“One thing I told the guys in my initial meeting was we were going to bring enthusiasm every day,” Badin coach Nick Yordy said. “I told the guys we are going to play with a lot of energy. It is a mentality, and these guys have bought in.”
Badin jumped to a 13-0 lead after one quarter, led 20-0 at half and opened the game up with two scores in the third period.
Lavassa Martin carried 19 times for 169 yards and three scores, while Davon Starks added 87 yards and a score on 13 carries. Quarterback Jordan Flaig completed 3 of 4 passes for 57 yards and one score and one interception.
Badin rushed 45 times for 357 yards.. The Rams defense did allow 323 yards, but stopped the Braves on downs twice in the first half inside the BHS 20.
“They went out tonight and executed,” Yordy said. “We have a lot of experience on defense. We really didn’t change much on that side of the ball. They did bend tonight, but they didn’t break.”
Talawanda coach J.D. Vonderheide didn’t mince words after watching his young Braves suffer a second straight shutout defeat.
“I give credit to Badin, but they are not 46-0 better than us,” Vonderheide said. “We can’t make three trips to the red zone and come away with no points. That has been the challenge so far. We just haven’t made enough big plays.”
Tyler Prater ran eight times for 98 yards, and quarterback Adam Crank completed 16 of 30 passes for 122 yards and an interception. Talawanda also fumbled twice.
“You can be half full or half empty, but I thought our offense looked much better tonight,” Vonderheide said. “We have a lot of young kids who made some plays, but we also missed some big plays.”
Junior Luke Tabler had a nice game for Badin, recovering two fumbles and breaking up a fourth-down end-zone attempt by Talawanda.
Backup quarterback Zach Switzer scored from a yard out in the final quarter and Ethan Wishart closed the scoring with a 5-yard run.
Talawanda travels to Eaton next Friday, while the Rams will try to avenge last year’s 56-0 setback to Edgewood when they host the Cougars next Saturday.
“We have a lot of respect for Coach Clemmons and Edgewood,” Yordy said. “We know we have a big challenge in front of us.”
Badin 13-7-12-14—46
Talawanda 0-0-0-0—0
B: Lavassa Martin 7 run (Ethan Krug kick)
B: Davon Starks 35 pass from Jordan Flaig (Kick failed)
B: Martin 45 run (Krug kick)
B: Martin 5 run (Kick failed)
B: Starks 5 run (Kick failed)
B: Zach Switzer 1 run (Krug kick)
B: Ethan Wishart 5 run (Krug kick)
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