The Rams posted a 23-13 victory in the Division V-Region 18 quarterfinal that was played behind Taft High School at Stargel Stadium.
“I definitely got tired, but you never get tired of running the ball. It’s always a fun thing,” Boxrucker said. “Things happen all the time that you wish you would’ve done better. But I think all around, it was a great team win.”
No. 7 seed Badin (8-3) was forced to rally twice in this one, fighting off a Jaguar squad that was making the first postseason appearance in school history.
The Rams will face West Jefferson at 7 p.m. next Saturday at Roush Stadium in Kettering. It will be a rematch of the 2013 regional final that the Roughridgers won 17-6 at Northmont.
West Jefferson (7-4) went on the road and routed Madeira 36-14 on Saturday.
“I have a tremendous amount of respect for West Jefferson and their program,” Badin coach Bill Tenore said. “They’ve got a great tradition of winning in the playoffs, but so do we. We owe them from last year.”
The Rams are hoping to be healthier next weekend. Wide receiver/cornerback Philip Dozier and outside linebacker Fred Bradbury didn’t play against Shroder because of injuries, and halfback Cole Heflin played briefly.
Heflin’s shoulder injury led to a bigger offensive role for Andrew Walsh, and he responded with 97 yards and a touchdown on six carries.
Badin chewed up 331 yards on the ground, with quarterback Zach Larkin completing 2 of 5 throws for 19 yards.
“Our goal was to establish our running game, and we did that,” Tenore said. “It took us a series to figure them out on defense, but our defense played well the rest of the night.”
The second-seeded Jaguars (9-2) opened the game with a 64-yard drive to the end zone. Anthony Brown ripped off a 56-yard touchdown run on the third play from scrimmage, but it was wiped out by a penalty.
No matter. The drive continued, and Brown scored on a 16-yard scamper. Taylor Holston’s extra point made it 7-0.
Boxrucker completed the Rams’ first drive with a 5-yard scoring run, and James Mignery booted the conversion.
Shroder regained the lead early in the second period. The hosts recovered a Boxrucker fumble at the Badin 28, and it took six plays for Holston to register a 5-yard TD.
“I don’t like fumbling,” Boxrucker said. “I had to remember to keep my head up and just keep playing.”
The extra point was blocked, and the Rams moved ahead for good on their next possession. Walsh exploded up the middle for a 44-yard touchdown, and Mignery’s conversion made it 14-13.
“They were a much better team, a lot more hard-hitting, than I ever expected,” Boxrucker said. “That first drive on defense, they just ran it right down our throats. We couldn’t stop them. But our defense got together after the first drive and realized what we had to do.
“It wasn’t really a matter of changing. It was a mentality thing. We just kind of realized, ‘Oh, they’re going to hit us. We’ve got to hit them harder.’ It was a matter of playing Badin football.”
Badin went up 16-13 with 3:06 left in the first half when tackle Dustin Valentino dropped Brown in the end zone for a safety.
“I just got into it,” Valentino said. “He came straight at me. It was full-on, one-on-one, who wanted it more.”
Boxrucker added a 10-yard touchdown a minute later. Mignery’s extra point proved to be the last scoring of the night.
Shroder got a steady diet of Boxrucker in the second half. He cracked the 1,000-yard rushing mark, becoming just the fifth player in Badin history to achieve such a feat in a season.
Boxrucker has 1,121 yards, good for second place on the single-season rushing list. Only Tony Farquis (1,364 yards in 1980) is ahead of him.
“It’s all in the line,” Boxrucker said. “The line played great tonight, one of the best games they’ve played all year. It’s all a credit to them.
“It’s a great accomplishment, but I hope to keep building on it,” he added of becoming a 1,000-yard guy. “I hope to be the No. 1 rusher in Badin history at some point. If I don’t get there, I’ll still be happy as long as we’re winning.”
Tenore called Boxrucker “a throwback. If you looked up a Badin Ram running back, you’d see a picture of Boxrucker. He brings physicality to the field. I know Coach (Terry) Malone would’ve loved to have him.”
The Rams won the overall yardage battle 350-161.
Brown paced the Jaguars on the ground with 48 yards on 17 carries, while Tre’Son Martin added 33 yards on 13 runs. Linebacker P.J. Bryant had 12 total tackles for the hosts.
“I anticipated it being a physical game, and the better team won,” Shroder coach Gerald Warmack said. “Badin was as good as I thought they were. They played a very well-disciplined game.”
Warmack wasn’t surprised that the Jaguars started the game on a roll. He also wasn’t thrilled that the roll stopped.
“We couldn’t sustain it,” Warmack said. “We stopped doing the things we were taught, and good teams are going to take advantage of that. We ran some of the same plays we were getting big yards on early in the game, then all of a sudden we decided to start missing guys.”
He said Shroder will learn from the experience.
“We’ll be back,” Warmack said. “We plan on making this a habit.”
Valentino said the Jaguars jolted Badin at the beginning of the game.
“That first series, we overlooked them. We came out after that and basically just got after them,” Valentino said. “I thought it was going to be a tough game. They had the home-field advantage, they were 9-1, and they were in the playoffs. Everyone was all psyched out for it.”
Valentino had a hand in nine tackles for Badin. He was followed by Ross Mulcare (8) and Corey Mohr (7).
The Rams own a 22-19 record in 21 seasons of playoff competition.
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