Crosstown Showdown renewing several area rivalries

The Skyline Chili Crosstown Showdown may be a little bit more intense this year.

Old-school neighborhood rivalries will be a big highlight of the 17th annual football showcase this August. The event will feature several match-ups between familiar foes, some continuing an annual rivalry and others renewing an old one, including the headliner between Colerain and La Salle.

The Showdown schedule, which includes schools from Cincinnati, Dayton, Columbus, Northern Kentucky and Southeastern Indiana, was announced at a news conference at the Mercy Health West Hospital Monday afternoon.

"For me, when you look at what this event was founded on … there's a reason it was called the Crosstown Showdown," said Tom Gamble of In-Game Sports, the event manager. "This is the essence of high school football. Fans want to go to games that are exciting, but they love that back and forth. Everybody likes to pound their chest. Games like Elder-Oak Hills, Colerain-La Salle … those are games that ought to be played."

The event kicks off in Kentucky at 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 22 when Ryle, which is under the new direction of first-year head coach Mike Engler, will play at Cooper in a battle of two Boone County schools that play in the same district for sports other than football. The neighboring rivals have met up to kickoff their seasons each of the last three years, with Ryle holding a 2-1 advantage over that stretch.

The Ohio season starts a week later, with three Showdown games scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 28. Fairfield will play Withrow at Lockland Stadium, Madeira will meet Norwood at Shea Stadium, and two-time defending Ohio Division IV state champion Clinton-Massie will go to war with Blanchester in the longest-running rivalry in the state. The two teams will be celebrating the 50-year anniversary of competing for the traveling trophy known as the Cider Keg.

The neighborhood rivalries continue on Friday, Aug. 29 with Turpin heading to McNicholas for a 5:30 p.m. kickoff. The same night, fans will be entertained at Yager Stadium on the campus of Miami University as Lakota West and defending Ohio Division II state champion Loveland kick off at 6 pm, with the Colerain/La Salle match-up to follow. A pair of interstate border rivalries also kickoff that night, with Taylor traveling to Lawrenceburg and East Central visiting Harrison.

The Showdown will make its first stop at Crew Stadium in Columbus for a tilt between two-time defending Division I state champion Moeller and Pickerington Central in what should be an exciting atmosphere.

"There have been some high school football games that have been played there," Gamble said. "In fact, Colerain has played there, but without Nippert being available (due to renovations) we started to look around for a venue, and the stadium is really cool. It's a soccer facility, but they line it for football. It's a neat thing, something different."

The action gets back underway Saturday, August 30, with the battle of Dixie Highway between Covington Catholic and Dixie Heights. CovCath won in a game that came down to the final possession, 21-13, in last year's event as part of a double-header at Dixie. Both teams return quality talent that got valuable experience on the field last year.

St. Xavier will host its home opener at 3 p.m. against East St. Louis High School (Ill.), while another pair of neighborhood rivals, Carlisle and Franklin, will kick off at 7 p.m. at Monroe High School.

Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy head coach Eric Taylor, whose Eagles will meet Bishop Fenwick at Kings High School, says he's seen the impact playing in big events like this one has had on his program.

"It's truly a playoff environment, and just a great opportunity for our kids and our community to show what we've worked for all offseason. Whether we want to admit it or not, our school and program is a brand, and we're very proud of it. ...Playing in events like this legitimizes a lot of what we do and affiliates us with companies like Skyline. It's a staple in Cincinnati football."

Taylor's team returns six starters on both sides of the ball, including a pair of Division I recruits in 2015 offensive lineman Jacob Halter and 2016 defensive end Prince Sammons. Sammons recently received an offer from Louisville.

The exposure Taylor spoke of is part of the reason that Gamble continues to make the event bigger. This year's schedule stretches over three weekends, with 25 games being played by 50 teams.

"That's the one thing; some people have asked me, 'Can it get too big?' And I say, no, because it's different the way we're doing it now," Gamble said. "We started off with just big schools, but we've managed to get a lot of different types of games with big school/small school, public/private … we're playing games in Dayton and Columbus … to me, that's what it's all about."

The event culminates on Friday, September 5 with two big bluegrass state match-ups kicking off at 7 pm. County rivals Newport Central Catholic and Campbell County will play at Newport High School, while Simon Kenton will host Conner. Both of these contests are rematches from games that were decided by one possession last season. Campbell County beat NewCath, 21-20, while Simon Kenton downed Conner 42-35.

Both Conner and Simon Kenton will have a new look this season after having to replace record-setting quarterbacks, with Conner's Drew Barker committing to Kentucky and Simon Kenton's Brenan Kuntz committing to Western Kentucky. The pair combined for 656 yards of offense and eight touchdowns in last year's shootout.

"Simon Kenton has always been a good rivalry for us," Conner coach Dave Trosper said. "We had a great game last year. They're a little bit bigger in classification than us right now, so we know we have to continue to get better and improve in the offseason to prepare for them. I know they lost (Kuntz), but they have a quarterback coming back that's going to be really good in (Cameron) Racke, so this is a great opportunity for us to get noticed."

Advance tickets are on sale beginning July 1 at participating schools. Visit SkylineCrosstownShowdown.com for more details.

2013 Skyline Chili Crosstown Showdown Schedule

Friday, Aug. 22

At Cooper High School

Cooper vs Ryle, 7 p.m.

Thursday, Aug 28

At Lockland Stadium

Fairfield vs Withrow, 7 p.m.

At Shea Stadium

Madeira vs Norwood, 7 p.m.

At Blanchester High School

Blanchester vs Clinton-Massie, 7:30 p.m.

Friday, Aug. 29

At McNicholas High School

McNicholas vs Turpin, 5:30 p.m.

At Yager Stadium, Miami University

Lakota West vs Loveland, 6 p.m.

Colerain vs La Salle, 8:30 p.m.

At Welcome Stadium, Dayton

Middletown vs Thurgood Marshall, 7 p.m.

At Walnut Hills High School

Sycamore vs Walnut Hills, 7 p.m.

At Lawrenceburg High School

Lawrenceburg vs Taylor, 7 p.m.

At Oak Hills High School

Elder vs Oak Hills, 7:30 p.m.

At Harrison High School

East Central vs Harrison, 7:30 p.m.

At Crew Stadium, Columbus

Moeller vs Pickerington North, 8:30 p.m.

Saturday, Aug. 30

At Covington Catholic High School

CovCath vs Dixie Heights, 1 p.m.

At St. Xavier

East St. Louis, Ill vs St. Xavier, 3 p.m.

At Sheakley Athletics Center

Bellevue vs Finneytown, 2 p.m.

Anderson vs Northwest, 5 p.m.

Beechwood vs Mt. Healthy, 8 p.m.

At Kings High School

Bishop Fenwick vs CHCA, 7 p.m.

At Monroe High School

Carlisle vs Franklin, 7 p.m.

At West Carrollton High School

Stebbins vs West Carrollton, 7 p.m.

Friday, Sept. 5

At Kings High School

Kings vs Talawanda, 7:30 p.m.

At Hamilton High School

Hamilton vs Winton Woods, 7:30 p.m.

At Newport Stadium

Campbell County vs NewCath, 7 p.m.

At Simon Kenton High School

Conner vs Simon Kenton, 7 p.m.