Middletown was the last conference squad to defeat Colerain in 2008, and Krause was the Middies’ head coach at the time.
“That was obviously a much different team than we have here right now,” Krause said. “I don’t think it hurts for our kids to know they’ve been beat and the guys that are coaching you this week were part of that. But I don’t know that it gives us any boost.
“We’ve just got to make sure our kids realize that Colerain doesn’t have superhuman football players. Obviously they’re very good, but they’re high school kids. We think we have some good football players too.”
The Cardinals are 7-0 and ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press Division I state poll. Fairfield is 5-2 and coming off a 21-17 loss to Mason.
If you like high-level defense, this game is for you. Colerain leads the GMC in total defense, allowing 214.4 yards per game, and the Indians are second (230.7). Players from both teams are on college recruiting lists across the country.
“We’ve got a good group,” Cardinals coach Tom Bolden said. “This is that defense that was filled with sophomores two years ago, so this group has a lot of games under their belt. We’re not a big team up front, but we’re stout and really physical and really athletic. I think our overall team speed on defense is what stands out to most people.”
Senior linebacker Kyle Bolden (Tom’s son) and junior linebacker Daniel Bolden (Tom’s nephew) key the defense in the middle.
Colerain is allowing 68.7 yards per game on the ground. Fairfield is giving up 72.4, and its big defensive names are senior cornerback Josiah Scott and junior lineman Malik Vann.
“If you look at the matchups, I like our defense giving us a chance to maybe slow them down a little bit,” Krause said. “That’s our goal, to slow them down. You’re not going to stop them. They’re Colerain and they do what they do, but right now the strength of our team lies in our defense, so we’ve got to hang our hat on our D to try to keep the score down and give us a chance.
“Win, lose, points scored … I’m not going to sit here and guess on any of those things. We just want our kids to play hard and compete. Coming off a tough loss, I want to see how our young men bounce back.”
Krause said he’s staying with senior quarterback Aaron Carmack for now because of his throwing ability. Sophomore Jeff Tyus has also started this season.
Bolden said the Cardinals may use two quarterbacks, sophomore Deante Smith-Moore and junior Gunnar Leyendecker. The latter has dealt with shoulder and ankle injuries this year, but he’s on the mend.
“Gunnar could’ve played the last couple weeks. We’ve kind of been nursing him back,” Bolden said. “As of now, I would say it’s safe to say it could be either one of them out there.”
Colerain’s triple-option offense is a little more wide open this year — Smith-Moore and Leyendecker have combined to throw for 600 yards and six touchdowns. But the Cardinals still want to run the ball, and senior fullback Monalo Caldwell (114 carries, 529 yards, 10 TDs) is a load.
“He’s 217 pounds of muscle,” Bolden said.
The CHS coach said he’s not worried about rankings or winning streaks. He’s focusing on his team playing high-level football every snap.
“We’re getting healthy, and we’re battle tested,” Bolden said. “I think our kids are really, really excited to match up with Fairfield and some of their big-time players.”
Colerain holds a 16-5 edge in the series and has won the last 12 meetings. Fairfield’s last win came in 1999 (38-7).
Friday’s game
What: Fairfield (5-2, 3-1 GMC) at Colerain (7-0, 4-0 GMC), 7 p.m.
Where: Cardinal Stadium, 8801 Cheviot Road, Colerain Twp.
Last meeting: Colerain won 35-0 in 2015
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