Friday’s game
What: Badin (0-0) at Taft (0-0), 7 p.m.
Where: Willard Stargel Stadium, 420 Ezzard Charles Dr., Cincinnati
Last meeting: Badin won 42-14 in 2015
There are some things Taft High School football coach Jeff Cargile knows always to expect from Badin, regardless of how many starters have graduated.
So, while he thinks his Senators will be much more competitive Friday in their season opener at home than last year’s 42-14 blowout in Hamilton, Cargile still expects to see a quality Rams squad.
“They lost some guys, but what I know about Badin from playing them in high school and coaching against them the last nine years, they are always going to be solid,” said Cargile, the team’s former defensive coordinator in his first season as head coach. “They are always disciplined, physical, their kids are very smart, so I expect them to be well prepared.”
Badin, which finished 7-4 last season with its third straight playoff berth, graduated a strong senior class that included All-Greater Catholic League Coed Central Offensive Player of the Year and running back Cody Boxrucker, quarterback Zach Larkin and top receiver Phil Dozier.
Still, Rams coach Bill Tenore remains confident his team can reload, rather than rebuild.
Senior Andrew Walsh now leads the pistol Wing-T offense, which will feature more quarterback runs, and several young players are ready to step up, such as junior running backs Lavassa Martin and Kegen Rogers.
“We had some productive scrimmages and some good practices, and I believe we’ve got the material to have a really good football team,” Tenore said. “We’ve got a lack of players with varsity experience, and the only way to get that is to go out and play, so we’re going to get that tomorrow night and they will be veteran players before you know it.”
The Rams haven’t lost an opener since 2008, and they lead the series with Taft 7-3. However, the Senators return the majority of their players from a 7-3 season that included a Southwest Ohio Public League American Division title and trip to the Division IV playoffs.
Quarterback DaShawn Lawrence is back to guide a run-first offense that returns eight other starters, including running backs Ormani Zanders and Keith Turner, receiver Chris’Seon Stringer and the entire offensive line. The defense is led by linebacker D’Meko Pryor.
“I just feel like this is probably one of the best Taft football teams in a long, long time,” Cargile said. “Our expectations are really high. Our kids have bought into the new system, they’ve been working their butts off in the offseason and all summer, and there’s a new sense of excitement, so we’re ready to go.”
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