High school football: Alter, Badin set for classic GCL Coed clash

Or, maybe it’s because this rivalry — built on toughness, respect and late-season stakes — so often feels bigger than one regular-season game.

On Friday night at the Matandy SportsPlex, it will be more than a rivalry game. It will decide who will sit alone atop the Greater Catholic League Coed standings heading into Week 10.

“We had a nice run for a while, and they’ve been on a run. It’s always physical,” Domsitz said. “You go all the way back, even in years when one team wasn’t real, real good, it was still that kind of game.”

Throw the records out — and throw expectations out while you’re at it.

In a league where both programs pride themselves on physical line play, gap discipline and special teams precision, games like this are often decided not by highlight plays, but by the snap-to-snap grind between the tackles and the hidden field position battles.

Credit: Nick Graham

Credit: Nick Graham

Badin (8-0, 3-0 GCL Coed) enters with the look of a team in rhythm, rolling through recent conference matchups with efficiency.

The Rams have — dating back to the 2020 season — won 27 consecutive GCL Coed contests. Badin has won five straight against Alter.

This season, the Rams jumped on opponents early, scoring in bunches and putting games away before halftime. That has allowed them to get into a midseason groove — but it has also removed them from late-game pressure situations in recent weeks.

Badin coach Nick Yordy knows this one will look much different.

“We’ve had some games where we pulled starters in the second half,” Yordy said. “That can be a challenge, but our kids are locked in. They know what’s coming.”

What’s coming is an Alter team that, while tested through a difficult non-league slate, has settled into form.

The Knights (6-2, 3-0 GCL Coed) found their footing after battling through early setbacks — an overtime loss to Taft and a loss to Trotwood Madison — relying heavily on their defense to carry them through stretches while the offense found consistency.

“Our defense has kept us in some ball games until our offense got rolling,” Domsitz said. “We’ve got to be able to handle their run and pass and not let it beat us early. And offensively, we’ve got to reestablish the line of scrimmage. If not, our defense could be out there a lot.”

Credit: David Jablonski

Credit: David Jablonski

In most games, special teams are the forgotten talking point — something mentioned late in a preview out of obligation. In this matchup, it could be the headliner.

Alter has long prided itself on its punt and kickoff units, often flipping games with blocked kicks or hidden yardage on returns. Badin, in recent seasons, has placed equal emphasis on that phase, matching Alter’s precision with its own return game and coverage discipline.

“Alter is so good at special teams — they always have been,” Yordy said. “We’ve tried to get to that level. That phase is going to matter as much as offense and defense.”

Domsitz didn’t hesitate to agree.

“We’re going to have to play our best football this week, and that includes special teams,” he said. “Badin is a very well-coached team. They’re fundamentally sound. They do things right in all three phases.”

Badin has played like a team on a mission, controlling games early and rarely letting momentum slip.

But Alter has taken a different route — one forged through adversity. Their early-season gauntlet, including a narrow season-opener win over nearby Fairmont in Week 1, required the Knights to tighten up and respond.

“We had to show some resiliency and focus after those losses,” Domsitz said. “The last four or five games, we’ve played pretty well overall. But we’re going to have to play at our highest level this week.”

Badin, meanwhile, is as healthy and confident as it has been all season. That stability has shown in the Rams’ physicality, their tempo and their ability to impose their preferred style of play by the end of the first quarter.

“We don’t necessarily want to get into a slugfest,” Yordy said. “We’ve got to score, but defensively we’ve got to contain their running game — they’ve got athletes everywhere.”

Credit: Nick Graham

Credit: Nick Graham

Players to watch

The stage

The Matandy SportsPlex, Badin’s new home turf, has quickly become one of the more unique football venues in the region.

It was built to host games like this — big crowds, big implications and two fan bases that travel.

“You hope as a coach — and as a team — to be in a situation in Week 9 where you’re playing for something,” Domsitz said. “And we are there. They are there. It should be special for the kids.”