High School Insider with Mike Dyer | Cincinnati NKY Sports WCPO

In Class 5A, Cooper (12-2) plays Bowling Green (11-3) on Saturday night in Lexington.  Cooper returns to the state final for the first time since 2012 when the Jaguars were a 5A state runner-up to Bowling Green.

Cooper defeated Highlands 17-15 in a state semifinal Nov. 24. That was the second meeting of the season.

The WCPO High School Insider Podcast spoke with Cooper coach Randy Borchers and senior middle linebacker/right guard Jack Lonaker as the Jaguars prepare for this weekend.
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East Central coach Jake Meiners and senior running back/outside linebacker Dylan Maxwell joined the WCPO High School Insider Podcast to discuss the upcoming state final. The undefeated Trojans (14-0) play NorthWood (12-2) in the Indiana Class 4A state final at 3 p.m. Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

The Trojans practiced in its fieldhouse Monday afternoon in preparing for Lucas Oil Stadium. The team is able to visit and practice at the NFL stadium on Wednesday.

East Central, which has outscored its opponents 698-83, is trying to win its second straight state title and become the first public school to repeat in Class 4A. East Central defeated visiting New Palestine 49-0 in the semi-state game Nov. 17.
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Anderson plays Withrow in a highly-anticipated Division II football regional final Friday night at Princeton. Anderson coach Evan Dreyer along with senior running back Brodey Berg and senior safety Joey Emrick joined the WCPO High School Insider Podcast to discuss Friday's game.
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Lakota West and undefeated Princeton meet Friday night in Mason with a trip to the Division I regional final on the line.

The WCPO High School Insider Podcast speaks with Lakota West coach Tom Bolden, junior quarterback Sam Wiles, senior linebacker Jacob Asbeck and junior linebacker Grant Beerman as the Firebirds try to earn their fourth consecutive regional final appearance.

Friday night marks the second meeting between the Vikings and Firebirds this season. Princeton won 18-3 in West Chester Township on Aug. 25
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Moeller and St. Xavier renew their GCL South rivalry for the second time this season - this time in a regional quarterfinal Friday night at RDI Stadium.

Moeller coach Bert Bathiany along with senior defensive back Karson Hobbs (Notre Dame verbal commit) and senior tight end Eli Jacon-Duffy (Bowling Green commit) joined the WCPO High School Insider Podcast to discuss the Crusaders and this highly-anticipated game.
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Welcome to the start of the high school football playoffs week in Ohio.

Friday night's WCPO 9 Game of the Week features Mason (5-5) at Lebanon (7-3) in a Division I first-round matchup with plenty of familiarity.

Lebanon coach Micah Faler was previously the Mason head freshman football coach for two years and the varsity quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator for three years. He was also the head eighth grade coach at Middle Middle School for five years.

The two programs have scrimmaged each other the past two preseasons. This will be the first game between the two since Mason defeated Lebanon 34-16 in the first round of the 2020 playoffs.

Lebanon and Mason won their respective regular-season finales Oct. 20 and this figures to be a tightly-contested matchup of Nos. 8 and 9 seeds.

Faler along with senior defensive tackle Evan Black and middle linebacker Charlie Smith joined the WCPO High School Insider Podcast to discuss this season. Lebanon (7-3) has won five consecutive games entering the playoffs. It is the first five-game win streak since 2016, according to athletic director Keith Pantling.
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