CINCINNATI — Friday marks the quarterfinal round of high school football action in both Ohio and Kentucky.

Several local teams are playing for a ticket to the semifinals on both sides of the river.

MOELLER VS. LAKOTA WEST:
The Game of the Week was a matchup between Moeller and Lakota West. West advanced to its second straight regional final by defeating St. X last week, but came up short to Crusaders. Moeller won 21-17 in front of 4,300 people — including 2008 grad and Milwaukee Brewers reliever Brent Suter.

Moeller advances to state semifinals, first time since 2014

RELATED: Moeller football team wins Division I, Region 4 title

WINTON WOODS VS. PIQUA:
Winton Woods got some words of wisdom from Tennessee Titans linebacker David Long Friday. The alumnus encouraged the 7 seed to "play for something bigger than yourself" ahead of their game against top-seeded Piqua. It appears Long's words worked as coach Chad Murphy continues to truck in his first season with the team. The Warriors won 38-17.

Winton Woods knocks off top-seeded Piqua

WESTERN BROWN VS. GRANVILLE:
Top-seeded Granville won a shootout with Western Brown, defeating the Broncos 57-49.

Granville wins a shootout with Western Brown

BADIN VS. BELLBROOK:
Badin High School, the top seed in their region, went down 9-0 to start their game against Bellbrook, but immediately worked their way back on top. The Rams scored 21 unanswered points to win 21-9. They play Granville next week with a ticket to Canton on the line.

Badin scores 21 unanswered to beat Bellbrook

CLINTON MASSIE VS. MCNICHOLAS:
Clinton-Massie won a close game over McNicholas Friday, 28-27. The Falcons, who do not love to throw the ball, continued to stay grounded in the win. This is the first time Clinton-Massie has moved on to the semifinals since 2007.

Clinton-Massie wins close game against McNicholas

SCOTT VS. BOYLE COUNTY:
The only 3 seed left in Kentucky's quarterfinals, Scott, was a big underdog against Boyle County. Despite an impressive playoff run, nothing went the Eagles' way. Scott was eliminated in a 51-14 loss.

Scott's playoff run ends with loss at Boyle Co.

BEECHWOOD VS. WALTON-VERONA:
Walton-Verona made the short drive up I-75 to Fort Mitchell Friday, playing Kentucky's gold standard of small school football, Beechwood. The Bearcats tried to be aggressive in the beginning on 4th and 2, but fumbled and the rest was history. Beechwood (13-0) won 50-6. All but one game has been decided by three touchdowns or more.

Beechwood rolls to state semifinals, stays unbeaten

TRINITY VS. RYLE:
Trinity took the trip up I-71 to NKY, rolling past Ryle 38-18. Ryle is the first team to score on Trinity in the postseason.

Ryle falls to Trinity, 38-18

OTHER SCORES:
- Bishop Brossart saw its undefeated season end on Friday with a 48-7 loss at Raceland.
- Newport Central Catholic made the long road trip to Russellville in Western Kentucky, but fell 21-0.
- Covington Catholic lost 28-14 at Woodford County.

MIKE DYER JOINS THE FRENZY TO BREAK DOWN FRIDAY'S BIG GAMES:

Mike Dyer breaks down Friday's high school football action

OHIO BRACKETS: Click here to see all the statewide brackets in Ohio
RELATED: Sign for our new high school sports newsletter

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Democrats are pushing Congress’ biggest coronavirus relief bill yet toward expected House passage Friday.

The measure is a $3 trillion behemoth that liberal lawmakers say a beleaguered country badly needs. Most Republicans oppose it say it's simply a bloated election-year Democratic wish list.

The bill, called “The HEROES Act,” would pump almost $1 trillion to states and local governments, renew $1,200 cash payments for individuals, and extend a $600 weekly supplemental federal unemployment benefit.

The package also includes another round of stimulus payments, offering $1,200 in direct cash aid to individuals and up to $6,000 per household.

The bill would also provide about $75 billion more in funding for virus testing, contact tracing and treatment.

Another $200 billion would be set aside for a "Heroes Fund" which would provide hazard pay for essential workers, such as front-line health care employees.

The package also includes a $25 billion bailout for the U.S. Postal Service.

