Tri-State high school football best bets: Week 2

It was a “Say What?” weekend as high school football had its first full schedule of games in the Tri-State a week ago.

Reading and Sidney start off 1-0 after 0-10 campaigns in 2011. In fact both schools were the only one in their league to pull out a victory.

In Ohio, Division I four of last year’s top eight playoff teams fell in Week 1. In Division II last season’s top two squads, Kings and Trotwood-Madison, fell in their openers.

On the Kentucky side of the river, Simon Kenton, Cooper and Lloyd all went to 2-0. It was also rare occasion that saw NewCath and Beechwood go down in the same week.

Indiana can boast that four of the six EIAC teams are 2-0 out of the gate.

Here is a look at this weekend’s Best Bets :


KENTUCKY
NewCath (1-1) @ Campbell County (1-1) - NewCath followed up an opening week win by dropping a heartbreaker at McNicholas last Saturday, 27-24. The Breds’ defense has yet to find its groove early season, allowing 24.5 points per game through its first two contests. Establishing the running game and senior Dylan Hayes shouldn’t be too difficult against a Camels’ defense that has struggled to stop the run. Campbell County will need a big night from quarterback Tyler Durham if they are going to pull out a home victory.

Holy Cross (1-1) @ Conner (1-0) - The Cougars had no problems getting points on the board in their opener as they picked up a tough road win at Boone County. Now Conner returns home to face Holy Cross, the defending Class 2A state champions. The Indians struggled mightily in Week 2 as they fell to Cooper, another Class 5A school, 49-7. Quarterback Drew Barker and senior Cameron Fogle present huge matchup problems for Holy Cross, who must figure out a way to get Jalen Beal going if they are going to stay in this contest.

Holmes (1-0) @ Beechwood (0-1) – 7:30 PM – Beechwood seemed a bit lost on both sides of the ball without star Max Nussbaum, who is out with a torn meniscus. The Tigers fell to Simon Kenton and could have used that leadership from Nussbaum in key situations last Friday. Head coach Noel Rash will make the adjustments this week. Beechwood will need to prove they are capable of handling the athleticism that Holmes brings to the table. The Bulldogs start off with an intense first four weeks of the season. Now, with a little bit of confidence after the Scott win, this team has momentum on their side and must learn how to maintain it heading into September.


INTERSTATE
CovCath (2-0) @ LaSalle (0-1) – 7:30 PM – LaSalle won an early 10 am start, 41-10, at CovCath, a year ago in a contest that was shortened because of heat warnings last season. The Lancers defense has to get better in a hurry. They gave up 392 yards in last week’s loss to Lakota West and 289 of those were on the ground. In addition, the Lancers gave up pass plays of 45 and 49 yards to the Firebirds. LaSalle racked up 466 yards of total offense on 82 plays (59 were passes), but it was five turnovers that were their demise in the opener. The combination of juniors Derek Kief at receiver and Morgan Wilcox at running back is going to make life easy for Lancers head coach Tom Grippa over the next two years. CovCath quarterback Blake Bir set the school record with six touchdown passes and upped his program best touchdown pass total to 59 in last week’s 54-0 rout of Dixie Heights. The Colonels have outscored their two opponents by a combined 91-0 in 2012.

East Central (2-0) @ Sycamore (1-0) – 7:30 PM – East Central takes a step up in class as they take on a GMC foe. The Trojans will see speed like they have never seen before with Sycamore’s skill position players. It will be a sharp contrast as EC used star linebacker Payton Stonefield in their depleted backfield last week. Aviators’ junior quarterback Greg Simpson is a dual threat with a strong arm and fast wheels. The most impressive thing about Sycamore’s win over Anderson was that they only gave up 3.1 yards per carry on 43 rushing attempts. The Aves’ defense got stronger as the game wore on.

Grand Rapids Christian (1-0) @ Moeller (1-0) – Saturday, 1:00 PM - Moeller has been to the postseason 10 straight years. It is the longest current streak by any team in Southwest Ohio. Sunday’s win for the Crusaders marked the sixth time in 10 games that quarterback Spencer Iacavone has ran and passed for at least one touchdown in a game. Running back Keith Watkins surpassed the 1,000-yard mark rushing for his career with a 117-yard output in Week 1. Grand Rapids Christian is coming off the program’s first undefeated regular season and has 12 players that will play ball at the next level. GRC gave up 418 yards of total offense in their opener. Moeller linebacker Shane Jones and Grand Rapids Christian receiver Drake Harris have both committed to Michigan State


OHIO
Winton Woods (0-1) @ Lakota East (1-0) – 7:30 PM – Last fall Lakota East won a 38-37 overtime thriller over Winton Woods a year ago. The Thunderhawks benefit from their GMC schedule,