La Salle at Elder
What to watch: The Pit is going to look very different without a complete, purple-filled crowd, but the top Cincinnati-area football game in Week 1 is in Price Hill this Friday night. The last time these two conference rivals played in a game that mattered, it was in their respective state championships at Canton's Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.
La Salle took home a Division II crown while Elder came up short in the D-I state final. These two programs have split their last 10 meetings, with seven of the games decided by six points or less. That includes last season, when the Lancers held on to defeat the Panthers for the GCL-South title, 27-25.
Junior Drew Ramsey replaces All-Ohio signal-caller Matthew Luebbe. Last season, Ramsey caught 61 passes for 633 yards and five scores and ran for 319 yards and four touchdowns. Ramsey will have a tough test in his first start, facing a La Salle secondary that features four Division I commits in Jaylen Johnson, Iesa Jarmon, Jaymar Hargrove-Mundy and Devonta Smith.
La Salle will have its state-champion quarterback returning this season in Zach Branam. As a junior last season, he threw for nearly 1,700 yards and ran for nearly 1,400. He'll have plenty of weapons at his disposal, starting with junior running back Gi'Bran Payne, who has been offered by the likes of Alabama, Michigan, UC, Purdue, Wisconsin and a bunch more.
Picks: La Salle (Springer, Dermer, Harrison, Newton, Weber).
The Enquirer staff gives their predictions for some of the key Week 1 high school football matchups in Greater Cincinnati.
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