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Badin wins GCL Co-ed title in slugfest

Badin head coach Nick Yordy (photo by Shelby Frieszell/TriStateFootball.com)

CINCINNATI, Ohio – Not every de facto conference title game can be a high-scoring track meet.

Some of them have to be knockdown, drag out affairs tense with drama and emotion, and that’s exactly what Friday night’s game between the Badin Rams and McNicholas Rockets was, for all the marbles in the GCL Co-ed conference.

Both teams entered Friday’s game having clinched playoff spots in their respective regions, but with both undefeated in the GCL Co-ed at 4-0, the game did have significance as it would crown the 2024 champion.  Coming into the game, Badin carried a 24-game GCL Co-ed winning streak and the past six conference titles.

McNicholas, despite missing the leading passer in the conference, Braden Bobo, due to an injury he sustained in Week 9, was looking to end that streak with junior backup QB Steven Meltebrink, who was making his first career start.

That wouldn’t happen, though, as the Rams would gut out a slogging 10-6 win at McNicholas to clinch their seventh-straight GCL Co-ed title.

The game was, as it had been  expected to be, a defensive struggle between the two top defenses in the GCL Co-ed, and that’s what it was, with Badin only gaining 143 total yards of offense, McNicholas only gaining 235 yards of total offense,  and both teams racking up a combined total of 21 penalties for 185 yards.

The Rockets took the opening kickoff and, powered by RB Caleb Naumann, who ran hard for his 72 total yards on the ground Friday night, worked their way down to the Badin 31. But the Rams defense stiffened, and a 4 and 11 pass from McNicholas QB Steven Meltebrink fell incomplete, turning the ball over to Badin.

Badin repaid that favor, however, on the second  play of their first offensive possession, as wideout James Brink fumbled a pitch from QB Colt Emerson, and Rockets LB Eric Reinhart  recovered  at the Badin 21-yard line. The turnover put McNicholas right on the doorstep, but their offense couldn’t advance it any further than that, and had to settle for a 32-yard field goal from Rollie Gabriel to take a 3-0 with 4:14 left in the first quarter.

The offensive woes continued on Badin’s next possession, as the Rams went three and out and punted the ball away. McNicholas  took   over   at their own 28  and  let Naumann lead them down the field with runs of 7, 3, 6, and 11 yards, along with wideout Evan Sandfoss ripping off an 18-yard run, to the Ram 7-yard line. But a holding penalty took the Rockets back  10  yards, followed by a completion  for a loss of three yards and two straight incompletions, forced McNicholas to settle for a 30-yard field goal by Gabriel, his second of the night.

Both teams forced punts on their ensuing possessions, and Badin ended up with possession with just over three minutes left in the first half. The Rams offense still had trouble getting in sync,  but a 15-yard facemask penalty on the Rockets took Badin down into the red zone. The drive stalled, however, and the Rams took the points with a 25-yard field goal from K Bud Miyahara.

Badin received the second half kickoff, and the offensive woes continued as the Rams could not get their running game going and had to punt away to McNicholas. The punt pinned the Rockets at their own 6-yard line and their offensive struggles continued as well, going three and out  and punting it back to Badin at midfield.

The personal foul penalties also remained a struggle for the Rockets, as their third personal foul penalty of the game helped move the Rams down to the McNick 26-yard line. That’s when Badin’s offense finally got something going, as QB Colton Emerson  hit WR LT King for a 26-yard TD pass. With the extra point, Badin had their first lead of the night with 5:39 left in the third quarter. Emerson only went 4-6 on the night passing for 41 yards, but that toss to King was his biggest of the night.

The Rockets appeared to start to get their offense going on their next possession, driving out to midfield before the drive stalled, helped in part due to Ram LB Royce Rachel sacking Meltebrink for a 10-yard loss on third-and-10.

Badin took over after a McNicholas punt, and drove to midfield themselves, but the Rocket defense – aided by a holding penalty – forced the Rams to punt it back to the Rockets with 5:53 left in the game. 

The Rockets proceeded to go three and out on that possession, punting it away again to Badin with roughly 3:30 left in the fourth quarter, and the Rams returned the favor, going three and out themselves and punting it away to McNicholas 15-yard line with 1:30 left. The Rockets had one last gasp, albeit with no timeouts.

And it was at that point Meltebrink attempted to give his best impression of Joe Montana or Tom Brady, starting the drive with a 20-yard completion. Two incompletions followed, but the one was wiped out after Badin LB Alex Pate drew a 15-yard personal foul penalty, helping move the Rockets to midfield.

Four more completions followed from Meltebrink to take the Rockets to the Badin 24-yard line. He spiked the ball to stop the clock, and then hit wideout Evan Sandfoss down to the Ram 15.  Badin drew an offsides penalty on the next play, bumping the Rockets down to the 10 with 35 seconds left.

The Badin defensee was definitely bending, and looked in danger of breaking, but  stood tall when they needed to, forcing an incompletion and then, with the biggest play of the night, Ram DB  Rocco Milazzo picked off  Meltebrink  at the 1-yard line. A couple of QB sneaks by Emerson sealed the deal, and the Rams had their seventh-consecutive GCL Co-ed conference title and kept alive their 25-game  GCL Co-ed winning streak.

Badin head coach Nick Yordy said his squad came into Friday night expecting a slugfest.

“We knew that coming in that they were a really good football team,” Yordy said. “They were probably expecting a low-scoring game, and so were we. It’s just a matter of who’s going to make that play to seal it.”

He also praised his defense for their performance.

“The defense played great,” he said. “Held them to two field goals, and then Rocco Milazzo with the pickoff in the end zone there, to kind of finish it. Heck of a game.”

Yordy added that his young team needs to continue learning how to win games as the Ohio Division II, Region 8 playoffs begin.

“We’ve done a really good job of that,” he said. “I think these last couple of weeks – these guys are young and don’t have a lot of experience – are starting to figure it out. So, it’s a good time to start clicking.”

Both teams now await the results of other games Friday night to see who, and where, they will be playing once the postseason begins next week.

POSTGAME INTERVIEW

SCORING BY QUARTERS
Badin 0-3-7-0   10
McNicholas 3-3-0-0  6

SCORING PLAYS
M: Rollie Gabriel 32-yard field goal
M: Gabriel 30-yard field goal
B: Bud  Miyahara  25-yard field goal
B: Colton Emerson 26-yard pass to LT King  (Miyahara kick)

RECORDS: Badin 8-2 (5-0 GCL Co-ed); McNicholas  8-2 (4-1 GCL Co-ed)
UP  NEXT: Badin in Ohio Division II, Region 8 playoffs, TBD; McNicholas in Ohio Division III, Region 12 playoffs, TBD

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