Badin Pushes Ahead With Positivity After Suffering Two Losses In Three Games

By Rick Cassano

HAMILTON – Badin High School’s football team has gotten back to work this week with a somewhat different mind-set.

A lopsided loss can have that kind of effect.

The Rams went on the road and got rolled 40-24 by Fenwick last weekend, taking the second defeat in their last three games heading into Friday night’s homecoming affair with visiting Dayton Carroll at the Matandy SportsPlex.

“Sometimes you need a little kick in the butt,” Badin coach Nick Yordy said. “Maybe that’s what we needed to kind of wake up a little bit and not take things for granted and be a little humble. In life sometimes, that’s a good thing. That’s the way we’re looking at it.

“We’ve had some self-evaluation from everybody, from coaches and players and everyone down. We’ve made it probably a little harder on ourselves now, but live and learn and move on. We’ve put the game behind us. Our focus is on Carroll right now.”

The Rams are 5-2 overall and 1-1 in the Greater Catholic League Coed Division. They are heavy favorites against Carroll (2-5, 0-2), which is riding a 26-game GCLC losing streak and hasn’t won in the league since beating Fenwick 35-21 on Oct. 2, 2020.

Kettering Alter (5-2, 2-0) and McNicholas (5-2, 2-0) are the only teams unbeaten in league play. Badin still controls its own destiny in trying to secure its ninth straight GCLC title because games with the Knights and Rockets are coming up in Weeks 9 and 10.

“Things are changing every day. We’ve got a new fire inside of us and it’s showing,” Rams senior defensive end Logan Karwisch said. “We’ve got to take it one step at a time, right? So our goal right now is win the league, then make a run in the (Division II) playoffs after that. Fenwick’s going to hurt. I hope it leaves a sour taste in my mouth and in everybody else’s so that won’t ever happen again.”

Karwisch said watching the film of the Fenwick game was difficult, especially for members of the Rams’ defense.

“Saturday was long. It was a two-hour film session,” Karwisch said. “I think Fenwick wanted it more than we did. They came out firing … we just pretty much took it. We showed some glimpses and we showed a lot of bad, but we’re going to fix it. Urgency is way up this week. This week’s been a lot of competition. I love it.

“The coaches are saying that loss can either break us and make us. I think it’s going to make us. I think the last couple of seasons we had that label of being good and we still haven’t shown it, so that’s what we’re going to do.”

It’s already been a tumultuous season at Carroll, which dismissed head coach Mike Pomfret several weeks before the season began because of an on-field incident during a workout.

The Patriots, who were 1-9 under Pomfret last year and haven’t enjoyed a winning season since going 6-4 in 2018, elevated defensive coordinator Mitchell Weitz to the head position.

Weitz is a 2017 Carroll graduate and just turned 28. He was a defensive end for the Patriots and played one season at Mount St. Joseph University.

The Patriots defeated Dayton Ponitz and New Carlisle Tecumseh in nonleague play, but they’ve been outscored 199-20 in their five losses to Stebbins, Northwest, Talawanda, McNick and Alter.

“I’ve been very proud of the way these guys have played this year,” Weitz said. “I think we have 13 sophomores starting between both sides of the ball. We’re extremely young, and we’re mixing a bunch of pieces here and there and guys are playing different positions.

“You’ve got to do what you’ve got to do to field a team and just keep getting up every single day. The work ethic is there. It’s going to start clicking for us. The kids are showing up and working really hard for us. Our staff is also young, so we’ve had a lot of growing pains, but I feel like we’re really starting to hit our stride and getting to know each other and the right direction we need to be in.”

Weitz knows beating the Rams will be a tall order. Hamilton Catholic/Badin leads the series 29-7-1 and has won 14 of their last 15 meetings (Carroll was victorious 21-17 in 2016).

The Patriots have yet to win a league title since leaving the Mid-Miami League and starting GCLC competition in 2006. Their last winning record in league play came in 2010.

Weitz has added former Carroll head coach Steve Bartlett, a link to past success in the program, to his staff. Bartlett is working as the offensive line coach.

