What we learned in week 10 of Greater Cincinnati high school football

The high school football regular season in Ohio is complete, and there are only a few regular season games in Northern Kentucky next week.

Week 10 provided some of the best action across the board in Greater Cincinnati this season as the final few conference races in Ohio and district races in Kentucky were decided.

Here are the top things we saw on the gridiron on Friday, Oct. 23.

Simon Kenton wins defensive battle over Ryle, claims top seed in district

Simon Kenton head coach Joe Wynn said in his postgame interview that defense travels. Well, it stayed home in the biggest moments as the Pioneers beat Ryle for the first time in exactly four years and won the Class 6A, District 6 top seed for the first time since that 2022 season.

"If you watched our defense play for the last couple weeks, it's been lights out," Wynn said.

In their last three wins, the Pioneers have given up an average of six points, including the 14-7 win over the Raiders. Friday night, they forced two turnovers, recovered a botched snap on a Ryle punt, and held the Raiders to 1-for-8 on third and fourth downs.

While the offense is a work in progress, even as starting running back Peyton Testerman comes back from a torn labrum, the defense has carried SK.

After Ryle took a 7-0 lead, the Pioneers responded with a 32-yard pass from Grant Webb to Sam Hughes. Even though they missed the extra point, a Testerman two-point conversion on a Webb touchdown run made up the difference.

Testerman, Hughes, Michael Newborn and Mo Smith made the big splash plays, Webb was the hard-nosed grinder, converting first downs on each of SK's scoring drives, then pulling off a six-yard run on 3rd and 5 to ice the game.

"I love that my coach believes in me and, I don't know..." Webb said.

"He's a really reliable teammate. He'll do anything for the team. He well. He will put his body on the line," Testerman interjected.

Ever since Wynn got to Independence, the Pioneers have broken every huddle, every weight session, every film study with two words: Beat Ryle. The win, coupled with Campbell County's win at Great Crossing, made for an extra sweet Friday night at Chlorine Menefee Stadium.

"This win means everything. It's been years since we won a district championship, and being able to do it, it really brings back the tradition and celebration of our program," Webb said.

Here's a rundown of all the district champions in Northern Kentucky:

Class 1A, District 3: After starting the regular season 1-5 and nearly dropping their first district game to rival Newport, the Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds are on a three-game winning streak and have yet again won their district. A 47-7 win over previously undefeated Dayton boosted morale and they ran away from Bellevue in the second half. NewCath will host Trimble County on Nov. 6.

Class 1A, District 4: After a two-game losing streak in the middle of the season, the Holy Cross Indians dominated in wins over Bishop Brossart, Trimble County and Ludlow to earn two home playoff games. The first of those will come against Bellevue on Nov. 6, one week after the Indians host the Tigers to close out the regular season.

Class 2A, District 5: Beechwood outscored its district opponents 320-7 this season. That's kind of what the Tigers do every year. After facing Campbell County to close the regular season, they'll open the playoffs against Morgan County. Thanks to a 35-0 win over St. Henry, Walton-Verona earned the No. 2 seed and will host Jackson County. St. Henry is the 3-seed, but could also win a playoff game; the Crusaders will travel to West Carter.

Class 3A, District 5: The top seed in this district came down to a controversial call at the end of Lloyd Memorial's game at Bourbon County, a game the Colonels ended up winning. Still, Lloyd will get a home playoff game, hosting East Carter on Nov. 6.

Class 4A, District 5: The Highlands Bluebirds have looked the part of a state championship contender since a 41-21 win over Boyle County. They allowed just 26 points in district play and finished the season with a win over Scott County that should really help their RPI for the postseason.

Class 5A, District 5: The Cooper Jaguars got their district schedule off to a shaky start with a 22-21 win over Conner, but won their other three games by double-digit points. That's three straight district titles for Cooper, which will host Anderson County to start the playoffs.

Deer Park beats Wyoming, causes three-way CHL tie

A win for Wyoming was all the Cowboys needed for another solo Cincinnati Hills League crown. Instead, Deer Park beat Wyoming 41-21, giving those two and Indian Hill a three-way tie for the league championship.

Wyoming had defeated Indian Hill 48-47 in triple overtime on Sept. 11 and Indian Hill beat Deer Park 42-22 on Oct. 16.

Deer Park’s victory was its first over Wyoming since 2006 and it was Wyoming’s first regular season league loss to a team other than Indian Hill since 2015.

The result? Deer Park’s first ever CHL championship and the league’s first three-way tie since Indian Hill, Wyoming and Madeira shared it in 1999.

McNicholas beats Badin and wins first conference crown since 2017

Badin has won or shared a Greater Catholic League title each season since 2018. The last time the Rams didn’t grab a share? That was in 2017 when McNicholas won the GCL-Coed’s Central division.

Well, the last time until McNicholas beat Badin 14-0 on Oct. 23, giving McNicholas the solo conference title with a 5-0 mark in the league. Badin and Alter tied for second with 3-2 records.

Max Orlando had a receiving touchdown and recovered a fumble at his team’s own one-yard line in the second quarter. Joe Reuss added another before halftime and the 14-0 lead was all the Rockets needed for the win.