brendan connelly, alex harrison, jack schmelzinger and james weber, cincinnati enquirer
Week 9 of the Greater Cincinnati high school football season was easily the most consequential.
Several league races were decided in Ohio, while the district seeding picture in Northern Kentucky became clearer.
Here are the biggest storylines and performances from Friday night.
Lakota West and Princeton are still tied at the top of the league standings after the Firebirds beat rival Lakota East and the Vikings got past a pesky Middletown squad. If both teams win next week, Princeton owns the tiebreaker thanks to a 14-6 win in Week 3.
The Firebirds have to hope that a winless Colerain team will pull off the upset of the decade against Princeton if they want to claim their fourth GMC title in five years.
The Aviators took a Week 9 loss to Mason and travel to Hamilton for the regular season finale. They are currently the No. 16 seed in DI, Region 4. They could lose and still get in if Western Hills loses to Withrow and Colerain loses to Princeton, but a win would secure a postseason game.
The Broncos (4-5) snapped a five-game winning streak with a win over Goshen. They are currently listed as the No. 16 seed in DIII, Region 12 and have a Week 10 date with Wilmington (5-4).
The Vikings need a Week 10 win to finish with a .500 record and have a chance at a DVII, Region 28 playoff game. They started the season 4-1, but are on a four-game losing streak after a loss to St. Bernard-Elmwood Place. They travel to MVCA next Friday.
Carmack, who missed last week, had nearly 150 yards at halftime as the Falcons beat Batavia to take the lead in the SBAAC American.
The Pioneers' quarterback completed 23-of-32 passes for 383 yards and four touchdowns as Simon Kenton beat Campbell County. He also added 24 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.
He caught a 58-yard touchdown pass with 48 seconds left to complete the Wolves' comeback win over Loveland.
Thamann ran 23 times for 107 yards and a touchdown as Elder shutout Indianapolis Bishop Chatard 14-0.
The senior quarterback ran 26 times for 199 yards and two touchdowns and threw for 77 yards and a touchdown in a win over Lakota East.