Withrow hosts unbeaten Hughes at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 16, in a game that could reshape the OHSAA playoff picture for Cincinnati programs.
The Tigers enter at 5-3 and sit 13th in the Division II, Region 8 standings, as we reported Wednesday. Only the top 12 qualify. A win over 8-0 Hughes would give Withrow a major boost with one regular-season game remaining, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer's Week 9 preview.
Charles Alexander has been the Tigers' catalyst on both sides of the ball. He has caught a touchdown pass in each of Withrow's five wins and recorded three interceptions in the most recent victory over Aiken, the Enquirer reported. Withrow also beat La Salle 33-18 in Week 7.
The Tigers' season has split sharply along winning and losing stretches. Withrow won its first two games, dropped three straight, then reeled off three consecutive victories. The offense has averaged 42.6 points in wins and 15.7 in losses, per the Enquirer.
Hughes, meanwhile, is chasing history. The Big Red already have their most wins since 1988 and are off to their best start since 1924, when the team went 7-1. A ninth straight win would move Hughes closer to its first undefeated season since 1914.
Hughes coach Jalen Engleman, a 2019 Winton Woods graduate named head coach in January, wrote in a text message to WCPO in early October, when the Big Red were 7-0: "We want our players to understand that they're building something that can impact Hughes for years to come."
The Big Red have used three different quarterbacks this season. Quarterback Kyell Alexander has led the way as a dual threat, according to WLWT's Week 8 preview. In Hughes' most recent win, Nehemiah Engleman rushed for 150 yards and a touchdown.
In the Division III, Region 12 standings, Hughes is locked in a tight race with Northwest and McNicholas for fourth place and the last first-round bye, the Enquirer's Oct. 13 OHSAA ratings breakdown showed. Winning both remaining games could secure that position.
Most Enquirer staff predictors picked Withrow to win Friday.
Withrow sits one spot outside the playoff field with two games left to climb in.
