Friday’s game
What: Alter (5-1, 2-1 GCLC North) vs. Badin (5-1, 2-1 GCLC Central) at Hamilton, 7 p.m.
Where: Virgil Schwarm Stadium, 1165 Eaton Ave., Hamilton
Last meeting: Alter won 56-20 in 2014
It’s been a long, perfect run of anguish for Badin High School’s football team in its series with Alter.
Rams coach Bill Tenore leaned back in his office chair and said maybe this is the year. Then he smiled.
“I think every year’s the year,” Tenore said.
Badin will host the Knights on Friday night at Virgil Schwarm Stadium in a Greater Catholic League Coed Division matchup of once-beaten squads ranked in the Ohio Division IV Top 10.
The last 17 games in this series have produced 17 victories for Alter. The average score has been 36-10. The Rams’ last win came in 1999.
“Why is this year going to be different? Well, it’s not going to be any different until we make it different,” Tenore said. “We have a good football team. We’re capable of winning the ballgame. It’s up to us to go out and do it.
“I’ve got a lot of respect for Alter, and I believe they’ve got a lot of respect for us too. We’ve got a pretty good tradition here at Badin. I don’t believe we have to take a backseat to anybody. I was an assistant on Terry Malone’s staff the last time Badin beat Alter. We’ve had some wins at the freshman and JV levels, but it’s a varsity sport.”
Badin enters the contest averaging a GCLC-best 41.2 points per game. Its offense is loaded with senior veterans. The defense has given up the third-fewest points in the league.
The downside is the high number of two-way players on the field. That played a significant role in the Rams’ 38-31 loss to Fenwick.
Of course, the Knights have lost to Fenwick too, and it wasn’t a down-to-the-wire battle. The Falcons won 24-0, giving Badin even more hope that 2015 is the right time to conquer the boys from Kettering.
Alter has crushed back-to-back opponents (Roger Bacon 63-7 and Purcell Marian 52-7) since that humbling loss to the Falcons. But even Knights coach Ed Domsitz isn’t sure what that means.
“I’m pleased that we rebounded. The kids played the way they needed to play to win those games,” Domsitz said. “But we’re going to find out just how much we’ve improved, or if we have improved at all, when we play Badin. I think we will have to play on a level we haven’t achieved thus far in order to win this ballgame.”
Tenore concedes that Alter tends to cause havoc inside the Rams’ heads. How much of a factor is that? Opinions vary.
“Like ’em. Don’t like ’em. Doesn’t matter. Alter does have a presence about them,” Tenore said. “There are some attorneys who get in their opposing counsel’s heads just by walking into the courtroom because they have the swagger and they’re winners and they’re very confident. I kind of liken Alter to that scenario.”
Domsitz certainly won’t discount tradition, but he doesn’t believe today’s players are worried about the past.
“It’s always tough to tell where kids are psychologically,” Domsitz said. “We’re just hoping to avoid some of the mistakes we made earlier in the year.”
On the field, Alter still looks like Alter. The Knights want to run the ball and play power football, but they looked uncharacteristically lost against Fenwick. The Falcons might just be that good. Or maybe the Knights just had an off night.
What about Badin vs. Alter?
“I would have to believe that our kids are going to give it every bit of effort they’ve got,” Domsitz said. “It’s quality effort that we’re looking for. I did not say that we did not give an effort at Fenwick, but I do not think the effort was a quality effort. When you’re going up against a team like Fenwick or Badin, you better give a high-quality effort. If we get that, it’ll be an interesting ballgame.”
Badin will have two seniors on the verge of breaking school records on Senior Night at the Schwarm:
Fullback Cody Boxrucker has 2,741 yards and 248 points in his career. He trails only Tony Farquis (2,832 yards and 252 points) in both categories.
Wideout Philip Dozier is second in career receiving yards with 1,673. No. 1 is Alex Rieman with 1,801.
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