The second-to-last week of the 2025 highschool soccer season introduced the primary actually frigid sport evening of the season.
Seven groups took the sphere, hoping to advance to the state championships at Kroger Discipline in Lexington and Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton. Here is how they fared.
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Learn in regards to the St. Xavier-Middletown game individually.
Anderson earns return journey to state ultimate
Anderson opened its Division II state semifinal precisely the best way it had hoped – quick, decisive and in command. And whereas a shaky second half introduced actual strain, the Raptors delivered the sport’s defining response to safe a return journey to the championship sport.
Quarterback Owen Scalf was the catalyst all through a 29-22 win over Huge Walnut at Historic Crew Stadium, finishing 37 of fifty passes for 294 yards and two touchdowns.
Cincinnati Anderson’s Owen Scalf passes Nov. 28, 2025, at Historic Crew Stadium. (photograph by John Hulkenberg)
Extra: St. Xavier wins defensive battle over Middletown in state football semis
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The Raptors (14-0) beat Huge Walnut (12-2) for the second straight 12 months in a state semifinal and earned a title-game rematch in opposition to Avon at 7 p.m. Dec. 4 at Tom Benson Corridor of Fame Stadium in Canton. Avon received final 12 months’s matchup 20-13.
“Coach (Evan Dreyer) at all times says the primary 4 minutes of the sport and first 4 of the second half are at all times essentially the most essential,” Scalf stated. “So, we tried to go on the market quick. It bought shut on the finish, however we nonetheless discovered a method to come out with the win.”
Scalf’s high goal, Cooper Kathman, turned in a standout evening of his personal with 11 catches for 118 yards and a landing – a 1-yard rating as time expired within the first half. That capped a 59-yard, 59-second drive that despatched Anderson into halftime up 23-8.
Jordan Davis (5) scored the ultimate landing of Anderson’s state semifinal win over Huge Walnut.
However the second-half script was a lot completely different as Anderson dedicated three straight turnovers, permitting Huge Walnut to drag inside 23-15.
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The Raptors regrouped for the drive that sealed their win: an 11-play, 78-yard reply capped by Jordan Davis’ 5-yard landing run with 3:31 left.
Dreyer stated the win required grit in opposition to a stiff protection.
“Their line of defense has dominated the whole season, and so they’re actually, actually bodily,” he stated. “To come back out on high was actually good for us.”
–Scott Gerfen
Indian Hill Braves lose to Shelby within the Closing 4
Shelby’s offense proved to be an excessive amount of in opposition to Indian Hill. The Whippets got here away with the 42-7 win, ending the Braves’ historic season at Sidney Memorial Stadium.
The Whippets scored two first-quarter touchdowns to offer them the early momentum.
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With 7:36 left within the second quarter, Indian Hill defensive lineman Drew Roeder recovered a fumble and returned it to the Shelby 2-yard line. Evan Riggs took it to the endzone on the very subsequent play to offer Indian Hill its solely rating of the sport.
Indian Hill’s Evan Riggs (2) is tackled throughout the OHSAA Division IV state semifinal sport between Indian Hill and Shelby, Friday, Nov. 28, 2025, at Sidney Excessive College.
That sequence altered the momentum of the sport, because it was all Shelby’s at that time.
Braves quarterback Devlin Daniel suffered a decrease physique harm within the third quarter. He took one possession off, stretching on the sideline however then got here again in for the remainder of the sport.
“We had been banged up coming into the sport. We bought as a lot out of him as we might, and you understand, for him to come back again in, I’m happy with him. We had a few different guys exit as properly,” Indian Hill head coach John Rodenberg stated.
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A working clock was put in with 3:35 left within the third quarter.
Ohio Mr. Soccer finalist Brayden DeVito scored 4 touchdowns, two via the air, one on the bottom, and a pick-six. The Shelby quarterback is an Air Pressure commit.
“They’re an excellent crew. Each crew that makes it to the Closing 4 is. I want them the very best of luck shifting ahead,” Rodenberg stated.
Indian Hill’s Devlan Daniel (5) throws a move throughout the OHSAA Division IV state semifinal sport between Indian Hill and Shelby, Friday, Nov. 28, 2025, at Sidney Excessive College.
