High school football rewind: Revisiting the games, teams and moments that defined 2025

The countdown to the 2026 high school football season is nearing its end.

As the summer period winds down and acclimatization sessions ramp up, it all leads into the beginning of mandatory practices on Saturday, Aug. 1.

Scrimmages in the area start as early as Aug. 6, and the first Friday night of the season will be Aug. 21.

In the coming days, we’ll be setting the stage by taking a look back at how last season played out and visiting team practices to get their views on what to expect.

As we get set to head into the 2026 season, let’s start by remembering some of the top memories from last year:

Middletown wins its first regional title

One of the best defenses in Southwest Ohio last season propelled the Middies to new heights.

Middletown shut down opponent after opponent during its playoff run as it won the D-I, Region 2 title with a 21-14 victory against Wayne.

Shutouts of both Lebanon and Springfield made it seven instances their defense did not allow a team to reach the end zone. Against Wayne, Middletown overcame turnovers and a seven-point deficit in the fourth quarter to take the lead in the final minute on Jordan Vann’s second touchdown of the night.

Head coach Kali Jones’ fast turnover creating back-to-back seasons of at least .500 or better records are the first for Middletown in over 15 years and has the program on the rise quickly.

Tippecanoe advances to D-III state semifinals

The Red Devils had gotten there before in 2022. It didn’t make earning the program’s second regional title any less memorable.

Tipp got past one of the best programs in the region annually by scoring 26 unanswered points in the fourth quarter, defeating London 33-16.

Two defensive touchdowns by Max Deckard led the charge on a rain-filled evening – his first on a fumble recovery gave Tipp the lead before he capped the victory with a pick-six.

The Red Devils are likely one of the favorites to get back there this season and could see the Larkin Thomas-Grant Titley connection get some work – as it did early on against London.

GWOC gets through a rough spell

The members of one of the area’s most prominent conferences struggled early in the season. GWOC teams went 5-19 during non-league play in the first three weeks, including one week where all eight teams lost their respective games.

Four teams would advance into the playoffs and the top of the standings did well. Wayne and Springfield both made deep runs that ended at the hands of Middletown. Two others lost their first game as Springboro lost to Springfield, and Fairmont suffered a heartbreaking defeat at Lebanon.

One streak ended. Others continued.

Where there is a beginning, there is an end.

A 31-6 win against Wapakoneta on Aug. 20, 2021, began the 76-game win streak for Marion Local that spanned five seasons and saw the Flyers capture four consecutive state championships.

The last win of the streak came against Fort Recovery on Nov. 14, 2025. St. Henry seven days later were not only the streak busters, but dominant ones at that in their D-VII regional final meeting. A 17-point win ended Marion Local’s reign and helped propel the Redskins to their own state title.

St. Henry’s championship was the only one by a team outside of central or northern Ohio in 2025, and made it seven straight D-VII state championships won by Midwest Athletic Conference teams. At least one team from the MAC has won a state title in 16 consecutive seasons dating back to 2010.

Marion Local still hasn’t lost to a team outside of the MAC this decade.