Under The Lights: Jakob James and Joe Royer Take On St. Xavier Again While Jack Miller Looks To Keep Championship Hopes Alive

Fall weekends can be hectic with all the football going on Friday through Sunday. Under the lights is your weekly primer on what is going for Ohio State commitments and recruits that weekend.

Every week, Under the Lights will detail the top-three games featuring Ohio State commitments, the game that Eleven Warriors will attend, and some predictions for how Ohio State's commits will perform. 

FUTURE BUCKEYES IN ACTION

ELDER (OH) VS ST. XAVIER (OH)

• Day: Friday
• Time: 7 p.m. ET
• Future Buckeyes: Joe Royer (Elder), Jakob James (Elder)

With the second week of high school playoffs in Ohio approaching, it is only right that there is a marquee matchup in Cincinnati. This time around it is a rematch between two conference foes with Elder taking on St. Xavier.

This was a regular-season matchup that was very intriguing and was even referenced in a previous Under The Lights, so the playoff rematch gets even more hype.

Elder is lead by a pair of 2020 three-star Ohio State commits in tight end Joe Royer and offensive lineman Jakob James. These two future Buckeyes help make Elder one of the most potent offenses in the state of Ohio.

As for St. Xavier, they are also a very offense-driven team with 2021 three-star Penn State wide receiver commit Liam Clifford leading the way. They also feature 2020 three-star Northwestern tight end commit Marshall Lang opposite of Clifford. Together, the two form one of the better receiving corps in the Buckeye state.

Once again this is game that Elder barely won earlier in the year but they still ultimately prevailed in a 31-28 victory. This is going to be a game of which offense can outscore the others and because of that, this game is must-see if possible.

CHANDLER (AZ) VS CHAPARRAL (AZ)

• Day: Friday
• Time: 10 p.m. ET
• Future Buckeyes: Jack Miller (Chaparral)

Due to some late-season heroics by 2020 four-star Ohio State quarterback commit Jack Miller, his undermanned Chaparral team was able to secure this playoff spot. In fact, they secured the last playoff spot in the Arizona open division playoff, which consists of the eight best teams in Arizona regardless of school classification.

This spot was not an easy one for Miller and Chaparral to claim, as he led a fourth-quarter comeback in each of their last two games.

Miller has returned from an injury suffered earlier this season and has not missed a beat. But for his team to move on to the next round, he will have to take it up another notch.

Chandler is thought to be the best team in the state and they have talent all over the field. Jack Miller will be facing a tall task going against this Chandler defense that is led by two future Big Ten players – 2020 three-star Wisconsin outside linebacker commit Malik Reed and 2020 three-star Northwestern safety commit Gunner Maldonado.

Miller has been on a roll since his return and his goal all season has been to win a state championship, but first he will have to beat Chandler.

GONZAGA (MD) VS GOOD COUNSEL (MD)

• Day: Friday
• Time: 7 p.m. ET
• Future Buckeyes: Mitchell Melton (Good Counsel)

This is yet another rematch game that we discussed about earlier this year and the first game did not disappoint with Good Counsel winning a five-overtime thriller.

As many Buckeye fans know by now Good Counsel is led by 2020 three-star Ohio State outside linebacker commit Mitchell Melton on defense. 

As for Gonzaga, they feature a loaded offensive line and 2021 five-star quarterback Caleb Williams. This game will be strength on strength between the Good Counsel defense and Gonzaga offense.

The matchup could go either way after the way Good Counsel was able to pull out the win in five overtimes in the first game. However, for Good Counsel to slow down this offense, they will no doubt need a big game from Melton.

WHERE WE'LL BE

SPRINGFIELD (OH) VS DUBLIN JEROME (OH)

• Day: Friday
• Time: 7 p.m. ET
• Targets: Te'Sean Smoot (Springfield), Delian Bradley (Springfield)

While it may not be the most eye-catching game, this is still a very intriguing game, mainly because Springfield has a lot of young talent. Meanwhile, Dublin Jerome features a junior quarterback that was just named his conference's offensive player of the year.

This game will be a battle between two young talent quarterbacks. Springfield is led by 2022 quarterback Te'Sean Smoot, who attended an Ohio State camp this past June and was in attendance for Ohio State's 42-0 win over Cincinnati. Smoot currently has three offers from Kentucky, Bowling Green, and Toledo but more are likely to come after this season.

One other talented youngster for Springfield is their sophomore defensive back Delian Bradley, who leads the team in interceptions and is second in tackles.

Springfield may be the more talented team but they are also significantly younger than Dublin Jerome. Both teams have very potent offenses and defenses that can keep them in the game. 

FIVE PREDICTIONS:

1. Jaxon Smith-Njigba has 200 yards receiving and two touchdowns
2. Jake Seibert hits a field goal from 40 plus yards
3. Cameron Matinez has five total touchdowns
4. Kyle McCord throws four touchdown passes
5. Reid Carrico has 15 or more tackles