Week 1 provided the Tri-State with some shockers, nail biters, barn burners, and everything in between. For the Greater Miami Conference and the Eastern Cincinnati Conference, the tide now turns to conference play from here on out, as this is the first year for those conferences going to a nine-game schedule. Meanwhile up north, a battle brews between two rush-heavy teams. Down south, two powerhouses square off in Northern Kentucky. Here are this week’s best bets.CAN'T SEE THE LIVE SCORES ABOVE? CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST FRIDAY NIGHT SCORES.#10 COLERAIN AT #4 PRINCETONDespite being the more experienced team, Colerain came out flat last week. Costly turnovers late in the game turned the sails in the direction of the Lancers, sending the Cardinals to 0-1 for a third straight year. Princeton, meanwhile, took care of business and easily dispatched Anderson on 587 yards of total offense en route to a 61 point offensive outburst.For Colerain, Princeton’s offense will give the Cardinals defense fits. The Vikings had three players with over 100 rushing yards and five touchdowns against the Raptors in Week 1 and a quarterback in RJ West who passed for over 200 yards and three touchdowns. In order to keep the game competitive, the Cardinals will have to find a way to stop the aggressive Vikings offense, while also finding a rhythm early in its own offense to score early and score often.The last meeting between the two teams resulted in a 13-12 Princeton victory on a sloppy, rain-soaked night. This year, expect well over 25 points to be scored. Princeton should widen the one-point margin against a Colerain team that is without MJ Flowers, who accounted for the only two scores for the Cardinals.#24 WYOMING AT #21 TAFTThis Blitz5 Top 25 matchup pits two teams together who have not given up a point yet in 2022. Taft is coming off a 32-0 defeat of Roger Bacon while Wyoming easily took care of business against Harrison 35-0. While both defenses stepped up to the plate and were able to keep the ball from crossing the goal line, the two offensive styles of Wyoming and Taft are completely different.In Week 1, the Senators did most of their damage on the ground. Gavin Crawford rushed for 187 yards and four touchdowns on 22 carries. Jahmar Richardson tallied an additional 72 yards. The Cowboys, on the other hand, show a balanced offensive attack. Quarterback Quaid Hauer threw for 186 yards and a touchdown, while the Cowboys collectively rushed for 192 yards and four touchdowns.This will be an intriguing matchup and a great non-conference tilt early in the season. If you’re looking for a pick to win the game, you might as well flip a coin. This could come down to special teams or a final drive to win the game. With the West End home field advantage, the Senators get a slight edge.SIMON KENTON AT HIGHLANDSNot too long ago, Simon Kenton and Highlands were both powerhouse, unbeatable forces in Northern Kentucky high school football. Both programs have slipped in recent years, however, with the Bluebirds finishing with an underwhelming 5-6 record in 2021, including a rare first round exit from the playoffs. The Pioneers were even more underwhelming, finishing with a 2-9 record.The Pioneers are off to a much better start in 2022, crushing Oldham County in Week 1 behind a balanced 186 yards rushing and 200 yards passing. Quarterback Chase Croner threw for 171 of those passing yards and two touchdowns. Highlands did not have quite as much success last week, falling to last year’s 5A state champion South Warren.The Pioneers and Bluebirds have played annually since 2015 and have a nearly even record. The South Warren game was a good tune-up for the Bluebirds as they get ready to host the Pioneers in Fort Thomas. The 2021 matchup was separated by 15 points. Expect the 2022 version to be even closer.ROSS AT MONROEIf you’re looking for a game to go to this Friday where both teams primarily run the ball, go up I-75 and get off at Exit 29. In the Week 1 win over Talawanda, the Monroe Hornets tallied 290 rushing yards, led by 169 yards from senior fullback Elijah Jackson. Quarterback Ryan Miles threw all of two passes, one for a touchdown. Miles was, however, the second leading rusher with 41 yards and three touchdowns.On the other sideline, the Hornets will be facing the Ross Rams, who ran for 285 yards in their win over the Wilmington Hurricane. Jay Warren led all rushers with 202 yards.This non-conference tilt between the Rams and Hornets will be an underrated game to watch. The closest Monroe has gotten to beating the Rams in the past decade was last year’s seven-point deficit. This year’s matchup offers the Hornets their best chance yet to best the Rams on the gridiron. Keep your eye on the scoreboard on Friday night to find out how this one turns out.+++GAME OF THE WEEKMake sure to check out the COMPLETE PREVIEW for this week’s featured game on the Blitz 5 Tour, #9 Lakota East at #1 Lakota West.+++Here are some other games for teams ranked inside the Blitz 5 Top 25:OHIOLouisville Trinity at No. 2 MoellerNo. 3 Winton Woods at Walnut HillsNo. 5 St. Xavier at Loyola Academy (IL)No. 6 Fairfield at MiddletownRICC/Canada Prep at No. 7 La SallePickerington Central at No. 8 ElderNo. 11 Kings at TurpinNo. 14 Mason at No. 12 HamiltonLebanon at No. 16 MilfordNo. 17 Anderson at LovelandColumbus De Sales at No. 19 BadinOak Hills at No. 20 SycamoreClinton-Massie at No. 22 EdgewoodNo. 23 Western Brown at Washington Court HouseINTERSTATENo. 13 East Central at HarrisonKENTUCKYNo. 15 Ryle at ConnerNo. 18 Covington Catholic at Pikeville (Saturday)Paintsville at No. 25 BeechwoodSimon Kenton at Highlands