Additionally, a provision in the bill would provide up to $10,000 in student loan forgiveness for federal and private student loan borrowers.

Democratic leaders were pressing ahead Friday despite grumbling from moderates about the measure’s massive price tag and progressives who wanted bolder steps, like money to cover workers’ salaries.

As is, the bill will never pass the GOP-run Senate or get President Donald Trump's signature.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has already said the 1,815 measure is Democrats' opening offer in what is expected to lead to bipartisan negotiations.

CINCINNATI — The first round of high school football playoffs in Ohio did not disappoint.

In one of the best high school football games of the year, Colerain led Elder in the final two minutes of regulation. Elder advanced, though, with a triple-overtime win.

Watch the highlights from that game and others in the video player on this page.

BRACKETS: Click here to find the OHSAA brackets for all remaining teams in Ohio

SCORES: Click here to see high school football scores from across the tri-state

RELATED: Sign for our new high school sports newsletter

CINCINNATI — The final Friday night of the high school football regular season was full of meaningful games.

Lakota West locked-up its second consecutive outright GMC championship with a win over rival Lakota East.

Princeton secured the second spot in the GMC with a win over Colerain.

Anderson was held to just two offensive touchdowns, but used a kickoff return touchdown to separate itself from Turpin in the Battle of Forest Hills.

Badin ended McNicholas’ unbeaten run to claim the top spot in the GCL-Coed league.

Elder jumped on La Salle early, and held-off the Lancers late to win the final GCL-South matchup of the regular season.

Reading beat Indian Hill for the first time in nearly a decade with a late touchdown.

Cooper crushed Highlands in a Northern Kentucky district showdown.

See action from these games and others in the videos on this page!

RELATED: Sign for our new high school sports newsletter

CINCINNATI — Beechwood scored on the first drive and never looked back, beating Covington Catholic 27-7 in WCPO's "Game of the Week".

It's the first time Beechwood has beaten Covington Catholic since 2014.

In another Northern Kentucky matchup, two coaches who spent 15 years on the same coaching staff were on opposite sidelines. Mike Engler got the best of his mentor, Bob Sphire, as Ryle beat Highlands 27-13.

In a GCL South showdown, St. Xavier crushed Moeller 49-16. St. Xavier running back, Charles Kellom rushed for 216 yards, becoming the first Bomber to rush for 200+ yards in the last eight seasons.

Elsewhere in the GCL South, La Salle won at home against DuPont Manual, a team from Louisville, Ky.

Elder made the trip to St. Xavier (Louisville), but lost 31-21.

In a battle of unbeaten teams, Wyoming beat Reading 24-14 for Aaron Hancock's 100th win at Wyoming.

In ECC action, Winton Woods cruised to a decisive win over West Clermont.

Turpin held off Little Miami for a 41-23 win.

Watch highlights and analysis from Friday night's high school football action in the videos on this page.

RELATED: Sign for our new high school sports newsletter

CINCINNATI — Lakota West won convincingly over Princeton in this week's Friday Frenzy "Game of the Week." Princeton was averaging 55 points/game this season, but Lakota West held the Vikings scoreless, winning 24-0.

Lakota East and Hamilton went back-and-forth for a half, but Lakota East ran away in the second half for a 54-21 win.

In ECC action, Milford held off a late comeback effort from Turpin to win by a touchdown and hand the Spartans their first loss.

La Salle went on the road to Trinity (Louisville, KY) and bounced back in a major way after last week's loss to IMG Academy. The Lancers rolled to a 48-27 win.

In Northern Kentucky, Beechwood gave up its first points of the season, but still won decisively over 6A opponent Simon Kenton.

Covington Catholic improved to 2-2 on the season with a win over Dixie Heights.

See coverage of those games and others in the video on this page.

