It's Friday night in Southwest Ohio. You can smell the popcorn and the wet grass from a mile away. If you grew up here, you know that Cincinnati Ohio high school football scores aren't just numbers on a flickering scoreboard—they're the pulse of the city.
The 2025 season just wrapped up, and man, it was a wild ride. We saw heavyweights stumble, underdogs rise, and a few heartbreaks in Canton that'll be talked about at Skyline for months.
The State Finals Heartbreak in Canton
The dream of bringing multiple trophies back to the 513 fell just short this year. Honestly, it was tough to watch. Cincinnati had two major contenders in the OHSAA state championships in December, but Northeast Ohio and Central Ohio had other plans.
St. Xavier (11-3) made a massive run all the way to the Division I state title game. They were looking for their fifth trophy. Instead, they ran into a buzzsaw called Lewis Center Olentangy Orange. The final was 28-14. St. X struggled to move the chains, and while Kobe Clapper played like a man possessed with 15 tackles, it wasn't enough to stop Orange's balanced attack.
Then you have the Anderson Raptors. Evan Dreyer had that offense humming all year. They averaged a ridiculous amount of points. But in the Division II final, they met their nemesis again: Avon. For the second year in a row, Avon took them down. The score? 37-20. Blake Elder for Avon tied a state record with four touchdown passes. Anderson’s Justice Burnam and the "Air Raid" offense tried to claw back, trailing 27-7 at half, but Avon’s ground game salted the clock away.
The GCL South: A Meat Grinder as Usual
If you want to understand the madness of Cincinnati football, you look at the Greater Catholic League South. It's basically a weekly playoff game.
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The most intense game of the year might have been the playoff rematch between St. Xavier and Moeller. Earlier in the season, these teams were neck-and-neck. But in the Regional Semifinal on November 14th, the Bombers pulled off a gutsy 17-13 win.
It came down to a 92-yard drive. Think about that. 92 yards with the season on the line. Daniel Vollmer punched it in from 2 yards out with only 58 seconds left on the clock. Moeller, who finished 8-4, just couldn't find an answer for the Bombers' defense in the final moments.
"The defining drive... Vollmer barreled in from 2 yards out with :58 remaining." - St. Xavier Athletics Report.
And don't forget Elder. They had a weird, grind-it-out season. On September 12th, they beat La Salle 16-8. It was a classic West Side slugfest—no flashy plays, just defense and field position. Elder finished that week 4-0, showing everyone that you don't need 50 points to win a football game in this town.
ECC and GMC Chaos
The Eastern Cincinnati Conference (ECC) belongs to Anderson, but Winton Woods gave them everything they could handle.
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On October 17th, Winton Woods had Anderson on the ropes. They led 23-10. You could feel the "upset alert" buzzing through the stadium. But Anderson is Anderson. They outscored the Warriors 27-7 the rest of the way to win 37-30. That win basically handed them the ECC title.
Over in the Greater Miami Conference (GMC), Princeton was the big story early on. They took down Lakota West 27-10 in September, which felt like a changing of the guard at the time. However, the GMC is never that simple. Lakota East and Princeton traded blows all season, proving that there are no "easy" weeks in the suburbs.
Why These Scores Actually Matter
A lot of people just check the app and see a final score. They see Taft 44, Clinton-Massie 7 and think it was a blowout. But they don't see the speed Taft has this year. They see Badin 35, Archbishop Alter 28 and realize that the rivalry in Hamilton is as fierce as ever.
The parity in Cincinnati right now is higher than it’s been in a decade. We aren't just a "Moeller and St. X" town anymore. When schools like Winton Woods, Princeton, and Anderson are consistently competing for state-level glory, it raises the floor for everyone.
Major Final Scores from the 2025 Postseason
- Division I State Final: Olentangy Orange 28, St. Xavier 14
- Division II State Final: Avon 37, Anderson 20
- Regional Final: Anderson 29, Big Walnut 22
- Regional Semifinal: St. Xavier 17, Moeller 13
- Regional Quarterfinal: Princeton 23, Winton Woods 22 (A literal heart-stopper)
What Most People Get Wrong About Cincinnati Football
People think the private schools dominate everything. While the GCL is legendary, the public schools in the GMC and ECC are arguably deeper right now. Princeton and Hamilton are producing D1 talent at a rate that rivals the private powerhouses.
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Also, the "Air Raid" isn't the only way to win. While Anderson proved you can pass your way to Canton, teams like Elder and Princeton showed that a suffocating defense and a heavy run game still win games in November when the weather turns nasty.
Staying Ahead for the 2026 Season
The off-season is already starting. Recruiting is heating up. If you're looking to track Cincinnati Ohio high school football scores next year, you’ve gotta know where to look.
First, keep an eye on the JoeEitel rankings. It's the gold standard for playoff points. Second, the OHSAA website is the only place for official scores during the tournament.
If you're a local, you already know to follow the beat writers on X (formerly Twitter). They’re the ones standing in the rain at 10 PM getting the final stats.
Actionable Next Steps:
- Bookmark the OHSAA Football page for the 2026 schedule releases coming this spring.
- Follow the ECC and GMC official sites to see how the conference realignments or coaching changes affect the power balance.
- Check the final AP Polls to see where Cincinnati teams finished relative to the rest of the state—it's usually higher than you think.
The 2025 season might be over, but the rivalries never really sleep in this city. Every weight room in Hamilton County is full right now, with kids trying to make sure their score is the one on top next December.