CINCINNATI — High school football is back.
Week 1 of the Greater Cincinnati high school football season opens Thursday night with a marquee game at Paycor Stadium.
Moeller (8-4 record in 2025) plays Princeton (9-3) at 7:07 p.m. Thursday in the third consecutive year the non-conference teams meet in the season opener. The game is also scheduled to be televised on Spectrum News 1 with the “King of Block” trophy on the line for the victor.
“If you are a kid you growing up in Cincinnati you’re playing your rival, you’re playing at the Bengals stadium, you’re opening up the season — it’s on a Thursday night,” Princeton coach Andre Parker said. “It doesn’t get much better than that. I think that’s a dream come true.”
Princeton, a Division I regional semifinalist in 2025, has a talented team led by senior quarterback Monsanna Torbert, a four-star player who is verbally committed to Michigan as a defensive back.
Torbert, a Navy All-American Bowl player this past January, was a Division IV first team all-state quarterback at Taft in 2025.
“He’s a phenomenal leader — got a lot of poise,” Parker said. “He’s positive — heck of a competitor. He wants to do everything and play every position. He’s helped the offense tremendously.”
Princeton has several other talented players offensively including junior wide receiver Lorenzo McMullen Jr., a five-star player who is ranked the No. 1 player in Ohio in the 2028 class by the 247Sports Composite. McMullen was a first team all-state receiver at Taft in 2025.
Defensively, several players have been impressive this preseason including senior linebacker Derrick Jeffries (Austin Peay State University verbal commit), who had 100 tackles last season. Senior defensive tackle Jaylen Mercer is verbally committed to the University of Kentucky. Mercer played at Winton Woods in 2025.
Parker said he wants the Vikings improve in the trenches on both sides of the football. He also wants to build depth leading into Thursday.
The Vikings, who have won three consecutive Greater Miami Conference championships, will be challenged early this season. Besides Week 1, Princeton travels to Barnitz Stadium Aug. 28 to play Middletown.
“We’re an adventure every day,” Parker said Aug. 4. “A lot coaching going on. A lot of new faces, a lot of young faces. So every day as coaches you’ve got to bring your hard hat. You got to be consistent. Now a ton of talent but we got to get all our arrows fixed in the right direction.”
Moeller, a 2025 regional semifinalist, has won 19 consecutive games against Princeton with the Crusaders’ most recent loss against the GMC program in 1991. Moeller has a 41-7 record against Princeton in the overall series, which goes back to 1965.
“It will be a lot of fun,” Moeller coach Bert Bathiany said of the matchup. “I’m excited for our community; I’m excited for our kids.”
Bathiany, a former Highlands player, competed at then-Paul Brown Stadium while he was a student-athlete. He was a captain of the 2004 state championship.
“The best football in the country was coming to Cincinnati, Ohio,” Bathiany said. “So I think it’s just right that we’re taking some of the best teams in our area and playing.”
Like Princeton, Moeller is expected to be one of the elite Greater Cincinnati teams this season.
The Crusaders will have a new quarterback after the graduation of 2024 Ohio Mr. Football recipient Matt Ponatoski (University of Kentucky). Junior Nick Monserez and sophomore Hunter McLaughlin competed for the starting quarterback position this preseason. The Moeller football program is not announcing the starting quarterback until the team plays Thursday.
The offensive line has significant talent including seniors Patrick O’Brien (Purdue verbal commit and first team all-GCL South) and Kalel Johnson (Georgia Tech) along with junior Jace Montgomery (first team all-GCL South), who is the son of Cincinnati Bengals defensive line coach/run game coordinator Jerry Montgomery.
The Crusaders have a talented receiving corps including senior Reggie Watson Jr. (Louisville baseball verbal commit), who had 72 receptions for 797 yards and eight touchdowns last season. Sophomore running back Juice Glover-Brown rushed for nearly 300 yards and two touchdowns as a freshman.
Defensively, the Crusaders bring back a great deal of experience including senior defensive back Marino Middleton (first team all-GCL South), junior defensive lineman Caden Orr and junior defensive back Paxton Dodsworth. Senior kicker Jack Mallabar (first team all-GCL South) is starting his third season.
“This is really a close-knit group,” Bathiany said. “It started back in January. I’ve been really pleased with the progress that we’ve made since then.”
THURSDAY’S SCHEDULE: There are several other games around Ohio to kick off the season this weekend.
Williamsburg plays host to Ironton in an intriguing matchup. The game is a one-year deal between the programs.
Williamsburg (10-1 in 2025), a Division V, Region 20 program, has more than a dozen seniors who have a 29-5 record in their high school career. Ironton is a Division V, Region 19 program. Ironton had an 8-1 record entering the final week of the 2025 regular season until it was removed from the postseason by the Ohio High School Athletic Association.
- Gamble Montessori opens against host Dayton Stivers at 6 p.m. Thursday at Welcome Stadium. The Gators return several talented players including senior linebacker Massila “Red” Diawara, who was a Cincinnati Metro Athletic Conference Blue division first team selection in 2025. Diawara earned 134 tackles (101 solo), five forced fumbles, two interceptions and a fumble recovery in 2025, according to CMAC stats.