RELATED: Sign for our new high school sports newsletter

Above video: $731.1 million Powerball jackpot-winning ticket sold in Western MarylandThe Mega Millions jackpot is estimated to be worth a staggering $1 billion. The winning numbers for Friday's drawing were: 4-26-42-50-60, Mega Ball: 24.The jackpot is just $500 million shy of the highest Mega Millions jackpot ever — $1.537 billion, all won by one ticket holder in South Carolina.But it's also highly, highly unlikely that you'll win it all: The odds of scoring the jackpot are one in 1 in 302,575,350.Sorry about that. You can still try your luck with the lotto. But you're far more likely to ...Get struck by lightningYour odds of getting struck by lightning are about 1 in 500,000, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says. It's still a pretty unlikely event, but Southeastern states are at the highest risk — particularly, Florida, considered the "lightning capital of the U.S.," because over 2,000 people have been struck by lightning there in the past 50 years.Be allergic to waterOnly one in 230 million people has an allergy to water, a condition called aquatic urticaria, per the BBC. People with the rare allergy develop hives when their skin comes in contact with water.Become a saintYou've got a 1 in 20 million chance of being canonized in the Catholic Church, according to Gregory Baer, author of "Life: The Odds." He told ABC News ahead of his book release in 2003 you've got better odds of being named the Pope.Become a movie starYou may have star power to spare, but you've also got a 1 in 1,190,000 chance of starring on the silver screen, according to "The Book of Odds" by Amram Shapiro. Hollywood is no joke.Make it in the NBA under 6 feet tallOddly specific, sure, but if you're less than 6 feet tall, you've got 1 in 1.2 million odds of becoming a pro basketballer, according to the New York Times. If you were 7 feet tall, though, you'd have a 1 in 7 shot — but growing that tall is incredibly rare, too.If you're still trying your luck with the lottoIf you win it all, your cash option is $739.6 million, which is certainly nothing to sneeze at. But don't feel too bad if you don't score big: The odds weren't in your favor anyway.Hearst TV contributed to this report.

WASHINGTON —

In a whirlwind defense, Donald Trump's impeachment attorneys aired a litany of grievances Friday, arguing the former president bore no responsibility for the deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol while accusing Democrats of “hatred” and “hypocrisy.”

The defense team, which wrapped up its arguments in just over three hours, said Trump was engaged in “constitutionally protected speech” when he spoke at a rally that immediately preceded the violence on Jan. 6 that left five dead.

Echoing themes often heard in conservative media, they called the impeachment trial a “witch hunt” and accused Democrats of elevating a destructive “cancel culture” to the halls of Congress. They also suggested Democrats were hypocrites for impeaching Trump after some had previously voiced support for racial justice marches last summer, some of which turned violent.

“It has become very clear that House Democrats hate Donald Trump,” said Michael van der Veen, a Philadelphia personal injury attorney who is part of Trump's defense team. “Hatred is at the heart.”

Here are some highlights from Friday's impeachment proceedings:

___

FIRST AMENDMENT

Regardless of what occurred after Trump's Jan. 6 speech, the former president was simply exercising his First Amendment right to free speech and can't be found at fault, his attorneys argued.

"The Senate cannot ignore the First Amendment," said van der Veen.

Nearly 150 constitutional scholars disagree. In a letter signed last week they wrote that “the First Amendment does not apply in impeachment proceedings, so it cannot provide a defense for President Trump."

The First Amendment has long been invoked as a powerful and compelling defense in court. But impeachment proceedings are an inherently political process that exists outside the U.S. court system in which senators sit as jurors.

Further, just because speech is protected by the Constitution doesn't mean that there aren't limits. Threats to commit a crime or “fighting words” that are likely to incite violence can be exceptions to protected speech.

___

ANGRY OUTBURSTS

Tempers flared during a question and answer session as impeachment proceedings stretched into the evening.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent who caucuses with Democrats, tried to pressure Trump’s attorneys to say whether the former president had lost the election – a reality Trump himself has refused to acknowledge.

“Are the prosecutors right when they claim that Trump was telling a big lie or in your judgment, did Trump actually win the election?” Sanders asked in a written inquiry.

van der Veen bristled and inquired who had asked. Sanders responded, “I did.” van der Veen retorted: “irrelevant.”

“No, it isn't!” Sanders angrily shot back from his desk, adding: “You represent the president of the United States!”

He scoffed audibly when van der Veen avoided answering the question.

Separately, van der Veen at one point complained that the impeachment trial was his “worst experience in Washington.”

“You should have been here on Jan. 6,” lead prosecutor Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., dryly noted.

___

INSURRECTION OR NOT?

