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Ross-Badin clash is ‘important’ to many

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By Rick Cassano, Staff Writer Updated 8:58 AM Friday, September 11, 2009

HAMILTON — Butler County’s Rams are ready to clash again on the football field, and it’s been a long time coming.

Badin High School has never lost to Ross in 10 tries, but the schools haven’t met since the 1995 playoffs, with their regular-season series ending in acrimony in 1990.

Tonight, Sept. 11, Badin (2-0) will host Ross (1-1) at Virgil Schwarm Stadium, and both sides are hopeful the two-year contract can be extended past next season.

“I think both teams will play hard and get after it,” Ross coach Brian Butts said. “I don’t think there will be any problems with the players. We’ve got to keep the people in the stands behaving.”

Badin is looking to go 3-0 for the first time since 1999, though first-year coach Bill Tenore is looking for more consistency this week.

Last Friday, the visiting Rams fell behind 14-0 before beating Taft 17-14 on David Morner’s 36-yard field goal as time expired.

“I guess in some ways we are on the cusp of having a nice little run,” Tenore said. “I think our team’s grown up a little bit. We’ve been tested early and come out on top, and that can take you a long way over the course of a season.”

Tenore unleashed his own brand of motivational speaking at halftime last week. It worked, but he’d prefer to skip the theatrics in the future.

“There has to be an internal motor going,” Tenore said. “Our team can’t rely on halftime butt chewings to perform. You can’t turn things on and off. You have to be at game speed all the time.

“For us, even playing Ross, most of this week has been very business as usual,” he added. “Our guys are probably too tired from all the bear crawls and gassers and up-downs to get too emotional.”

Badin has a significant size advantage on the line, and Tenore has shown an eagerness to run the ball.

Can Ross, giving up 327 rushing yards per game, stop Badin on the ground? Butts figures he’s going to find out.

“It’s going to be interesting to see if our kids can take that pounding,” he said. “Offensively, I think we can move the ball on just about anybody. We’re just not getting them the ball enough.”

Regardless of the outcome, it’s still Ross vs. Badin. The juices will be flowing, and a big crowd is expected.

“I’d have to say they’re the favorite,” Butts said. “We looked pretty bad last week, so this is a very, very important game for us. But it’s also bragging rights. The question for our guys is, ‘Do you want them to talk about the Ross-Badin game, or do you want to be the one that brings up the Ross-Badin game?’ It’s important to a lot of people.”

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