Badin Earns Emotional OT Win Over Alter, Will Face McNicholas For Shot At GCL Coed Title
Badin High School's Chase Even scores the winning touchdown in overtime Oct. 16, 2026, to end a Greater Catholic League Coed Division football game against Kettering Alter at Bellbrook. Badin won 20-14.
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By Rick Cassano
BELLBROOK – Chase Even was a workhorse Friday night. And he gladly would’ve done even more.
The Badin High School junior running back churned his way to 163 yards on 37 carries in a Greater Catholic League Coed Division football showdown with Kettering Alter, with his second touchdown ending the contest in a 20-14 overtime triumph for the Rams at Bellbrook.
“Thirty-seven carries … wow,” said Even, who pushed his season rushing totals to 1,153 yards and 16 TDs on 157 runs. “However much I need to run, it doesn’t matter. I’ll do whatever we need.”
Even credited the work up front by his linemen against a stout Alter defense. Badin put the offense on his back in the second half on a night when the passing attack struggled to find a rhythm.
The Rams grabbed a 14-0 lead in the first four-plus minutes and then needed OT to extend their winning streak against the Knights to seven.
Badin improved to 7-2 overall and 3-1 in the GCL Coed, while Alter fell to 5-4, 2-2. The Rams will try to get a share of their ninth straight league championship next Friday when they close the regular season against visiting McNicholas (7-2, 4-0) at the Matandy SportsPlex.
“It’s been a while since we lost two games and I think maybe these guys had a little bit of doubt, but we regrouped pretty well and came out here and got the job done,” Badin coach Nick Yordy said. “I think our kids were fired up. Maybe they had a little chip on their shoulder coming into this game.
“We knew it was going to be a battle, but I think our kids were prepared for it. We talked about the momentum shifts and there were quite a few tonight. But once we got a little momentum, we kept it, especially in overtime.”
The Rams’ defense provided some key plays as well. Cruz Fox recovered a fumble in the second quarter, Joey Geltz came up with an interception in the fourth period and Jackson Turner collected 13 tackles.
“I’d say our defensive line was pushing them back pretty well and J.T. was able to fill – he got in there a lot,” said Fox, a junior lineman. “We don’t get a lot of those really tight games. It seems like we have a lot of blowouts. We just had to stay locked in throughout and get the job done.”
It was the first OT affair for Badin since the 2019 season opener against Ross, which ended in a 20-19 defeat. The Rams and Knights had never gone into overtime in 46 previous meetings.
This matchup featured two forceful efforts by the GCL Coed’s leading rushers — Even and Alter senior Drew Cripps – on the Knights’ homecoming.
Cripps ran 29 times for 123 yards and a touchdown, caught five passes for 48 yards and had a punt-return TD negated by a penalty. The Miami University commit added an interception on defense.
“I’m not surprised,” Alter coach Ed Domsitz said of the Even/Cripps dominance on the ground. “We’re both for the most part running teams. They’re a little more versatile than we are, but when you get down to the fourth quarter and it’s 14-14, being versatile doesn’t mean a whole lot. It’s who’s going to put the points on the board in overtime.
“I think anytime Badin and Alter get together, there’s going to be a lot of contact. We like to think we’re a physical program, and I know they are. Anytime you lose a game by 7 points, 8 points or fewer, I would say there probably could be anywhere from eight to 10 plays somewhere else in the game that could’ve made the difference. We seem to play Badin well. We just don’t seem to be able to get our leg over the saddle.”
The Rams won the opening coin flip and decided to take the ball first – Yordy said he didn’t want to risk starting the game with a kickoff to Cripps because he’s so strong in the return game. The move paid off when Cooper Clay fielded a kickoff near the Badin sideline, crossed all the way across the field and went 79 yards for a touchdown.
“You hate to start a game where you’re giving up a kickoff return for a touchdown,” Domsitz said. “We were concerned about their return team. We saw what they’re capable of doing, and they did it on that first play.”
Badin scored again after an Alter three-and-out. Even’s 25-yard touchdown jaunt and Gabe Miyahara’s second extra point made it 14-0 with 7:56 left in the first stanza.
The Rams didn’t do much offensively the rest of the first half until making a late drive to the AHS 10, where they missed a 27-yard field goal on the final play.
Fox fell on a Knight fumble with 2:14 remaining in the second quarter, but Badin gave the ball back on the very next play when Davis Martin was intercepted by Henry Hallock.
“A lot of missed opportunities in the first half, then we were fortunate to have an opportunity to win the game,” Yordy said. “I wish we had a couple of those first-half opportunities back.”
Fox reacted with glee when he got his fumble recovery — it was the first of his prep career. Indeed, he said he hadn’t recovered a fumble since about the fourth grade.
“I saw a bad handoff. I’m not sure what went down, but that was pretty exciting,” Fox said. “I haven’t touched the ball in a long time.”
Hallock and Cripps had 1-yard touchdown runs for Alter. Cripps scored with 8:44 left in the fourth period to knot the score at 14-14, then he picked off a Martin pass on the Rams’ next possession.
Badin won the OT coin flip and chose to play defense first. Alter gained just 1 yard and then lost 5 on an illegal procedure penalty, leading to a 41-yard field-goal miss by Matthew Ventura.
The Rams also got whistled for illegal procedure on their possession, but five Even runs led to the end zone. The winning TD was a 5-yarder.
“It felt amazing. Nothing compares to a tight game like that,” Even said. “I knew I had to do what I do, and I was up for the challenge. It was little by little all night. All week we were preaching that 4 yards is a good play.”
The Knights have now lost four of their last six games after a 3-0 start. Two of those defeats have come by 6 points or less.
Domsitz said he couldn’t complain about his players’ effort Friday.
“I can’t ask a whole lot more out of these kids,” the Alter coach said. “We’ve got a number of kids playing both ways, and they sucked it up. I think our kids showed a good bit of resiliency. We’re in it right to the end and we’re losing close ballgames, and that’s difficult to take.”
Yordy said Even ran with the kind of grit and determination that he’s come to expect. The 37 carries were the most for a Badin back since Jack Walsh ran 43 times for 226 yards in 2021 as the Rams blanked Granville 14-0 in a Division III state semifinal at London.
“And I think our defense did a good job of containing Cripps,” Yordy said. “We didn’t stop him, but we contained him enough.”
Fox said he felt drained when the slugfest ended.
“It felt like we won a war,” he said. “That was a long game. It was cold. It felt like I was in the trenches for sure.”
“We had a great week of practice and just came out and showed it,” Even said. “We’re a very resilient team. We can get punched in the mouth and respond. I feel great about the team. I feel like we’re heading on an upward trajectory.”
Domsitz has 400 career victories in 51 years as a head coach at Alter, Trotwood-Madison and Clayton Northmont. Yordy is 95-24 in 10 seasons at Badin.
“I have an unbelievable amount of respect for Coach Domsitz and what he’s been able to do in his career,” Yordy said. “I don’t know how he’s done it as long as he has. I know I will not be doing it that long.”
The Knights (Division III, Region 12) and Rams (Division II, Region 8) have clinched spots in the playoffs, according to joeeitel.com. The website has been the gold standard in Ohio for these calculations, though Eitel stated that they are unofficial until confirmed by the Ohio High School Athletic Association.
Alter will host Dayton Chaminade Julienne at Beavercreek next Friday.
Badin 14-0-0-0-6 — 20
Alter 7-0-0-7-0 — 14
B: Cooper Clay 79 kickoff return (Gabe Miyahara kick)
