HAMILTON, Ohio – La Salle set the tone early and never surrendered control Friday night, handing Badin its first loss of the season with a 27-14 road victory.
The Lancers scored the game’s first 21 points and took a 24-7 advantage into halftime before leaning on their ground game and defense to finish off the Rams. La Salle improved to 3-2, while Badin fell to 4-1.
La Salle’s fast start was fueled by quarterback Garrett Fraley and a defense that produced two first-half takeaways. Jordan Lowe opened the scoring with a 3-yard touchdown run with 1:43 remaining in the first quarter. Just before the period ended, Fraley connected with Jack McLaughlin for a 65-yard touchdown to make it 14-0.
The Lancers added to their lead early in the second quarter following one of the game’s biggest defensive plays. Nikari Isaacs intercepted Davis Martin and returned it deep into Badin territory before losing the ball, but teammate Javion Presswood recovered it and completed the play with a 14-yard fumble-return touchdown.
POSTGAME RADIO INTERVIEW: Pat McLaughlin, La Salle
Badin finally broke through when Buddy Heid scored on a 1-yard run with 4:35 left in the half. Grayson Bedacht answered with a 30-yard field goal in the closing seconds, sending La Salle into the locker room with a commanding 24-7 advantage.
The Rams showed some life in the third quarter behind Chase Even. The senior broke free for a 30-yard touchdown run to cut the deficit to 24-14 with 6:51 remaining in the period. Even was Badin’s most productive offensive weapon, finishing with 148 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries.
La Salle responded again, with Bedacht connecting on a 34-yard field goal to restore a two-score advantage at 27-14. The Lancers’ defense did the rest, including a late fourth-down stop near its own goal line.
Fraley delivered a strong all-around performance, completing 11-of-20 passes for 172 yards and a touchdown while rushing 22 times for 142 yards. He finished with 314 yards of total offense. McLaughlin was his top target with six receptions for 115 yards and a touchdown.
The Lancers finished with 374 total yards, including 202 on the ground, while limiting Badin to 240. La Salle also won the turnover battle 2-0, intercepting Martin twice while playing turnover-free football offensively.
Isaacs and Tyler Roby recorded the interceptions, while Haden Neff led La Salle with 14 tackles and Kaleb Dove added 11.
SCORING BY QUARTERS
La Salle: 14-10-3-0-27
Badin: 0-7-7-0-14
SCORING PLAYS
L: Jordan Lowe 3 run (Grayson Bedacht kick)
L: Jack McLaughlin 65 pass from Garrett Fraley (Bedacht kick)
L: Javion Presswood 14 fumble recovery return (Bedacht kick)
B: Buddy Heid 1 run (Gabe Miyahara kick)
L: Bedacht 30 field goal
B: Chase Even 30 run (Miyahara kick)
L: Bedacht 34 field goal
Get the complete scores from all of this week’s action on the Underground Sports Shop Scoreboard at TriStateFootball.com/scores.
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