I agree. The I grew up going to the games and dreaming of going to school here is a Cincinnati thing, not an Elder thing. It's probably more at Elder I guess, but it's like that at a lot of schools in the area. Cincinnati is traditional like that. High School football might not be at its peak of the 2000s, but it's still big here.
The toughness thing really isn't an advantage anymore, because most all good teams are "tough" these days. Some years might have a little meaner/nastier group of players, but I don't think it's a huge difference year to year. That being said, nothing wrong with getting an article about the team or player though, whatever positive spin they have to put should be welcomed.
Elder is no underdog this year unless you're talking about not having the elite speed like some of the public school teams like Colerain. Elder's got a fast team I think, but not elite fast.