On a 25-degree evening in Sydney, Indian Hill simply could not discover an offensive rhythm. The Braves completed with 50 whole speeding yards. Devlan Daniel completed 11-for-19 passing, for 73 yards. The stingy Braves’ protection compelled two fumbles and recovered each. The protection was an enormous purpose the squad was capable of win 13 video games this season.
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Ben Sichel was a brilliant spot for Indian Hill. The senior completed with 4 receptions for 50 yards and in addition stuffed in at quarterback when Daniel went down.
This look marks historical past. It was the college’s first-ever journey to the state Closing 4. The Braves used a 41-14 victory over Valley View within the regional ultimate and playoff wins over Washington Court docket Home and Taft to propel them to make historical past.
Indian Hill’s George Vollmer (3) runs the ball throughout the OHSAA Division IV state semifinal sport between Indian Hill and Shelby, Friday, Nov. 28, 2025, at Sidney Excessive College.
Indian Hill ends its season at 13-1, 7-0 within the league, with a Closing 4 look, an ideal season in Coach Rodenberg’s eyes.
“I used to be so happy with all our gamers. All through this complete season, we weren’t certain what we had been going to be. We thought we had been going to be fairly respectable, and we had some actually good video games, however we simply bumped into a very good soccer crew tonight,” Rodenberg stated. “They performed their hearts out all evening”
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Indian Hill graduates 12 seniors: Riggs, Sichel, Roeder, George Vollmer, Ashton Graham, Jaxon Frye, Jake Freshwater, Brody Smith, Luke Steltenpohl, Mykail Bonomini, Bobby Strickland and Nursulton Almurodov.
–Brennan Lewis
Ryle battles with out Jacob Savage, falls to South Warren in Class 6A
With standout working again/linebacker Jacob Savage out for the sport, the Ryle Raiders ran with South Warren for a lot of the evening however fell to the Spartans 36-20.
Trailing 6-0 within the first quarter, Ryle quarterback Nathan Verax scrambled on fourth down, going 15 yards into the endzone for a 7-6 lead. South Warren took a 13-7 lead with 3:31 left within the first half and Ryle once more responded.
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Pinned inside their very own 5-yard line, Verax ran a keeper to midfield with time dwindling. After changing a fourth down, Verax had a 25-yard landing move to cap the 97-yard drive whereas giving Ryle a 14-13 benefit with 15 seconds left within the half.
South Warren scored twice on the opposite aspect of halftime, together with a two-point attempt, to take a 28-14 lead over the Raiders. Verax had one other landing move with 6:11 left within the sport, connecting with Dylan Lee to chop South Warren’s result in 28-20. South Warren working again Kayden York had his fourth rating of the evening to ice the sport with lower than two minutes to go, placing Ryle behind 36-20.
A Class 6A state finalist final season, Ryle’s run ended within the semifinals with a 10-4 file. After a three-game shedding streak to fall to 2-3, the Raiders had received eight-straight video games to succeed in the state semifinal spherical.
Within the Class 6A finals, undefeated South Warren will face Louisville Trinity, which is gunning for its third-straight state title.
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Lloyd Memorial cannot overcome turnovers in loss to Murray
The Lloyd Memorial Juggernauts hadn’t dedicated a number of turnovers in a sport in almost two months. On Nov. 28, they almost overcame 5 turnovers in opposition to Murray however could not full the comeback in a 27-20 state semifinal loss.
“For those who had instructed me again in January that we’d be enjoying, I do not know if I might have taken that. However they did an ideal job of coming collectively as a crew and I will keep in mind this crew for being extremely unselfish. They had been laborious employees, they had been good children and needed one another to achieve success,” Lloyd head coach Kyle Niederman stated.
The Tigers made a gap assertion by driving 68 yards in seven performs, all on the bottom. They took a 17-6 halftime lead thanks partly to 187 yards on the bottom.
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Lloyd did not have any early success on the bottom so Niederman put the all in quarterback Kaleb Evans’s arms. He discovered Isaiah Jones on three separate third downs to maintain the Juggernauts’ first drive alive, one a 38-yard catch on third and 33.
“He is been working laborious all season. He transferred in a pair years in the past and ever since he bought right here, it is simply been laborious work,” Evans stated.