“That’s the Carroll I grew up watching,” Weitz said. “My family’s been around Carroll my entire life. It was awesome being able to go to all those games when I was a kid and watching Steve Bartlett ball.”

Much like Bartlett’s teams were back in the day, the 2026 Patriots are primarily a running team. They’ve rushed 225 times and thrown just 39 passes this season.

Sophomore James Jaynes (6-3, 185) is the quarterback and the squad’s No. 2 rusher with 78 carries for 339 yards and four touchdowns. Junior tailback Casey Steck (70 carries, 391 yards, two TDs) has played very little the last three weeks because of an ankle injury, but Weitz said he should be full-go for the Badin game.

Carroll will run out of a Power-I formation and give Jaynes plenty of freedom to make RPO decisions. Jaynes started several games as a freshman.

“We like to pound the ball,” Weitz said. “All of our upperclassmen are really linemen, so we like to lean on them. We’re not big up front. We’re smaller than Badin line-wise. But I feel like when we get our hands on people, we’re able to move forward. We do have some athletes that can get outside. If we can figure out how to get them in space, it works out pretty well for us.”

Senior linebacker Matthew Tipps (6-4, 220) and senior end/outside linebacker Logan Feuerbach (6-2, 245) are leading the Patriots’ defense.

“We like to stack the box a little bit, shut down the run and force teams to pass,” Weitz said. “I feel like our athletes on the outside can help us out.”

Weitz kept himself in the defensive coordinator position when he became head coach. This is his third season on the high school staff after coaching at the youth level for five years.

“The support system here is very good,” Weitz said. “We brought back some older coaches that have been around, and they’re really been helping me. I’m not the type of coach to say I know everything. Having other people and more eyes on the situation has really helped me stride along in where I need to be.

“It’s all about making our kids believe in themselves. Somewhere along the line they kind of got used to what Carroll has been for the past few years, and that’s not really what our mind-set is anymore. Every year it’s a different team and just chasing moments and getting up the next play when something doesn’t go your way. Keep fighting on the next one because you never know what’s going to happen.”

Badin is continuing to do its weekly quarterback evaluation, and Yordy said he can’t rule out junior Davis Martin and sophomore Jimmy Gajewski both playing against Carroll.

Injuries are limiting the Rams at the wide receiver and defensive back positions this week. Yordy said sophomore Cash Brown has suffered a broken scapula and will miss the rest of the season, while senior Hudson Heid is out with a shoulder issue. Junior Cooper Clay will be stepping in for Heid as the safety.

Badin may be the overwhelming favorite on paper, but Yordy said he’d be shocked if the Rams don’t hit the field with a purpose Friday.

“We don’t need to start double thinking and overanalyzing things. We’re still a good football team,” Yordy said. “Carroll’s in kind of a weird situation with their coach, but you can see they’re playing hard. That doesn’t necessarily mean wins, but they’re battling. You’ve got to give those kids credit for that.”

Karwisch totaled eight tackles against Fenwick in what was his first full game of the year. He saw some action against La Salle in Week 5 and Dayton Chaminade Julienne in Week 6 after tearing the meniscus in his left knee during Badin’s final scrimmage against Monroe.

Surgery was required and Karwisch said he was told the recovery time would be about eight weeks, but he made it back to the field in Week 5.

“I did come back really fast,” Karwisch said. “I was trying to do everything I possibly could to get back quicker – sleep, eat well, PT every day. I’ve just had some normal soreness since I came back. Nothing crazy.”

Karwisch is wearing a brace in practices and games. He said he didn’t get hit when the injury occurred.

“I was having a really good scrimmage,” Karwisch said. “I tried to spin back inside on a run. There was no contact. I just felt it pop.

“I thought I was done for the year. I barely walked off the field. I was not in a good mind-set when it first happened, but when I found out it was just meniscus and they said it would be like eight weeks, I flipped the switch and was able to get back out here. Kudos to all the guys for checking on me and getting me through it.”

Karwisch (6-2, 200) hopes to play at the next level and said he’s had some contact with college coaches.

“I want to focus on winning these last three games and making a playoff run,” Karwisch said. “Let’s make the big run first and see where that takes me.”

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