The way to get good merit is from a good GPA, Test scores and lastly ECs.
This may sound crazy but it would probably work. Get rid of your TV. Forget playing sports.(kid probably won’t get a scholarship not worth the time and money) Take the kids to the library every night after school. Do homework and then read. Then read some more. And finally read some more. Read everything. Fiction and non-fiction. You can get textboooks and workbooks at a library.
Once in HS find the ECs that take up the smallest amount of time.
Living in Ohio if your kids get good test scores and GPAs they should be OK with OSU or Miami.