SHARONVILLE, Ohio — A Greater Miami Conference showdown of undefeated teams is among the top games Friday night around Greater Cincinnati.
Lakota West (4-0, 3-0 GMC) plays at Princeton (4-0, 3-0) in a highly-anticipated GMC matchup at the midway point of the regular season.
"The thought process is worry about us, try to block out all the noise, all the social media talk and just focus on what we need to do to win," Princeton senior wide receiver Riley Woods said.
Lakota West is No. 3 in the Division I, Region 4 computer points ratings while Princeton is No. 4. The Firebirds are ranked No. 4 in the Associated Press state media poll while the Vikings are tied with New Albany at No. 8.
Princeton is expecting a large crowd at Jake Sweeney Automotive Group Stadium for the 7 p.m. kickoff.
"These are the type of games why you coach high school football and the reason you play high school football," Princeton coach Andre Parker said Tuesday afternoon. "So it's the reason we're here. We want to play in these type of games. So we're excited.
But, it's not about them. It's about our preparation. It's about the things we do every day. It's about our process. Because if you get focused too much on them you will be watching them and it won't be too fun to watch. It's about us and the kids understand that."
The Vikings have outscored their opponents 125-0 the past three weeks during three shutouts over GMC opponents.
Princeton is led by several players including senior linebacker Breeon Ishmail who has 29 tackles and two interceptions. Sophomore linebacker PJ Nelson has three sacks.
Princeton had to replace 10 starters on defense from a year ago. Senior cornerback Caleb Clark-Glover, a Marshall University verbal commit, embraced a leadership role and has been a voice of the defense.
"This team — we're relentless," Clark-Glover said. "Every day we come in here and work hard."
Senior quarterback RJ West has thrown for a GMC-leading 699 yards. He has thrown for nine touchdowns and rushed for four scores. Woods has 13 receptions for 293 yards and five touchdowns.
"It's real fun," Woods said. "Everybody is scoring and everybody is getting touches so there is no selfishness. Everybody wants to see everybody win. It's like a brotherhood."
The Firebirds have won by a 139-13 scoring advantage the past three weeks. Lakota West is led by several players too.
Firebirds coach Tom Bolden said the team is focused on improving after a shutout last week and wants his team to pay attention to details during preparation for the game this week.
Senior quarterback Mitch Bolden has thrown for 698 yards and nine touchdowns. Junior wide receiver Brennan Remy has a GMC-leading 306 yards receiving to go along with five touchdowns.
Senior Trent Lloyd has nine receptions for 143 yards. He has eight carries for 112 yards and two touchdowns. Junior Jiovionni Wilson had a 93-yard kickoff return for a touchdown two weeks ago.
Bolden has also been impressed by junior linebacker Jacob Asbeck who leads the GMC with 5 1/2 sacks.
NATIONAL RANKINGS: Moeller is ranked No. 24 nationally by MaxPreps this week. The Crusaders (4-0), rated No. 1 in the Region 4 computer points ratings, play at St. Xavier (2-2) Friday night in this season's Greater Catholic League South division opener for both teams.
STATISTICAL LEADERS: Woodward junior wide receiver Donte Ferrell leads the nation with 839 yards receiving, according to the team stats and MaxPreps stats leaders.
Woodward junior quarterback Armoud Seals is tied for No. 6 nationally with 1,426 yards passing.
"They work hard and have found a special connection on the field," Woodward coach Jeremy Pflug said. "You rarely see any throws where they aren't on the same page and it's crazy to think that they are only juniors. It's (jersey numbers) 9 to 5 putting in work."
Western Brown senior quarterback Drew Novak is ranked fourth nationally in passing yards this season, according to MaxPreps. Novak has thrown for 1,443 yards this season and 11,367 yards for his career — which is No. 7 on the OHSAA all-time career list.
New Richmond senior strong safety Jack Moore is ranked No. 4 nationally with 70 tackles, according to MaxPreps.
NOTES: Badin (4-0) and Wyoming (4-0) are rated No. 1 in their respective Divisions III and IV regions this week in the computer points ratings.
- Sycamore High School opens its new on-campus stadium this week. The Aviators host Colerain in a GMC football game Friday night.
- Winton Woods has won 13 consecutive games going back to the 2021 season. Winton Woods (4-0) plays at Little Miami Friday night.
- Western Brown (3-1) is third among 711 teams statewide with 209 points scored this season, according to Joe Eitel. Princeton is No. 12 (191 points) while Princeton is No. 18 (186 points). Willard is No. 1 with 218 points.
- Milford senior quarterback Austin Hardin won WCPO player of the week honors after the Eagles defeated host Anderson 48-47 Sept. 9. Hardin has thrown for 1,256 yards and 17 touchdowns in four games. Milford (4-0) plays host to Kings (4-0) Friday night.
- Marshall University offered a scholarship to Taft 2024 defensive back Tayshawn Banks last week, according to Taft Senators coach Tyler Williams.
Banks, who is listed at 6 feet and 170 pounds, has scholarship offers from several other programs including Kentucky, Purdue, Georgia Tech, Eastern Kentucky, Kent State, Boston College, Massachusetts, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Connecticut and Towson.