The articles of impeachment charge Trump with the “incitement of an insurrection,” a word that Webster's Dictionary defines as “an act or instance of revolting against civil authority or an established government.”

Trump's lawyers say that's not technically correct. And they offered some alternative facts to make their point.

“'Insurrection' is a term of art," said attorney Bruce Castor, and it "involves taking over a country” or “a shadow government taking the TV stations over and having some plan on what you’re going to do when you finally take power.”

“Clearly this is not that,” he added.

In any event, Trump still wasn't responsible for what happened after his speech, Castor said.

Trump's speech, in which he urged his supporters to “fight like hell,“ was actual a call for the "peaceful exercise of every American’s First Amendment rights to peacefully assemble and petition their government for redress of grievances,” according to Castor.

And he suggested that Trump wasn't literally calling on his supporters to "fight," but rather get involved in the political process, like supporting primary challengers of elected officials they did not like.

Many of Trump's supporters who participated in the attack found far different meaning in the former president's words on Jan. 6.

They have said in media interviews, videos taken at the scene and in statements to law enforcement that they were acting on Trump's orders and aimed to overturn the outcome of the election by stopping Congress from certifying President Joe Biden's Electoral College victory — the definition of an insurrection.

___

FIGHTING

Donald Trump’s defense team attempted to undermine a key Democratic argument: that the former president incited the attack on the Capitol by urging his supporters to "fight like hell" and “go by very different rules” or they “wouldn’t have a country anymore.”

To do so, they played a lengthy montage of video clips during Friday's proceedings, which featured President Joe Biden and other prominent Democrats repeatedly uttering the word "fight" during public speeches.

“There is a fight in front of us,” Vice President Kamala Harris said in one clip from November 2019. Another showed Biden talking about taking Trump “behind the gym” to “beat the hell out of him,” like in high school.

The use of the words “fight” or “fighting” is exceedingly common in political speech. The effort by Trump’s legal team amounted amounted to an effort to muddy the waters by drawing an equivalence and ignoring his false claims about voter fraud.

Trump used the word "fight" while trying to undermine the outcome of a free and fair election that he lost. And his use of the word on Jan. 6 came after weeks of baselessly claiming the election was being stolen from him.

There was no widespread fraud in the election, as has been confirmed by election officials across the country and former Attorney General William Barr. Dozens of legal challenges to the election put forth by Trump and his allies were dismissed.

Still, Trump's lawyers said they were making a valid point by highlighting Democrats' use of the word "fight."

“This is not whataboutism," said Michael van der Veen. "I am showing you this to make the point that all political speech must be protected.”

___

DEMOCRATS REACT

Senate Democrats seemed mostly amused by the defense's video of prominent party leaders, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Hillary Clinton, repeatedly saying the word “fight.”

Though initially stone-faced and impassionate, as the minutes ticked by some reacted, particularly after their own turn on the screen.

Some giggled, others gasped. Some raised their hands or shrugged.

Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar rolled her eyes. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts fidgeted with a pen during a lengthy section devoted to her. But Sanders, of Vermont, was visibly annoyed.

It “feels like they are erecting straw men to then take them down rather deal with the fact the events (on Jan. 6) happened," said Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo.

CINCINNATI — Hamilton County Sheriff’s Deputy Donald Gilreath III died Friday due to COVID-19 related symptoms, a press release issued by the Sheriff’s Office said.

Gilreath worked in the Hamilton County Jail through the pandemic.

He was employed with the Sheriff’s Office since April 7, 2005.

"We mourn alongside Donald’s family, friends, and brothers and sisters of the Sheriff’s Office," the release read.

It is unclear if he contracted the coronavirus while working at the Hamilton County Jail.

For the first time since the coronavirus pandemic began, live music is making its way back to New Orleans' famous bars.

On Friday, the city announced it was moving to a modified Phase three, which will see restaurants, retail stores, and salons operate at a 75% capacity.

According to the city, a bar without a food permit can serve at 50% capacity indoors.

Gathering indoor and outdoor in the city, which was raised late last month, are capped at 75 and 150 guests, respectively.

Sporting events were limited at 15% capacity indoors and 25% outdoors.

The changes went into effect at 6 a.m. Friday.

