Even Rumbles For 215 Yards As Unbeaten Badin Pulls Away For 31-7 Win At Edgewood
Badin High School's Chase Even reacts after scoring a touchdown Sept. 4, 2026, during a 31-7 football victory at Edgewood.
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By Rick Cassano
ST. CLAIR TOWNSHIP – Chase Even got cranked up in a football rivalry showdown Friday night.
The Badin High School junior running back rushed for a career-high 215 yards and two touchdowns for the Rams, who dominated the second half to conquer host Edgewood 31-7 in front of a packed house at Kumler Field.
“I felt like every hole was open tonight,” said Even, who ran the ball 26 times. “The O-line did a great job blocking. I just found the hole and hit it.”
Even, who missed the second half of the season opener against Hamilton with a leg injury and was limited to 48 yards in last week’s win over Dixie Heights (Ky.), helped Badin defeat the Cougars for the fifth straight time in the Butler County series.
Preston Davenport and Colton Pauley came up with interceptions for the Rams, who improved to 3-0, and Jake Bucheit added a fumble recovery in the winning effort.
Badin ran off 31 straight points after falling behind 7-0, pulling away from a 7-7 halftime deadlock to overpower Edgewood (1-2) in a penalty-riddled affair.
“I think the first half was me being frustrated, the coaches being frustrated, the players being frustrated,” Rams coach Nick Yordy said. “We just had to settle down. Once we did that and figured out what they were doing, the kids came out in the second half and did an awesome job. I was really pleased with how they responded.”
Jimmy Gajewski played most of the first half at quarterback for Badin before Davis Martin took over, and Martin connected with Hudson Heid for a 34-yard touchdown on the sixth play from scrimmage in the third period.
Even completed the Rams’ next two possessions with scoring runs and Gabe Miyahara tacked on a 31-yard field goal with 4:50 remaining.
“We thought coming into the game they’d be a tough opponent, and they really were in the first half,” Even said. “Then we flipped a whole new switch to start the second half. We just upped our game and stayed with what we normally do. We pounded the rock, fought through some adversity and came out with the win.”
Edgewood used a ball-control approach in its Wing-T offense to dictate the tempo in the first half. The Cougars had some success running and throwing the ball, with Carter Breedlove scoring on a 2-yard run to finish the game’s opening possession.
Edgewood’s two turnovers after the break were followed by Even’s touchdowns.
“We did some really good things in the first half,” Cougars coach Matt Root said. “We moved the ball well. Our defense fought and battled. You get to the half at 7-7, and with the way Badin’s been playing and lighting people up, we were right where we wanted to be.
“In the second half, Badin just played better. Give them the credit. They coached better than us in the second half and made better adjustments. Penalties and turnovers hurt us some more in the second half, and we got a little fatigued. But our kids gave great effort tonight. I feel for them because they played their hearts out.”
Edgewood won the toss and elected to take the ball to start the contest, certainly a sign that the Cougars wanted to get their offense on the field and try to control the clock.
It was a strategy that was effective.
“There’s some games we like to go a little quicker and some games we like to go a little slower,” Root said. “We were throwing the ball on first down some too to keep things off balance with them.
“They did a good job of not giving up the big play to us, and I thought we had a couple chances where we were real close to some big plays. They were making us drive, and then as we got going, I think we made some mistakes on some of those drives.”
Davenport, a senior cornerback, said the Rams weren’t on top of their game in the opening two quarters.
“We knew it was going to be a really physical game,” Davenport said. “They were doing a good job controlling the clock with their offense, but honestly, I feel like we weren’t as aggressive and we weren’t doing our assignments as well as we could have been.”
Asked to describe Badin’s halftime, Davenport replied, “It was a little bit of everything, but we definitely came out and stepped up. We locked in and got in our assignments and did what we were supposed to do.”
Yordy said the Rams made some minor adjustments at halftime, but his team’s second-half surge was more about relaxing and putting less focus on the Cougars.
“I told everybody to take a deep breath and just focus on ourselves and play Badin football,” Yordy said. “They caught us off guard a little bit at the front. The Wing-T is a tough offense to defend, and they run it really well.
“It was just coming down to a matter of getting some stops. Once we could get some stops and get the ball back, we felt like we could do some things offensively and get the momentum on our side.”
The Rams didn’t do a lot of throwing in this matchup after collecting 262 yards through the air last week. Even was more than happy to take more of the offensive load and was a consistent force. He broke free at times and broke tackles at other times.
“My parents teach me to run hard no matter what it is,” Even said. “If there’s no hole, just put your head down and run and try to get something. I tried to help the team the best way I could.
“The Hamilton game we did a little bit of running and passing. We leaned more towards the pass in the Dixie Heights game, and this game we just pounded the rock. We took what they gave us all game.”
Yordy called Even “a special guy” and said he’s back to 100 percent.
“He was a little banged up from Week 1,” the BHS coach said. “The weather didn’t do us any favors this week, but I think it kind of helped him to get a little break and heal up a little bit.”
Yordy also praised the play of Gajewski and Martin at the quarterback position. Martin was 3-for-4 for 59 yards and was at the controls when Badin took off in the second half – he had a 45-yard TD pass to L.T. King negated by a penalty in the third stanza.
“We started off with Davis in the second half and kind of got some momentum going, so we decided to just keep grinding it out,” Yordy said. “I’m proud of him for stepping in there and taking control in the second half.”
“They’ve got a really good offensive system,” Root said. “You can’t just stack the box on them because they can throw as well.”
Cayson Breedlove threw for 121 yards for Edgewood. Most of the Cougars’ 155 rushing yards were split between Carter Breedlove (15 carries, 77 yards) and Brody O’Banion (10 carries, 73 yards).
For Badin, Heid had three receptions for 56 yards. Miyahara chipped in four extra points and ranks sixth among the Rams’ all-time leading kick scorers with 100 points.
Davenport’s second-quarter interception was the first pick of his Badin career.
“I feel like I can do a little bit of everything at corner,” he said. “If the ball’s in the air, of course I’m going to try to go get it. But if you see someone running at you with the ball, you put your shoulder down and make a tackle.”
The Rams will be on the road next Friday to face Columbus Hartley (1-2), while the Cougars are set to host Fenwick (2-1).
“We’ll be fine,” Root said. “We’ve got a good team that’s getting better and better. Our guys are resilient. We’ve got a good senior class with good leaders. We’re going to find a way to get better.”
Badin 7-0-14-10 — 31
Edgewood 7-0-0-0 — 7
E: Carter Breedlove 2 run (Bryce Davidson kick)
B: Chace Blanton 29 run (Gabe Miyahara kick)
B: Hudson Heid 34 pass from Davis Martin (Miyahara kick)
