Badin's Combs has nose for the football

Staff photo by Nick Daggy Badin High School football captain and linebacker Matt Combs.

By Jay Morrison, Staff Writer Updated 8:57 AM Friday, September 11, 2009

HAMILTON — Matt Combs is starting to get a reputation. And if it continues, some people aren’t going to want to go anywhere near him.

Namely, the people in the other colored helmets who have been entrusted with securing the football.

“He just has a knack for getting to the football,” Badin coach Bill Tenore said of Combs, a senior linebacker who in his last four full games has two fumble recoveries, a forced fumble, a sack and an interception return for a touchdown.

The pick six came in the fourth quarter last week against Taft, capping a 14-point comeback in a game the Rams went on to win with a field goal as time expired.

“It was pretty exciting,” Combs said of the touchdown, the first of his varsity career. “It was crazy. I didn’t know what to think. I was just so happy.”

In the season-opener against Woodward, Combs had a forced fumble and a fumble recovery, and he also recovered a fumble in Badin’s overtime playoff victory against Clinton-Massie last October.

“He’s got enough athletic ability that he can definitely be a factor,” Tenore said. “He’s really fast and he has these really long arms. He’s just always around the ball.”

As far as the 5-foot-11, 179-pound Combs is concerned, the reason he’s continually involved in so many big plays is simple:

“It’s effort,” he said. “I just go 110 percent as hard as I can and do the best I can.”

Combs’ effort and energy played a key role in his being voted one of four team captains at the end of the last season.

“He’s a player that kids rally around,” Tenore said. “He’s got some charisma, and he plays with a lot of desire. Everybody just really responds to him.”

Well, not everybody. The opponents are still a slow to catch on. But that’s just fine with Combs after registering one of the bigger moments in his life.

“I was a little bit emotional last week,” Combs said. “I worked really hard for that win. We all did. We came out soft, thinking ‘this is gonna be an easy one.’

“But it was actually a hard, tough game.”

Essentially what happened was Combs wanted it, so he took. That’s just what he does.

And the word is starting to get around.

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