After Lloyd scored to chop the deficit to 7-6, Murray scored 10 straight factors within the second quarter due to a botched kick return by Lloyd.
Lloyd Memorial sophomore Colten Barger (10) had a 98-yard landing catch within the Juggernauts’ state semifinal loss to Murray on Nov. 28, 2025.
A 14-minute scoreless drought that lasted from the 7:59 mark of the second quarter to the 5:42 mark of the third quarter was snapped when Evans discovered Colten Barger for a 98-yard landing.
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“(My velocity) is unquestionably one of many greater features of my sport, actually simply attending to the sting and getting away from them,” Barger stated.
On the primary play of Murray’s subsequent drive, Kenyon Cunningham coughed the ball up. Six performs later, Evans capped off a 31-yard drive with a one-yard “tush push” to offer the Juggernauts a 20-17 lead. The sport had flipped on its head in simply over two minutes.
“We face adversity so much, and we had been within the locker room at halftime saying, ‘It is an entire different ball sport within the second half.’ We are saying it is 0-0 so much so we got here out and gave it our all,” Evans stated.
However Murray would have the final chortle. Isaiah Martin scored on a 3-yard run to offer the Tigers a 24-20 benefit. After a Lincoln Tomlinson fumble, a 22-yard subject purpose gave Murray a landing benefit.
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Lloyd had one ultimate probability, taking on at its personal 41 with simply over 5 minutes left. On a scramble to the appropriate, Evans appeared to throw the ball away, however it was intercepted by Simon Rickman, in the end ending the Juggernauts’ season at 13-1.
Lloyd graduates 19 seniors: Evans, Breyon Bradshaw, Enrique Ceballos, A.J. Curry, Gabe Elmore, Tyler England, Jack Fox, Alijah Griffin, Andre Corridor, L.J. Herron, Billy Lewis, Joel Adrian Martinez, Ryan Miller, Christian Raleigh, Bruce Reed, Brayden Schneider, Stanley Smith, Javon Robust and Dominick Taylor.
“They set the tone for working laborious. You return to the load room in January, they had been there each time. They at all times get good grades and so they lead by instance,” Niederman stated.
Extra: For first time since 1978, no NKY team reaches KHSAA football finals
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Beechwood’s unsuccessful 2-point attempt ends Class 2A reign
Down 7-0 within the first quarter, Beechwood scored on a Nathan Pabst run to chop the result in 7-6. The additional level was blocked. By the tip of regulation, that time was the distinction between Beechwood going again to the Class 2A state finals and the Tigers having their state championship run ended every week early.
The Owensboro Catholic Aces had a 27-20 lead at halftime and a 41-27 benefit initially of the fourth quarter. That was nonetheless the rating halfway via the quarter when Beechwood turned the ball over on downs on the Owensboro Catholic 14-yard line. Backs to the wall, the Tigers all of a sudden locked in.
Beechwood scored with 2:33 left within the sport on a run by quarterback Emmett Queen to chop the result in 41-34. The Aces bought the onside kick, however needed to punt again to the Tigers. Beechwood had 41 seconds to go 83 yards. Beechwood drove shortly and had two untimed downs on the finish of the sport due to a pair of Aces defensive penalties. Queen linked with Brody Aylor on a five-yard move and the Tigers went for 2 factors and the win.
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The 2-point move fell quick and the Tigers’ Class 2A title protection went with it.
Beechwood’s season ended at 11-2, shedding solely to Owensboro Catholic and Covington Catholic. The Aces will play Lexington Christian within the state finals.
Which gamers had the largest performances within the 2025 state semifinals?
Colten Barger, Lloyd Memorial: He caught a 98-yard landing move, then arrange one other landing with a 10-yard reception within the Juggernauts’ state semifinal sport in opposition to Murray.
Cooper Kathman, Anderson: He caught 11 passes for 118 yards and a landing to assist the Raptors return to the DII state championship.
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Nathan Pabst, Beechwood: Pabst had a two-yard run for Beechwood’s opening rating and later returned a kickoff for a landing to offer Beechwood a 20-17 lead.
Drew Roeder, Indian Hill: He compelled a fumble to arrange a landing in Indian Hill’s sport in opposition to Shelby.
This text initially appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati high school football 2025 state semifinals recap