INDIANAPOLIS —

Here are some of the top moments from the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday, March 19 (all times Eastern):

___

5:25 p.m.

Oral Roberts has pulled off the first upset of the NCAA Tournament with a 75-72 overtime win over second-seeded Ohio State in the South Region.

It’s the school’s first NCAA win since 1974.

Kevin Obanor had 30 points, one more than teammate Max Abmas for the high-scoring Golden Eagles.

EJ Liddell had 23 points and 13 rebounds and Duane Washington had 18 points and 10 boards for the Buckeyes.

___

5:00 p.m.

There’s been a sister sighting for Loyola Chicago’s first-round game against Georgia Tech.

Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, the Ramblers’ 101-year-old team chaplain, was rolled into the fieldhouse in her wheelchair bundled up in a yellow-and-red scarf and wearing a mask that read Loyola shortly before the opening tip Friday night.

Sister Jean became an icon during Loyola's Final Four run in 2018, but she hadn’t attended a game in person since the pandemic began. She recently was vaccinated but has continued to keep her distance from the team, delivering the pregame prayer virtually all season and again prior to the Ramblers’ game against the Yellow Jackets.

___

4:55 p.m.

UCLA and Michigan State was the most-watched First Four game since the NCAA Tournament expanded to 68 teams in 2011, according to CBS and Turner Sports.

The networks said the Bruins overtime victory against Michigan State averaged 3 million viewers and peaked at 3.3 million from 11 p.m.-11:15 p.m. EDT, based on data from Nielsen.

Overall, the four games played Thursday and televised on TBS and truTV drew 7.6 million viewers across all platforms, including streaming.

Viewership was up 36% from 2019′s First Four, according to the networks. The entire First Four was played on one day for the first time in this tournament. Usually, two of the games are played on Tuesday and the other two on Wednesday when the tournament is in a normal schedule.

___

2:10 p.m.

Players from several NCAA Tournament teams took a knee during the playing of the national anthem before their first-round games.

Most of players on 16th-seeded Drexel knelt for the anthem before the Dragons played Illinois at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum, and several Colgate players did the same before the they played third-seeded Arkansas at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

A few players also took a knee during the anthem before Florida-Virginia Tech at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

College athletes have not been shy about showing public support for social causes and even pushing back against perceived inequities by the NCAA. Earlier this week, several prominent men’s players got the hashtag #NotNCAAProperty trending to protest NCAA rules that ban athletes from earning money off their names, images and likenesses.

At the women’s tournament in San Antonio, players have pointed out how workout facilities have been far from equal to what has been provided to the men’s players.

___

1:50 p.m.

Virginia has finally arrived in Indianapolis, the 68th and final team to do so.

The Cavaliers remained in Charlottesville after a positive COVID-19 test caused them to pull out of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament before a semifinal game against Georgia Tech last Thursday.

The Cavaliers have been testing daily since and were to practice at home in the morning for the first time since they paused team activities and then travel to the site of this year’s tournament. Their arrival puts them two sets of negative tests away from facing Ohio on Saturday night.

Virginia is technically still the reigning national champion because it won the title in 2019 and last year’s tournament was canceled because of the pandemic.

___

12:40 p.m.

The first game of the first round between No. 7 seed Florida and 10th-seeded Virginia Tech is underway at historic Hinkle Fieldhouse and a cloudless day outside has brought a significant amount of natural light into the arena.

Hinkle Fieldhouse has windows circling the concourse level of the arena and shades have been pulled down at the south end to try and help keep the sun out of the players' eyes. But windows at the top of the arched-roof building are still allowing in sunlight.

It's the first time Hinkle has hosted NCAA Tournament games since 1940.

Related video above: Surge in sports betting expected with March Madness

MONROE, Ohio — The Monroe Police Department is investigating a fatal two-vehicle crash that occurred just after 3 p.m. Friday.

A tractor-trailer collided with a silver sedan at the intersection of N. Main Street and State Route 63.

The driver of the silver sedan was dead when crews arrived at the scene.

The sedan’s passenger was transported to Miami Valley Hospital via medical helicopter where they succumbed to their injuries.

The driver of the tractor-trailer was not injured.

The names of the victims have not been released.