Rams Striving For Continued Success While Making Move Back To Division II

By Rick Cassano

HAMILTON – Hudson Heid has confidence in Badin High School’s ability to reload on the football field.

The senior free safety and wide receiver said the Rams, who have put up a 66-9 record over the last six years, are working hard to prove any doubters wrong in 2026.

“There’s like talk around the town. I feel like there’s a stigma with this team that it’s not going to be as good,” Heid said. “But I think with the work we’ve been putting in, it’s really starting to look good.

“It’s July, it’s hot, but the kids in here are coming with good intent each day to just get better. We have a standard here and we’re going to set ourself to that standard, and I don’t think we’ll have a problem keeping that standard this year.”

Badin’s won eight straight Greater Catholic League Coed Division titles and has more than 100 players in grades 9-12 heading into the upcoming season, which begins Aug. 21 when Hamilton comes to the Matandy SportsPlex.

The Rams went 10-2 last year and that’s nothing to sneeze at, but they dropped two of their last three games (to McNicholas and Tipp City Tippecanoe in the second round of the Division III playoffs).

That’s not the kind of ending Badin had in mind.

“It should leave a little bit of a dirty taste in our mouths,” 10th-year BHS coach Nick Yordy said. “Self-evaluation is maybe the right word from our coaching staff. Our goals are pretty lofty, and we’ll keep setting them that way. I hope these seniors come back and have a little bit of a chip on our shoulder for once.”

One big change for the Rams is their Ohio High School Athletic Association classification. They’ve been bumped up to Division II, Region 8, after competing in D-III, Region 12. Badin has been in D-III every season but one (D-II in 2024) since 2017.

This year, the Rams’ actual enrollment of 268 boys is the third lowest in D-II – Toledo Central Catholic is at 248 and Cleveland Villa Angela-St. Joseph is at 217. In terms of adjusted enrollment with a competitive-balance boost, Badin is Ohio’s smallest D-II program at 356.

There are 66 D-III schools with a higher actual boys enrollment than BHS has.

“If the numbers would’ve been the same as last year, we’d still be in Division III,” said Yordy, noting that the D-II adjusted cutoff was 378 in 2025. “I would love an explanation as to how that happened or how they get their numbers, but it is what it is. We’ll embrace it. We’re not going to talk about it as a team.”

Yordy said the Rams’ cohesion is improving as the summer rolls on. There is an annual issue with baseball players missing football time. Yordy said having the chance to be a multisport athlete is part of Badin’s appeal, but it does create some challenges for the football team in preseason workouts.

“It’s like a sigh of relief to have everybody back,” Yordy said.

The Badin coach said he’s got 17 seniors this season and more than 40 freshmen, and that’s the biggest ninth-grade class that Yordy’s had during his tenure.

“When we started, the goal that I set was to have at least 20 kids at each grade level,” Yordy said. “So this is a good problem to have.”

The Rams have had 7-on-7 scrimmages with Mason, Franklin, Lakota West and Fairfield. They will host Monroe on Tuesday for their final 7-on-7.

Badin’s regular scrimmages will be Aug. 7 with Fairborn at Talawanda and Aug. 14 at Monroe.

Yordy lost a pair of assistant coaches in Erik Geiser (special teams coordinator, quarterbacks and running backs) and Dylan Foley (wide receivers). They weren’t replaced, and Yordy said some responsibilities have been shifted around.

On the schedule, perhaps the game that stands out the most is the Week 5 home affair against La Salle. The Lancers and Rams haven’t met since 1992.

“I think we’ll see how these two years go,” Yordy said of a possible long-term agreement with La Salle. “We could play La Salle or we could get on a bus and drive four hours to play Villa-Angela again in Cleveland. We’ll take the 20-minute ride as opposed to the four-hour ride.”

On the field, Badin has to replace all-time leading rusher and scorer Lemuel Grayson, who’s moved on to Grand Valley State University.

Yordy said he’s confident that junior Chase Even, who averaged nearly 7 yards per carry and scored 10 touchdowns last year, can step into that full-time role and shine there.

“I think Chase is just as good,” Heid said. “I think he’ll step up big for us this year. Our style of play is not going to change. We do what we do, and we have the talent around us to do it.”

The quarterback position isn’t set. Heid, junior Davis Martin and sophomore Jimmy Gajewski are all in the running.

Martin was the junior varsity QB last season, but saw some varsity action, completing 7-of-7 passes for 40 yards. Heid showed his running ability while taking some Wildcat snaps.

Heid is very likely to see at least some quarterback action, though Yordy noted that he doesn’t want him on the field for every offensive and defensive snap if he’s playing QB.

“We can be smart with Hudson,” Yordy said. “He’s going to be on the field a lot, but these guys need breathers.”

He said Martin is showing steady improvement in the position. Gajewski is learning as well after handling the freshman QB spot last year.

Heid hasn’t played a lot of quarterback in his career. He said he was a backup QB as a seventh-grader.

“It’s kind of a new experience, but it’s fun,” Heid said. “It’s a challenge, and I’m always up for a good challenge.”

Heid ran 12 times for 185 yards and three touchdowns last year while catching 17 passes for 199 yards and three TDs. He took his first carry of the season 65 yards for a score against Fenwick in Week 7.

“I’d definitely say I’m a dual threat,” Heid said. “I have the ability to throw the ball and I think that’s something that people are going to sleep on a little bit, but if you give me the chance, I’m going to run it down your face. Whatever comes, that’s what’s going to happen.”

Heid said he’s not a stat guy and just wants to be a leader for Badin this season. He said he has no preference as to what position he plays.

“Whatever they want me to do, I’m going to do it to the best of my ability and I’m going to enjoy it while I do it,” Heid said.

Defense is expected to be his focus at the next level. Heid verbally committed to Eastern Michigan University soon after making an official visit to Ypsilanti, Mich., about a month ago.

Heid said EMU safeties coach Tate Omli talked to him on a visit to Badin after last season.

“I talked to him about the basic stuff in the program and he gave me a phone call later that night and told me to come up for a visit, so I went up for a Junior Day visit,” Heid said. “They were my first offer. I didn’t really realize my potential, and they were the first school to give me a chance.”

Heid said he also had offers from Youngstown State, Kent State, Central Michigan, Air Force, Army and Fordham. He said some schools wanted him to play offense and others said he could choose where he wanted to play if he committed to them.

Heid is looking at engineering and construction management as possible majors at EMU.

“It’s a great school and a good program,” he said. “What really stood out to me was the relationships. You go to a lot of college teams and you’re just another number. They’re just betting on you to perform. But I didn’t really get that feeling there. Even though it’s a big Division I school, it feels like everyone’s close like in high school. It’s good to know if I have a problem I can go to a coach or a teammate and they’re not just going to blow me off. They’re going to be there for me.”

Heid said it was a relief to get his college commitment out of the way before the season starts.

“For a few weeks there, it was pretty stressful,” Heid said. “I could feel it was crunch time. People were committing and spots were filling up, so it was really good to get that done and just kind of relax and breathe.”

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