HAMILTON — The Badin High School football team isn’t investing too much thought into its current 31-game regular season winning streak that equaled the school record set from 1963 to 1967.
At least that’s the plan for the Rams.
Badin has a chance to break the record with 32 consecutive regular season wins when it faces Roger Bacon on Friday at 7 p.m. at Hamilton’s Virgil Schwarm Stadium.
“We don’t look at that kind of stuff,” seventh-year Rams coach Nick Yordy said. “I’ve not brought it up. I don’t plan on talking about it, and we won’t.”
But Spartans coach Mike Blaut has.
“We know exactly what they have going for them,” the ninth-year Roger Bacon coach said. “They’re impressive. For us, we will find out what kind of 3-0 team we are.”
Badin also touts a 3-0 record this season, while the Spartans own an eight-game regular season win streak of their own.
Yordy said following Roger Bacon’s recent departure from the Greater Catholic League Coed and entrance into the Miami Valley Conference, his Rams haven’t looked past the Spartans.
He said that won’t change this go-round either.
“They look a lot different than last year. They’ve improved a lot since last year. Very athletic,” Yordy said of Roger Bacon. “They’ve made some switches on offense, and they’ve got some weapons. They’re winning games.”
The Spartans indeed revamped an offense that struggled against the Rams last season when Badin scored 35 points in the first half on the way to a 42-0 throttling.
Roger Bacon sophomore quarterback Bubba Smart is first in the MVC with nine touchdown passes on 45 of 54 attempts and second with 615 passing yards. Junior running back Jayson Stewart has rushed for 291 yards and found the end zone three times.
Blaut said the offensive line is holding its own with just one senior.
“The offense is coming together, and plenty of young guys have stepped up,” Blaut said. “Not a lot of experience between some of the guys last year.”
Badin’s offense is also on the right path in the early going.
Senior Alex Ritzie threw for 173 yards and three TD passes — one to senior Austin Buckle and the other two to senior Aidan Brown — in a 42-14 win over Edgewood last week.
“Our kids have to be ready to play,” Yordy said, adding the Cougars gave his squad a run in the first quarter before the Rams had a 28-point second quarter to separate things. “We got caught off guard a little bit — popped in the mouth. But we responded well and didn’t freak out. We got settled in.
“We’ve got to settle in right away this week, too. We look at every week as another game and an opportunity to perform and get focused.”
IN THE KNOW
This is the last time Roger Bacon and Badin are scheduled to play in football. ... Badin has an 11-game winning streak against Roger Bacon. ... The last time Roger Bacon beat Badin was 18-8 on Oct. 15, 2010.
NATIONAL TRAIL AT MADISON, Thurs.
The Mohawks are 3-0 for the first time since the 2018 when they went 12-1. Madison rushed for 338 yards in a 38-7 win against Troy Christian in Week 3. The Blazers (1-2) fell to Preble Shawnee 28-14 last week.
HAMILTON AT OAK HILLS
The Big Blue (2-1) have won two games in a row for the first time since the 2020 season. The Highlanders (1-2) are coming off a 21-14 victory against Colerain — their first win over the Cardinals since 1992.
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
FENWICK AT AIKEN, 6:30 p.m.
It’s the Battle of the Falcons on Friday. Fenwick is off to a 3-0 start for the second consecutive season. Aiken (1-2) lost to Wyoming 44-6 in Week 3.
EDGEWOOD AT TALAWANDA
The Cougars and the Brave are searching for a much-needed win. Edgewood hasn’t been 0-3 to start the season since 2013. Talawanda is on a seven-game regular season losing streak and hasn’t beaten the Cougars since Oct. 18, 2019 — a 28-26 contest at Edgewood.
FAIRFIELD AT LAKOTA EAST
Two unlikely 0-3 squads face off in GMC play. The Indians are off to their worst start since the 2008 season when they went 0-8 their first eight games. The Thunderhawks are 0-3 for the second consecutive season.
MIDDLETOWN AT LAKOTA WEST
The Firebirds (1-2) are coming off a resounding 33-0 win over Fairfield last week, while the Middies (2-1) suffered their first loss of the season against Sycamore 35-17.
CHAMINADE JULIENNE AT FRANKLIN
The Wildcats are 0-3 for the second straight season and have been outscored by their opponents 132-35. The Eagles (2-1) fell to Hartley 21-7 in Week 3 after blanking Columbus Eastmoor (35-0) and Belmont (67-0).
NEW MIAMI AT DAYTON CHRISTIAN
The Vikings (0-3) fell to Bradford 44-7 in Week 3, while the Warriors (0-3) suffered a 74-20 loss to Tri-County North. Vikings junior linebacker Dalson Hayes is second in the Miami Valley Conference with 38 tackles.
HUGHES AT MONROE
The Hornets (1-2) are coming off last week’s heartbreaking 23-20 loss to Fenwick. The Big Red are 0-3 for the first time since 2016. Monroe beat Hughes 53-15 in the first round of the playoffs last season.
WILMINGTON AT ROSS
The Rams (1-2) beat the Hurricanes (2-1) each of the last two seasons — 27-7 in 2022 and 48-31 in 2021. Riley Caldwell rushed for 180 yards and five touchdowns in Ross’ 48-3 win over Northwest last Friday.
VALLEY VIEW AT CARLISLE
The Indians (2-1) have lost to the Spartans (3-0) each of the last two seasons — 49-14 in 2022 and 35-14 in 2021.
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