East Central, the 2017 Indiana Class 4A state champion and a perennial Hoosier state power in its division, welcomes tradition-rich Moeller to St. Leon, and Trojan Field at 7:30 p.m. Friday night in a marquee interstate matchup that highlights the second week of the 23-year anniversary of the Skyline Chili Crosstown Showdown presented by Mercy Health Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine and Meijer’s.
It certainly won’t be easy for these two talented teams to provide more drama than last Friday’s Showdown Kickoff, a historic week one Greater Catholic League South Division meeting between host Elder and defending league champion La Salle at the Pit in Price Hill. La Salle eventually prevailed in double overtime, 53-52, when Lancers’ coach Pat McLaughlin elected to attempt the two-point conversion and go for the victory, with senior quarterback Zach Branam just getting into the end zone.
East Central (1-1), which traveled to Indianapolis and fell to defending Class 3A state champ Bishop Chatard, 10-0, is coming off an 11-1 season a year ago that included an undefeated regular season in coach Jake Meiners’ first season. Moeller opened with a convincing 34-17 win in Columbus against Ohio Division III perennial power Bishop Harley, a game that saw the Crusaders fall behind 10-0, wait through a 75-minute rain delay before coming out in impressive fashion.
The win was the first at the high school level for Moeller first-year coach Mark Elder, who took over the Crusaders’ program after spending four seasons as head coach at Eastern Kentucky University. Moeller was led by senior quarterback TJ Rotello, who rushed 14 times for 120 yards and three touchdowns while also passing for 196 yards and a score. Moeller managed to overcome five turnovers thanks to a defense that held Hartley to a combined 2-of-14 on third- and fourth-down conversions.
East Central, which opened its season two weeks ago with a 34-7 win against rival Lawrenceburg, is expected to be a state contender in its division again this fall. The Trojans are led by senior offensive tackle Luke Collinsworth, a University of Cincinnati recruit, on offense and senior linebacker Kole Viel, who spends time on both sides of the ball. East Central has played Moeller just twice on the varsity level, losing 27-7 in 2002 and 27-14 in 2003.
The Showdown, which kicked off in 1998, is designed to annually showcase the quality of high school football in Greater Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky and Southeast Indiana. While this year’s Showdown will be modified on-site at games to comply with COVID-19 protocol governing fall sports, the event will feature a marquee matchup in the region every Friday night – with the weekly games being announced on Monday of game week via the Showdown’s digital platforms.