The Princeton Vikings' Aug. 20 season opener against Archbishop Moeller at Paycor Stadium will air statewide on Spectrum News 1, the OHSAA announced Aug. 12, giving the Division I No. 3-ranked Vikings a prime-time television audience across Ohio one week before kickoff.
Princeton-Moeller is one of only two games selected for statewide broadcast during Week 1 of the OHSAA football season. The other is Pickerington North at Troy on Aug. 21. The full schedule, reported by the Dayton Daily News, includes at least one televised game per week through the regular season, plus all 21 state semifinal and championship games across seven divisions.
Fans who can't make it to the stadium can watch on the Spectrum News 1 channel, the Spectrum News App or at OHSAA.tv. Kickoff is 7:07 p.m.
How to get there
Gates open at 5:30 p.m. General admission tickets are $12 plus a processing fee, available at vikenation.org/tickets. The week of Monday, Aug. 17, Princeton and Moeller students can buy advance tickets for $5 plus fees, with each school allotted 1,000 at the student rate. Parking is $10. All tickets are electronic with no cash sales at the gate, though digital tickets can be purchased on-site. Paycor Stadium's clear bag policy is in effect, and concessions are cashless.
What's at stake
Princeton went 9-3 in 2025 and won the Greater Miami Conference title. The Vikings return senior defensive tackle Jaylen Mercer, a 6-foot-5, 290-pound Kentucky commit, and added three transfers from Cincinnati Taft: Monsanna Torbert Jr., who scored 30 touchdowns as a quarterback last season and is being recruited at cornerback; junior receiver Lorenzo McMullen, who holds more than 20 scholarship offers; and Sean Torbert.
Moeller owns a 41-7 all-time series record dating to 1965 and has won 19 straight against Princeton. The Vikings' last win came in 1991. The winner receives the "King of Block" trophy in the third consecutive year the two programs have opened against each other.
Princeton Athletic Director Joe Roberts told WCPO in late July that stadium renovations at Pat Mancuso Field forced the move to Paycor Stadium, with the new three-story fieldhouse, locker rooms, training rooms and press box on track for completion this fall. As we reported Aug. 11, the home stadium project has been pushed to Oct. 2.
"To have an opportunity to take our school and Moeller down to Paycor Stadium, that's going to be an experience that students will remember for years to come," Roberts said in an Aug. 3 interview with WCPO.
Up next
After the Paycor Stadium opener, Princeton travels to Middletown in Week 2. The Vikings' tentative Week 3 home game against Colerain depends on the stadium renovation timeline. The last high school football game at Paycor Stadium drew 22,374 fans when St. Xavier defeated Elder in the Division I, Region 4 final on Nov. 21, 2025.
