Kickoff: 7 p.m. Eastern.
Setting the Scene: MORROW — We're just nearly a month into the 2026 OHSAA high school football season, and already the Little Miami Panther varsity football team has experienced three very different matchups in the preceding weeks.
The Panthers opened the season with a 28-0 shutout of nonconference foe South Dearborn, then survived a 27-24 road battle at Turpin. The victory over Turpin showed Little Miami's ability to win a close game in ECC action, but the Week 3 road loss at Anderson exposed plenty of areas that needed attention.
Just seven days after suffering a 51-14 setback at Anderson, Little Miami returns home Friday night with an opportunity to show that one ugly night doesn't define what has otherwise been a promising start to its season.
The challenge for Little Miami this week isn't figuring out whether it can score points. The Panthers have already shown they can do that … The bigger question is whether they can respond?
After opening the season 2-0, LMHS ran into a buzz saw last Friday at Anderson, falling 51-14 in a game that exposed plenty of areas for improvement on both sides of the ball. Now, with Walnut Hills coming to Morrow Friday night for Military and First Responders Night, Little Miami has an opportunity to put that performance behind it — and reestablish the identity that helped produce wins over South Dearborn and Turpin.
The Panthers enter the matchup 2-1 overall and 1-1 in Eastern Cincinnati Conference play. Walnut Hills is 0-3 overall and 0-2 in the ECC after a 43-19 loss to Turpin last Friday. Through three games, Little Miami has scored 69 points while allowing 75. Walnut Hills has been outscored 140-39.
The last time Little Miami opened a season 2-1 was in 2022. Four years later, the Panthers find themselves in the same position — but with a program that has gained plenty of experience navigating the rugged ECC. Little Miami joined the conference in 2020, and since entering the league, the Panthers have held a 4-1 advantage over Walnut Hills. The Eagles claimed the inaugural 2020 matchup, narrowly escaping with a 27-21 victory. Since then, however, it has been all Panthers. Little Miami has won four straight over Walnut Hills, averaging nearly 26 points per game during the winning streak.
Last season, coach Nate Mahon and the Panthers traveled to Cincinnati and routed Walnut Hills 33-0, taking advantage of a turnover-marred Eagles performance while producing explosive plays in all three phases of the game.
Friday night, Mahon will be looking to add another milestone to his Little Miami coaching career as he pursues his 70th overall victory as a head coach, while Walnut Hills' Dominick Goodman will be looking for his first win at the helm of the Eagles. Goodman's name carries plenty of weight around Greater Cincinnati. The former Colerain quarterback led the Cardinals to a 15-0 season and the 2004 OHSAA Division I state championship, earning MVP honors in the title game after rushing for a state-final record 259 yards and four touchdowns in Colerain's 50-10 victory over Canton McKinley. Following high school, Goodman starred at the University of Cincinnati as a wide receiver.
QB1: Through three games, junior Brayden Brown (6-1, 210) has been one of the more efficient passers in the Eastern Cincinnati Conference. Brown has completed 20 of 30 attempts for 315 yards and five touchdowns, good for a 66.7-percent completion rate. He has thrown just one interception.
Brown is averaging more than 15 yards per completion, giving Little Miami the ability to turn relatively short possessions into points with one big play.
Air Raid: Carter Stewart has been Brown's most productive receiver statistically, catching five passes for 87 yards and a touchdown. His 17.4-yard average per reception illustrates the big-play element he brings to the offense. That vertical threat gives Little Miami another way to attack opposing defenses, particularly when defenses commit extra bodies to the box in an effort to slow the Panthers' ground game.
Ground Game: What Can Brown and Co Do For You? The foundation of Mahon's offense remains the ground game, led by quarterback Brayden Brown, who enters Week 4 with 95 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 21 carries. The Panthers' gap-scheme attack features linemen pulling on counter and power plays, while also peppering in zone pulls and quarterback draws to keep defenses off balance.
In the season opener against South Dearborn, Little Miami rushed for 153 yards on 24 carries, averaging 6.4 yards per attempt, with Brown adding 42 yards and a touchdown on five carries.
After being held to just 79 rushing yards against Anderson, establishing the ground game will again be a priority for Mahon on Friday night. And Brown isn't the Panthers' only rushing threat. Owen Menad has six carries for 64 yards, an explosive 10.7 yards per carry, while Walker Brewsaugh has added 55 yards on 19 carries.
If Little Miami can get its pulling linemen moving downhill and reestablish the physicality that has been a hallmark of Mahon's clock-control offense, Brown's ability to run the football could create problems for a Walnut Hills defense already tasked with accounting for his arm. The Panthers are planning to play chess, with hopes the Eagles are playing checkers.
Parking Update: The Grass Field that is west of the High School along Morrow-Cozzaddale Road will be caution-taped off and no parking or tailgating will be permitted in that area this Friday. Little Miami cross country hosts a large meet at home on Saturday, Sept. 12 and our objective is to keep that area safe and undamaged for the 1800 student-athletes that will be starting and finishing in that area tomorrow.
2026 LMHS Football Week 4 Gameday Guide
2026 LMHS Football & Cheer Roster
2026 WHHS Football & Cheer Roster
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