A battle of top tier defenses was on display Friday night in the Blitz 5 Game of the Week. Reigning division III state runner-up Badin made the trip from Hamilton to Hyde Park to take on the host Withrow Tigers.The Tigers shut out six opponents a season ago and gave up just seven points in their opener. They lost a close battle to division I Springboro a week ago.Badin was looking to extend its eleven game regular season win streak while serving notice that they are still the team to beat in the region as they keep their eye on a return trip to state.In a tough defensive half, Withrow was able to get on the board first with a 20-yard field goal from Rex Shaffer with 3:55 to play in the first quarter giving them a 3-0 lead. The Rams would respond quickly after getting a lengthy kickoff return from WR Aidan Brown. Two plays later it was Brown again with a 25-yard TD reception from Alex Ritzie. Badin lead 7-7 after a quarter.Withrow would go on a positive drive on their own with a mixture of a ground and air game. Quintin Simmons was able to maneuver himself, reverse field and score on a 9-yard run to help Withrow regain the lead. The PAT was missed but Withrow still held a 9-7 lead.UC commit Braedyn Moore was able to get free and was found by Ritzie for a 17-yard touchdown reception as Badin once again was able to get the advantage this time at 14-7 heading into the half.The Tigers would answer again, this time driving down the field and punching in a 2-yard plunge by quarterback Troy Montgomery as time expired. After a successful 2-point conversion, Withrow went to the half with a 17-14 lead.The Tigers outgained the Rams 294-96 in the first half.Both defenses tightened up to begin the second half. After a tough hard-nosed drive, Badin was able to punch one into the endzone on a 1-yard score by running back Carter Russo. Withrow looked to counter but quarterback Troy Montgomery went down with an injury. After trying to return, Montgomery left the game again and Withrow turned the ball over on downs as the third quarter expired.The Rams dug out another solid drive but were finally held to a field goal attempt. Nick Warner knocked in a 32-yard strike to help Badin extend their lead to seven at 24-17.Montgomery again returned but the Tigers were unable to muster anything else the rest of the way. Badin’s Drew Enginger came up with a huge interception to help thwart any comeback attempts.SCORING BY QUARTERSBadin 7-7-7-3-24Withrow 3-14-0-0-17SCORING PLAYSW:Rex Shaffer 20yd field goal, 3-0 Withrow 3:35 Q1B:Aidan Brown 25 yd TD pass from Alex Ritzie, 7-3 Badin 2:27 Q1W:Quintin Simmons 9 yd TD run, PAT no good, 9-7 Withrow 8:11 2QB:Braedyn Moore 17 yd TD pass from Ritzie, 14-9 Badin 2:11 2QW: Troy Montgomery 2 yd TD run, 2 PT conversion good, 17-14 HALFB: Carter Russo 1 yd TD run, 21-17 Badin, 6:21 3QB: Nick Warner 32 yd FG, 24-17 Badin. 8:31 4QRECORDS: Badin (3-0); Withrow (1-2)UP NEXT: Badin at Roger Bacon; Withrow vs. Archbishop Hoban*Stay updated on high school football updates by following @TSFootball on Twitter.

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With just four weeks left in the regular season in Kentucky, teams are vying for playoff seeding as district action kicks into full swing. Week 8 featured some big performances along with a handful of surprises. DIXIE HEIGHTS 33, SIMON KENTON 20The Colonels got out of the gate fast and held off the Pioneers late to pick up their fourth win of the season on the road versus their county rivals as they won 33-20.Logan Landers scored on a 3-yard keeper and rushed for 49 yards and eight carries and completed 14-of-23 passes for 258 yards. Devin Holbert pulled in six of those balls for 137 yards and two scores. Mark Dugan chipped in with two rushing touchdowns of his own.Chase Crone finished the night with 151 yards through the air and 84 yards and TD on 27 carries for the Pioneers.Dixie Heights shot themselves in the foot with some costly mistakes, including being penalized nine times for 70 yards and that allowed Simon Kenton to stay in the game. However, in the end, the Colonels came up with the key stops they needed to prevail.COOPER 43, CONNER 7Boone County and Class 5A, District 5 rivals clashed on Thursday night in what turned out to be a lopsided affair. Cooper, who came into the matchup 5-10 all-time in the series, dominated Conner in all facets of the game as they rolled to a 43-7 victory.Senior quarterback Drew Warth paced the Jaguars by throwing for 150 yards and two touchdowns. He also completed three passes of two-point conversions and kicked an extra point. Cooper did most of their damage on the ground, rushing for 253 yards. Senior running back Brendon Tye played a large hand in that success, including scoring on three second-half TD runs. Defensive tackle Xander Taylor added a 42-yard fumble return for a TD in the win.Conner, who was playing without leading rusher Alijah Thompson, got their only score of the game on a 1-yard TD run by quarterback Alex Castruci.NO. 11 BEECHWOOD 56, HOLY CROSS 7The Tigers picked up their 15th straight win as they opened up district play in grand fashion by knocking off the Indians. Beechwood put the game away early by scoring 28 unanswered first quarter points and led 42-0 at the half.Quarterback Cam Hergott completed 16-of-24 passes for 318 yards and five touchdowns. The fifth-year senior now has 25 total touchdowns (15 passing, 10 rushing) through seven games. Brady Moore pulled in two of those TD passes and added an interception on defense. Avery Courtney caught a touchdown and rushed for two more scores, tallying 58 total yards on eight touches.Through seven contests the Tigers have now outscored their opponents by a 286-49 margin and only two opponents have eclipsed seven points against them.Here are some other scores from Northern Kentucky teams in action:Ryle 44, Campbell County 11Highlands 47, Boone County 0Holmes 24, Boyd County 13Newport 21, Lloyd 14 OTNewport Central Catholic 69, Ludlow 28Walton-Verona 42, Owen County 12Brossart 36, Bracken County 0Dayton 44, Bellevue 7*Stay updated on high school football updates by following @TSFootball on Twitter.

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