Badin Determined To Learn And Move Forward After Falling To La Salle
Badin High School's defense swarms La Salle quarterback Garrett Fraley on Sept. 18, 2026, during a football game at the Matandy SportsPlex in Hamilton. The visiting Lancers handed the Rams their first loss of the season 27-14.
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By Rick Cassano
HAMILTON – The first loss of the season may be the best thing for Badin High School’s football team over the long haul.
The Rams fell behind 21-0 against visiting La Salle before steadying the ship a bit in a 27-14 setback in front of a packed house Friday night at the Matandy SportsPlex.
“Compared to our first four weeks, we needed a test,” said Badin coach Nick Yordy, whose squad dropped to 4-1. “I think in the long run this is going to make us better, no doubt about it. We’ll lick our wounds a little bit, but next Friday we’ll be ready to go.”
Yordy’s crew will be back at home in Week 6 to begin Greater Catholic League Coed Division play against Dayton Chaminade Julienne (1-4), while the Lancers (3-2) jump back into GCL South Division competition with a home game against Moeller (3-2).
Friday’s Matandy matchup was the first Badin-La Salle clash since 1992. They could see each other again in the Division II, Region 8 postseason since the Rams got bumped up from D-III this year.
“I feel like this is more of a learning point about what we need to clean up,” said Rams junior running back Chase Even, noting that Badin was far from flawless in its first four games, but won handily anyway. “I feel perfectly fine about our team because La Salle’s a good team.
“We knew everyone was counting us as underdogs. It’s the first game we haven’t had pressure to win. We just went out there and tried our best. Now we’ll learn from it. I’d like to see them again.”
Both teams may be in D-II, but there’s no question that most observers felt the Rams were stepping up in competition against a big-school opponent from the GCL South.
La Salle was bigger, stronger and — most importantly — faster. The Lancers’ no-huddle, up-tempo offense is a huge pain for teams that hardly ever see that kind of athleticism and dedication to a rapid pace.
Junior quarterback Garrett Fraley had a do-everything kind of night for La Salle. He completed 11-of-20 passes for 172 yards and a touchdown while running 22 times for 142 yards.
“After two tough losses in back-to-back weeks, I think we came out here with a little chip on our shoulder,” Fraley said. “I think we had a little bit of energy, a little bit of fire coming out. We knew we had a tough opponent that was 4-0. I think we worked together as a team. Everybody contributed, everybody played a role, and I think we just executed today. That’s what got us our success.”
Lancers coach Pat McLaughlin has a young squad that’s dealing with some injuries and took a 35-0 pounding from Elder last week. McLaughlin said that what La Salle was able to accomplish early in Friday’s contest “gives you an appreciation of how good Elder is.”
The Lancers’ game-opening drive against the Rams went all the way to the 1-yard line and produced nothing as the visitors turned the ball over on downs.
La Salle scored on its next three possessions to go up 21-0. Jordan Lowe crossed the goal line on a 3-yard run, Jack McLaughlin grabbed a Fraley aerial and sprinted 65 yards for a touchdown, and the Lancers got a pick-six the hard way.
Nikari Isaacs intercepted a Davis Martin pass and was in the midst of a nice return when he fumbled the ball and teammate Javion Presswood grabbed it, then went the remaining 24 yards for a TD with 10:05 left in the second period.
Badin responded with a drive that culminated in Hudson Heid’s 1-yard scoring run. Grayson Bedacht’s 30-yard field goal sent La Salle to the locker room with a 24-7 lead.
It certainly could’ve been worse at that point for the Rams as La Salle squandered some opportunities to get in the end zone. The Lancers had a 211-16 advantage in yards in the opening stanza.
“That’s what (Elder) did to us in the first half and we never recovered,” Pat McLaughlin said. “We knew Badin was going to come back. I think we came out hitting them in the mouth. I don’t know that anybody’s ever hit them in the mouth like that before, definitely not this year.”
Much of the first half looked like a bigger GCL South team simply handling a smaller GCL Coed opponent. Fraley said he didn’t view it like that.
“I don’t want to say that because it’s a good opponent,” he said. “I don’t want to disrespect any team that we play. I think we just executed early.”
Coach McLaughlin thought La Salle’s game plan was a good one.
“I feel like their defense does some things that you can take advantage of,” he said. “Quite honestly, the last couple weeks we didn’t take advantage of it. Our preparation’s been good, practice has been good, and we just kind of get out there and don’t make a play or have a negative play. Tonight, we limited the negative plays on offense.”
The Rams opened the second half with a 66-yard scoring drive as Even went the last 30 yards on a burst. Bedacht added a 34-yard field goal for the Lancers late in the third quarter, and there was no scoring the rest of the way.
Even ran 26 times for 147 yards for Badin, while Martin was 10-of-25 for 96 yards through the air and got picked off twice — Tyler Roby had an interception in the first minute of the fourth quarter. The Rams made one last drive toward the end zone, but got stopped on downs at the La Salle 4 with 2:12 left.
Fraley was a thorn that Badin couldn’t remove from its side. Yordy called him “the real deal.”
“I feel like I could’ve done better,” Fraley said. “I felt like there were also times where I did complete the passes and did pick up the yards I needed to pick up. I can do whatever I need to do. If I need to throw the ball first, I’ll throw the ball first. If I need to pick up 5 yards and move the sticks, I have no problem with that either.
“I play for these guys, they play for me. I know not everything’s perfect all the time, but I know they’ve got my back and I’ve got theirs. It’s great to get a good win against a Division II team … it looks good in the playoffs. Now we’re on to Moeller.”
McLaughlin said the most impressive thing about Fraley so far this season is that he’s only had two turnovers.
“Our offense is built around the quarterback,” McLaughlin said. “I think in high school football the quarterback has to be a running threat. It makes the offense more dynamic, and we’ve got some guys who can run vertical and are good targets.”
McLaughlin felt like La Salle should’ve scored three more touchdowns. He said red-zone failures and settling for field goals won’t cut it against Moeller.
Yordy said Badin had “some unfortunate breaks” in the first half that it couldn’t quite overcome. There were a couple key penalties along the way.
“Sometimes we get the breaks and sometimes we don’t,” Yordy said. “Our kids played their hearts out. We weren’t afraid or anything like that. Overall I’m not happy, but I’m happy with the way our kids played. That’s something we can build on.”
Even produced a good chunk of the Rams’ offense with his running and also caught two passes for 15 yards. He was consistent and went hard all night.
“We were undersized probably in every position, but Chase did an outstanding job,” Yordy said. “He wasn’t afraid to put his head down in there and get some of those tough yards.”
Even said doing things the right way is more important than flashiness.
“We found plays that they were giving to us. I think we ran a play seven times in a row,” he said. “If that’s what we need, then I’m up for it. La Salle had some good players on the defensive side of the ball. I just trusted my O-line, trusted my training, trusted myself and just went.”
Jack McLaughlin had six catches for 115 yards for the Lancers, who earned a 374-240 edge in yardage on the night.
La Salle now has a 3-2 advantage in the all-time series with Hamilton Catholic/Badin. Hamilton Catholic won in 1964 and 1965, with the Lancers winning in 1991 and 1992.
La Salle 14-10-3-0 — 27
Badin 0-7-7-0 — 14
L: Jordan Lowe 3 run (Grayson Bedacht kick)
L: Jack McLaughlin 65 pass from Garrett Fraley (Bedacht kick)
