 yards offense, but allowed 504 to the home, including 372 in the air.

Fairfield’s loss was part of a rough week for the Greater Miami Conference, who went 2-8. Most of those, including the ones noted earlier, came to powerful teams. Mason, last year’s GMC runner-up, lost 10-5 to Gahanna Lincoln, who went 13-2 last year and lost to Lakewood St. Edward in the Division I state semifinals. Hamilton lost 18-0 to city rival Badin, who was 13-1 last year, in the crosstown rivals’ first meeting since 2000.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: 2023 Greater Cincinnati high school football: Week 1 takeaways