»»PHOTOS: Fenwick at Badin, Week 8 football
The clutch Week 8 Greater Catholic Leage Co-Ed win bumped Badin (5-3) up one spot to No. 6 in the Division III, Region 12 computer rankings. Fenwick (4-4) dropped one spot to No. 11 and will have to sweep Chaminade Julienne (7-1) and Carroll (4-4) to stay in D-III, Region 12 playoff contention.
Badin unloaded a first-half offensive blitz on Fenwick to go with another defensive gem and mounted a 27-0 halftime lead. The impressive all-round effort was similar to Badin’s 42-7 knockout of visiting Alter in Week 6. It also helped soothe a 17-3 loss to CJ in Week 7.
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“The key was to execute and we got off to a really good start,” Badin coach Nick Yordy said. “That was key, getting some momentum early on and building our confidence back up.”
DeLong had scoring runs of 53 yards in the third quarter to go with first-half scores that covered four and two yards. He also had a game-high 109 yards rushing.
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Badin’s Jayden Carter returned an interception 70 yards for a first-quarter score. Rams senior Josh Hegemann’s interception set up his 19-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Zach Switzer midway through the second quarter. Marshal Flaig also had a first-half interception for the Rams.
Fenwick lost starting quarterback David Schuh to an apparent shoulder injury following a hard hit just before halftime. He did not return to action.
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Already offensively challenged, Fenwick scrambled to find its game against the Badin defense. Colt Bradshaw had a 21-yard TD run for the Falcons early in the fourth quarter after Badin had mounted a 34-0 lead. He led the Falcons with 88 yards rushing.
“Right from the get-go they made a couple plays, got a scoring drive and that ramped up their intensity and flattened up us,” Fenwick coach Dan Haverkamp said. “That whole first half they really dominated, especially up front. It’s hard to win when you’re getting beat up on both sides of the line like we were.”
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Fenwick had its two-game win streak snapped, which included a 26-14 Week 7 defeat of Alter. Carroll stunned Alter 17-10 on Friday, which leaves Badin, Carroll and Fenwick all at 2-1 in the league. CJ (3-0) leads. Badin’s Week 6 defeat of Alter was the first time the Rams had done that since 1999.
“It’s a strange season, I’ll say that,” said DeLong, who ranks No. 4 in GCL Co-Ed rushing with 594 yards and eight touchdowns. “The teams that we had a streak of beating we lost to, and that (hurts). But the teams we had a streak losing to, we flipped that around and won. We’re definitely working more together as a team and just having fun on the field. It’s so fun; best sport ever.”
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Badin will close the regular season on the road with Week 9-10 games at Carroll and Cincinnati McNicholas (3-5). The top eight teams in each region qualify for the playoffs.
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