Badin claims share of title

Shutout of McNicholas gives Rams piece of GCL Central crown; likely wraps up playoff berth.

By Rick Cassano, Staff Writer Updated 3:16 AM Saturday, October 31, 2009

CINCINNATI — Badin High School’s football team hit the jackpot Friday night, Oct. 30, then hit it again.

The Rams closed the regular season in triumphant fashion at Turpin, thumping McNicholas 20-0 to earn a share of the Greater Catholic League Central Division title while apparently clinching a Division V, Region 20 playoff berth.

“Nobody deserves it more than we do,” said Badin junior running back Nate Snellgrove, who ran 20 times for 88 yards and a touchdown. “We had a really determined week of practice coming off the Carroll loss. We made sure that didn’t come close to happening again.”

Patrick Coyne completed 10-of-17 passes for 148 yards for the Rams, hitting Jeff Smith for a 62-yard touchdown.

David Morner added a pair of field goals for Badin, which improved to 7-3 overall and 4-3 in the GCL. Now the Rams must wait for word on the playoffs, though the JoeEitel.com Web site said they unofficially wrapped up a spot.

“I would say we’d be able to compete with most Division V teams in the playoffs,” Badin coach Bill Tenore said. “I hope and pray we get an opportunity do that next week.

“Tonight was a great, great win,” he continued. “I couldn’t be more proud of these guys. We came out with a purpose. We’ve got some tough people with great character.”

Lawrence Saey recovered two fumbles, Luke Wurzelbacher picked off a pass and Danny Wolf was in on seven tackles for the Rams, who marked their first shutout of the year.

“The way our defense is, we think we can shut anybody out,” said Saey, a junior tackle. “I love our defense. I’m proud to be a part of our defense.”

The Rockets did accumulate 156 yards on the ground, led by quarterback Matt Staubach (11 carries, 79 yards).

But McNick (5-5, 4-3) never got close enough to the end zone to give it a good sniff. The Rockets’ best surge reached the Badin 14-yard line early in the third period.

“It was just a slow death,” McNick coach Steve Klonne said. “Physically, we don’t match up real well. I think our defense played their butts off, but offensively, we didn’t give them any support. We gave the ball away too many times.

“Badin’s a big, physical team, and they’re going to wear you out,” he added. “That’s a great Division V team. They should go a long way in the playoffs.”

The Rams led 13-0 at the half and got the only points they needed on Snellgrove’s 9-yard touchdown to complete the game’s opening drive.

“The offensive line blew ’em off the ball every single play,” Snellgrove said. “After a while, their defense gave up. They didn’t want to be out there. We could see that, and it just made us stronger.”

Morner’s field goals came from 30 and 37 yards out.

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