It’s been quite the see-saw battle for Cincinnati Hills League supremacy.
Over the last four years, Wyoming and Indian Hill have alternated winning outright league titles, with the Braves taking over the reins last year. In fact, Indian Hill did much more than that as it reached the state Final Four for the first time in program history.
Will the two schools flip-flop again in 2026 or will Indian Hill repeat and finish the job at state? Or, will a new team emerge and make a run toward the top of the league standings?
With the start of the Ohio high school football season just around the corner, here’s an alphabetical breakdown of each CHL squad this season.
Deer Park
2025: 5-6, lost first round of playoffs
Head coach: Tucker Berger
Returning players: QB/DB Tink Sellers, WR/DB Morgan Brown, RB/LB C.J. Warner, OL/LB D’uan Hedges, WR/DB Titus Sayers, TE/DL Caden Lewis
Outlook: Deer Park saw a one-win improvement and another postseason berth in the second year under Tucker Berger. Deer Park started 5-0 before dropping six straight (including two one-possession defeats) to end the year. Now the Wildcats are set up to build off that with a nice cast of returning players in 2026. It starts with All-Ohio junior Morgan Brown, who did a little bit of everything for the Wildcats last year. He finished with 390 passing yards, 727 rushing yards, 527 receiving yards (35 catches) and 24 total touchdowns. All-district quarterback and defensive back Tink Sellers returns as well after tossing 15 touchdowns last season. The Wildcats return two other all-league players on defense in Caden Lewis and C.J. Warner.
Finneytown
2025: 1-9, missed playoffs
Head coach: DaJuan Bethel
Returning players: OL/DL Javieon Cauthen, WR/LB Caleb Williams, OL/DL Tylandis McNeil,
Outlook: DaJuan Bethel is the CHL’s lone newcomer this season, taking over a Finneytown program that has not won a league game since 2023. The Wildcats will see changes on both sides of the ball after graduating seven of their eight all-league selections. Returning is second-team defensive lineman Caleb Williams, who had 43 tackles, two sacks, two forced fumbles and a fumble return touchdown in 2025.
Indian Hill
2025: 13-1, lost in Division IV state semifinals
Head coach: John Rodenberg
Returning players: QB Devlan Daniel, WR/DB Dylan Hartman, OL Henry Hayes, LB Topher Wachtel, RB/LB Jacob Alexander, K Drew Seinen, LB Joey Jernigan, DB Luke Mitchel, DB Tyler Fitzgerald
Outlook: There are plenty of returning pieces for John Rodenberg’s Braves. It starts with two-time first-team All-Ohio selection Devlan Daniel, who switched to quarterback last season and led Indian Hill on a historic season. Daniel threw for 1,192 yards, ran for 1,116 and totaled 34 touchdowns. The Braves will welcome back all-league performers on both sides of the ball and special teams with kicker Drew Seinen. Up front, Henry Hayes anchors the offensive line, and defensive back Dylan Hartman led the CHL with eight interceptions last season. Linebacker Topher Wachtel ranked second on the team in tackles in 2025 and tied for third in the CHL with seven sacks.
Madeira
2025: 4-6, missed playoffs
Head coach: Chris Stewart
Returning players: RB/LB Simon Peters, QB Jameson Fendley, QB/LB Cooper Blackburn, WR/DB Sam Redlinger, WR Dom Schueler, OL/DL Dom Beinke, DL Rex Koch
Outlook: Madeira lost all-league quarterback Braeden Wallace for the season in Week 1 in 2025. Despite ending September at 4-2, the Mustangs went 0-4 in October and missed the playoffs for the first time in the Chris Stewart era. Who takes the snaps for the Madeira this season? Last year, Jameson Fendley went 17 of 26 for 251 yards with three touchdowns. Cooper Blackburn went 14 of 24 for 172 yards and Dom Scheuler completed 15 of 22 attempts. Madeira returns linebacker Simon Peters after a 103-tackle 2025. Dom Beinke was second-team all-league on the offensive line.
