Glen Este and Goshen are now the only undefeated high school varsity football teams remaining in Clermont County. Batavia and Milford have entered the winners’ column for the first time.

Glen Este (3-0) dropped McNicholas into the loser’s column for the first time this season with a 28-7 verdict in a battle that took place at Anderson High School. The Trojans never trailed owning quarter advantages of 7-0 at the half and 21-7 after three quarters of play. The first period was scoreless. Kyle Slater, a freshman running back, scored twice for the Purple and White on runs of 27 and 42 yards. Donnie Talbott also struck paydirt twice on bursts of three and four yards. Patrick Harder kicked all four conversion points.

Trojan head mentor Zak Taylor is proud of his charges’ continual improvement. “We took another step forward,” he said, “But we’ve got our work cut out for us this Friday. Turpin is a really good team. They’ve been waiting for this class for a long time. . . They’ve got good speed, and real good skills position players.”

Versus McNick, Talbott rushed for 180 yards and Slater for 120. Taylor praised the blocking of his offensive line for helping lead the Purple and White to victory – tackle Eric Williams, guard Danny Gregory, center Alex Martin, guard Jeff Gaffney, tackle Ryan Meckstroth, and tight end Brad Griffith. On the defensive side of the ledger, lineman Dennis Back was lauded as was end Jason Porter who “played really well.”

Goshen (3-0) outlasted New Richmond (1-2) in one of the best evenly-played, hard-fought games this writer has been privileged to watch in several years. The classic was a Southern Buckeye Conference (SBC) contest. The Lions roared out to an early 14-0 lead, but trailed at the next two intermissions 21-14 and 21-14. The Warriors came back with four touchdowns – Christian Hubbard on a 45-yard pass from Billy Whitacre, Shawn Larkin on a 24-yard burst, Whitacre on a one-yard plunge, and Greg Brusman on a 43-yard sprint. Ryan Reese successfully booted all four points after.

Larkin rushed for 124 yards. Head coach Mark Slagle pointed out the strategic clutch runs made during the showdown by John Strong and Nick Napier. Josh Greer stood out on defense with a pass interception and the play on the special teams. Getting paydirt for the Lions were Jake Kools on a 57-yard punt return and a one-yard dive, Jeff Case on a 78-yard runback of a fumble recovery, and Michael Dean kicked the conversion points.

“”Everybody came through when they had to,” said Slagle. “The character of this team could be seen by the way they came back after being behind on the road against a very good New Richmond team. It was a great victory in one of the best games I’ve ever been involved in.”

Batavia (1-2) won its first game of the season by knocking off Bethel-Tate (1-2) 24-14 in a SBC battle. The host Bulldogs led at the breaks 7-6, 10-6, and 24-6. The Green and White drew first blood on Andrew Avery’s 77-yard romp. The Tigers’ first touchdown came on a 39-yard sprint by Ryan Jones. Avery tallied again this time on a 75-yard dash. Teammate Shawn Berger returned a Bethel punt 64 yards to close out the winners’ scoring. The Red and Gray crossed the goal line one more time on a 22-yard dash by Cory Roberts. Jordan Larrison kicked a 43-yard field goal and three extra points for Batavia. Roberts rushed for two points after touchdown for the Tigers.

Avery rushed for 240 yards and Caleb Corrill gained 115.

“The kids played well,” said Batavia head coach Joe Moorehead. “(Defensive back James) Little played very well as did the whole defense.”

Milford (1-2) won its first confrontation of the campaign by lambasting Little Miami’s Panthers 36-7. The host Eagles were on top at each stop 7-0, 14-7, and 23-7. Derek Termuhlen threw three touchdown tosses – Brandon May for 10 yards, Koury Johnson for 23 yards, and Zack Chalupa for five yards. Johnson and Chalupa both rushed for six-pointers from 46 and 51 yards out, respectively. Alex Gulick booted a 27-yard field goal and three conversion points.

Amelia (1-2) lost in the Fort Ancient Valley Conference Scarlet Division to Ross 40-14. The host Rams blasted out to a 22-0 first quarter lead and 28-7 and 40-7 commands at the other intermissions. Jessie Held scored first for the Blue and White on a five-yard toss from Vinny Terry. Jake Ehemann accounted for the other TD on a two-yard run. David Carr kicked two extra points.

Williamsburg (0-3) lost to visiting Blanchester 50-6 as the visiting Blue and White Wildcats owned quarter leads of 14-0, 37-0, and 50-0m over the host Blue and White Wildcats. Jerrad Turner tallied for ‘Burg by muscling in from four yards out.

Clermont Northeastern (0-3) was walloped by Western Brown 62-0 in a SBC game played in Mount Orab. The Broncos maintained sizeable advantages at the conclusion of each period 14-0, 28-0, and 47-0.