Carter’s pick-six with 5:02 remaining slammed the door on Chaminade Julienne’s comeback hopes as Badin secured a 38-21 triumph and the outright Greater Catholic League Coed Central Division football championship.
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“I think it was just a rush of emotions when I got that pick-six,” Carter said. “I didn’t know what to feel. Everyone was jumping on me. Something like that doesn’t happen very often. I think that was a one-time thing for me.”
It was one of several key moments for the Rams, who took a major step toward their first postseason berth since 2015. Badin and CJ are both in favorable positions to make the Division III, Region 12 playoffs, though neither is a lock at this point, according to www.joeeitel.com.
Rams coach Nick Yordy wanted his team to take a little time to celebrate before contemplating next Friday’s regular-season finale against McNicholas at Hamilton.
“We’re going to enjoy this a little bit,” Yordy said. “That was a big win for our kids and the program in general. That was a good football team and we had a little bit of adversity, but we fought through it and were able to pull it out. A great win.”
Badin, 6-3 overall and 4-2 in the GCLC Central, used its ball-control offense to dictate the tempo of the game and sprinkled in some big plays to sink the Eagles (7-2, 4-2 GCLC North), who are 2-2 since losing three impact players at midseason because of the new Ohio High School Athletic Association transfer rule.
CJ coach Marcus Colvin refused to put the blame on the loss of his quarterback, running back and nose guard. The Eagles have another difficult matchup next Friday against Alter at Fairmont.
“We just haven’t played well the last four weeks, and there’s no excuses to be made for it,” Colvin said. “You work at it, you hope the work you put into it and the plan you put in place shows up, and it just hasn’t showed up the last few weeks for us, even though we’ve won a few.
“We had too many mistakes tonight, and there was too much on the line to play that way. We did not respond well when we had chances to respond.
“This is a tough league. I think there’s going to be an opportunity for us to play in Week 11, but we’ve got to correct a lot of things. We’ve got to get home and have a heart-to-heart, have a good film session and then get ready for a really, really, really, really tough Alter football team. That’s the reality of our situation. We’re going to be men about it and get ready to play.”
Davon Starks ran 26 times for 141 yards for the Rams and caught a touchdown pass from Zach Switzer, who also connected with Marshall Flaig for a score. Switzer crossed the goal line on a quarterback sneak as well.
Josh Hegemann provided a special-teams jolt by returning a kickoff 97 yards for a TD in the second quarter after the visitors had cut the deficit to 14-7.
“It was kind of high when I caught it because the wind kind of pushed it back,” said Hegemann, a junior. “When I got it, I saw my wedge, my blockers in front of me, and I just ran right for them. I saw a hole and took off.
“I’m just seeing open field with Chaminade Julienne’s players trying to run around and make a tackle, so I just went right up the middle. Nobody touched me besides the kicker. That was a close one.”
And the feeling once he reached the end zone? “Everything just goes blank,” Hegemann said.
“That kickoff return was huge,” Yordy said. “I think they had gotten a little momentum when they scored right there, and we got it right back.”
Badin led 21-14 at the break, and Luke VanSteenkiste’s 23-yard field goal made it 24-14 with 4:33 left in the third period. Andrew Jones recovered a fumble on CJ’s next play from scrimmage, and Switzer hit Flaig for a 20-yard touchdown 58 seconds later.
Freshman quarterback Luke Chandler was 10-of-19 for 124 yards for the Eagles, connecting with Matthew Willis and Colin Downing for TDs.
The scoring pass to Downing chopped the margin to 31-21 late in the third stanza. It was still a 10-point game when Rams punter Rocky Anzalone buried CJ at its 3-yard line with 5:07 left in the game.
Chandler dropped back into his own end zone on the next play and tried to throw a pass that Carter tipped and then grabbed.
“He threw the ball low the whole game,” Carter said. “I just got a piece of it, and it landed right on top of me.”
Quincy Johnson had a rushing touchdown and gained 67 yards on 20 carries for the Eagles. They managed just 80 yards on the ground as Badin got eight total tackles from Flaig and Keegan Gormley, and six from Evan Schlensker. Dylan Schmitt added two sacks.
“We’re locked down on defense,” said Schlensker, a junior linebacker. “Not many offensive lines can block our D-line, and our linebackers make plays. We’re just a solid group.
“This was a helluva game. Our effort was there. We knew the playoffs were coming. We knew we had the opportunity, and we took advantage of it.”
Hegemann’s kickoff return was just short of a school record. Jason Howard (2003 vs. Purcell Marian) and Daniel Hurst (2005 vs. Fenwick) had 98-yard TD returns, and Andrew Thieken (2001 vs. Alter) had a 97-yarder. Yordy returned a kick 95 yards for a score in 1995 against McNicholas.
The Rams’ last Central championship came in 2015 (shared with McNicholas). Badin last won the outright title in 2011.
Chaminade Julienne 0-14-7-0—21
Badin 7-14-10-7—38
B: Davon Starks 17 pass from Zach Switzer (Luke VanSteenkiste kick)
B: Switzer 1 run (VanSteenkiste kick)
C: Quincy Johnson 6 run (Jake Staub kick)
B: Josh Hegemann 97 kickoff return (VanSteenkiste kick)
C: Matthew Willis 29 pass from Luke Chandler (Staub kick)
B: VanSteenkiste 23 field goal
B: Marshall Flaig 20 pass from Switzer (VanSteenkiste kick)
C: Colin Downing 18 pass from Chandler (Staub kick)
B: Jayden Carter intercepted pass in end zone (VanSteenkiste kick)
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