Mariemont
2025: 8-5, lost Division V regional semifinals
Head coach: Nick Leone
Returning players: RB/LB Owen Dunning, WR Evan List, K Will Shteiwi, LB Ryan Kreutz, QB/DB Carson Quaimbao, OL/DL Rain Qin, DB Chase Raber, LB Mahmoud Aly
Outlook: Mariemont was trending toward a fourth consecutive losing season in 2025 after finishing September with a 2-4 record. The Warriors then ripped off four straight wins to end the regular season and won a pair of playoff games before falling in the regional semifinals. Can they build off of that last-season surge? Mariemont lost five first-team all-league performers, including quarterback Zach Maier. The Warriors have Carson Quaimbao back, who threw for 96 yards last season, but did the majority of his damage in the secondary with 64 tackles, two forced fumbles and three interceptions. Mariemont will also have to replace its leading rusher and receiver from a season ago.
Reading
2025: 1-9, missed playoffs
Head coach: Luke Cripe
Returning players: QB/DB Carter Reed, RB Ke’Shon Vaughn, RB/LB Jeremiah Young, DB Landon Barker, OL/DL Simon Mercado-Valentour, P Aaden Tiernen
Outlook: Reading enjoyed three straight seven-win seasons from 2021-2023, then fell to .500 in 2024 before dropping to 1-9 last season. The run-first Blue Devils will have to replace 1,000-yard rusher Marc Smith. They return quarterback Carter Reed and running back Ke’Shon Vaughn. That tandem combined for just under 700 rushing yards and eight touchdowns in 2025. Reed also ranked third on the team with 43 tackles.
Taylor
2025: 6-5, lost first round of playoffs
Head coach: David Dransman
Returning players: QB Charlie Kantz, WR Ryan Wehking, WR/DB Jeremiah Jones, DL Will Gooding, DB Jacob Everett, RB/LB Bryce Clayton, OL/DL Ryan Massie-Cable, OL Tommy Bedel
Outlook: After a run to the regional semifinals in 2024, Taylor was back in the postseason after a four-game winning streak to end the regular season. The Yellow Jackets will hope to build on that with third-year starting quarterback Charlie Kantz returning for his senior campaign. Kantz will have two of his top three receivers back in Ryan Wehking and Jeremiah Jones. Taylor will need to supplement its running game after graduating Easton Schrimpf, who racked up over 1,600 yards on the ground and was the team’s leading receiver and tackler. Taylor returns solid production up front in Tommy Bedel and UC commit Ryan Massie-Cable. Those are two of Taylor’s five returning second-team all-league selections.
Wyoming
2025: 10-2, lost second round of playoffs
Head coach: Aaron Hancock
Returning players: RB/LB Tyler Johnson-Huff, QB David Dupee, WR/DB Brylan Miltenberger, LB Charlie Walker, WR/DB Donovan Brown, WR/DB Josiah Gault, WR/DB Drew Bocian, DB Cameron Maupin, DL Nate Simonson, OL/DL Tate Bartlett, OL/DL A.J. Williams, P Teddy Peterson, K C.J. Woodside, OL Luke Freund
Outlook: Though Wyoming missed out on another league title, it was another 10-win season for Aaron Hancock’s Cowboys, who fell in a close matchup with Valley View in the second round of the playoffs. Wyoming has plenty of returning firepower with 11 of its 15 all-league selections coming back. That includes four All-Ohio players, including linebacker and running back Tyler Johnson-Huff. He ranked third in the CHL in tackles (132) and ran for 830 yards and 14 touchdowns. Also back is quarterback David Dupee after back-to-back seasons of 2,000-plus passing yards and 20-plus touchdowns. He has his top two receivers back in All-Ohio pick Brylan Miltenberger (814 yards, 11 touchdowns) and Donovan Brown. That tandem also combined for six interceptions in the Wyoming secondary.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Hills League high school football 2026 preview
Reporting by Shelby Dermer, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Shelby Dermer, Cincinnati Enquirer | USA TODAY Network
