As usual, each year in mid-August, the Skyline Chili at Fourth and Sycamore in downtown Cincinnati was bustling Tuesday night as high school football coaches gathered among cheese coneys and three-ways.
It's the 24th version of the Skyline Chili Crosstown Showdown and participating coaching staffs are annually invited down for a meet, greet and eat.
Tom Gamble of In-Game Sports says the games chosen for each week's Skyline Chili Crosstown Showdown will be announced week by week.
The opening game is at Princeton High School on Thursday, Aug. 19 when the Vikings take on the newly-named Raptors of Anderson.
Anderson of the Eastern Cincinnati Conference was 7-3 overall last season and 4-2 in the conference. They have a new quarterback in Griffin Scalf this season who will throw to receivers Joey Faulkner, Evan Upchurch and Tennessee commit Brody Foley.
"They're a new program with a new coach, I think it's going to be exciting," Anderson coach Evan Dreyer said. "We're excited to be the first game out of the chute with fans and bands back in play. There's going to be a lot of pressure and anxiety as we go into this moment."
Andre Parker coached in the ECC leading Winton Woods to the title but now heads up the Princeton Vikings who were 6-1 in the Greater Miami Conference and 6-2 overall.
Princeton returns quarterback Mekhi Lynn who led the GMC in passing. Among his receivers are Rodney Harris II and Isaiah Meyers, a transfer from Colerain. Antonio Nunley Jr. was one of the league's top tacklers last year.
"We've got to be in shape," Parker said. "They're going to try and run as many plays as they can run. They're really high-paced and they'll throw it around a lot. We've got to be really solid and take care of the football."
Parker says Lynn is one of the more talented players in the state. He says Harris and Meyers are better than expected on the receiving end.
Aug. 20 kicks off with Elder hosting Covington Catholic. The Colonels were 10-2 and 4-0 in their district last season. Elder finished 5-4 twice losing to eventual Division I Ohio state champion St. Xavier.
"It's a great way to start the season," Elder coach Doug Ramsey said. "They were in a state semifinal last year, state champs the year before. They've got a great tradition and they're really well-coached. You can find out a lot about your team when you play somebody good week one."
The wrap-up for the Showdown is St. Xavier hosting Lakota West, a rematch of last year's regional final where the Bombers pulled it out 10-7 on a 17-yard touchdown pass from Brogan McCaughey to Liam Clifford who is now at Penn State.
McCaughey is back for St. Xavier along with running back Charles Kellom, receiver Terrell McFarlin and tight end Max Klare.
The Firebirds have junior Mitch Bolden back at quarterback, Ohio State-bound Tegra Tshabola on the line, Ohio State-bound Jyaire Brown in the secondary and Kentucky-bound Alex Afari at safety.
This match-up could be one that fans see again in the postseason. The coaches are the best of friends.
"I do think we'll play two times this year," Lakota West coach Tom Bolden said.
Added St. Xavier's Steve Specht, "We've been in so many games like that where at the end of it, you're excited you won but you feel so badly for Tom (Bolden) or Tom feels bad for me. But not too bad. We've had so many games like that. It's great for high school sports."
Again, details of upcoming Skyline Chili Crosstown Showdown games will be announced weekly.
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