Badin hands Hamilton opening-week shutout in renewed rivalry
HAMILTON ‒ The Badin High School football team didn't let renewed rival Hamilton do much of anything on offense in an 18-0 victory in the Skyline Chili Crosstown Showdown on Friday at a sold-out Virgil Schwarm Stadium.
Badin and Hamilton had only played four other times prior to Friday night ‒ 1980 (28-14, Badin), 1981 (3-0, Badin), 1999 (45-13, Hamilton) and 2000 (16-10, Badin). Friday night marks the first time Virgil Schwarm Stadium had sold out during a Big Blue regular season football game.
"Our defense was unbelievable," Rams coach Nick Yordy said. "To pitch a shutout against them. I said all week that we're just a little Division III school playing against a Division I school, and a couple of kids stepped up there.
"We were fired up, and so were they. It was an emotional game to have to control ourselves. A lot of phases of the game to have to go out there and play, our defense played well."
Scores: Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky week 1 high school football scores
Three keys to Badin's victory
1. The Rams held the Big Blue to just two first downs in the first half, and that set the tone for the rest of the game. The Rams outgained the Big Blue 127-82 in total yards in the first half.
"They've got a good defense," Hamilton coach Arvie Crouch said. "We weren't sharp. That's a heck of a football team over there. We all know that, and we knew that coming in. All the hype about DI and DIII, it doesn't mean anything. These guys are a well-coached football team."
2. Badin took advantage of Hamilton's inability to move the ball in the first quarter.
Alex Ritzie hit Aidan Brown with a 31-yard touchdown pass to put Badin up with 8:20 left in the first quarter. A muffed snap on a Big Blue punt resulted in a safety, and the Rams went up 9-0 toward the end of the first quarter.
"We honestly didn't get the chance to run a lot of our offense," Yordy said. "In the first half, we were running the ball. Once we got some first downs, and getting into third and short situations and converting those, we just kept saying our defense was playing good right now."
3. Badin senior Drew Enginger stalled Hamilton's best drive of the game with a second-quarter interception deep in Rams territory. Big Blue never threatened after that.
"This is special. I didn't even know that this was a thing until about 10 minutes ago," Enginger said of winning the Skyline Chili Crosstown Showdown's Player of the Game. "I just had one job coming in here, and that was to do my best and to fly to the ball. I feel like I earned this tonight."
Standout players
Drew Enginger, Badin: Enginger was named the Skyline Chili Crosstown Showdown's Player of the Game with his defense performance, which included a clutch interception in the first half.
Alex Ritzie, Badin: Ritzie tossed two touchdown passes ‒ a 31-yard strike to Aidan Brown and a 12-yard connection to Zach Yordy ‒ to help give the Rams the offensive firepower they needed to take down the Big Blue.
Improvements
Crouch said he was proud of the way his younger players looked, but also stated his program has a long way to go and is looking to regroup heading into Week 2.
"We feel like we get in our own way a lot of the times," Crouch said. "The first 15 points were all off mistakes. You can't have that. We're going to meet as a coaching staff and see what we're doing."
Nick Yordy said there were some pros and cons to being limited with the offensive playbook going up against Hamilton's defense.
"I'm happy with that," Yordy said. "But I'm just happy we won."
What's next for the Rams and the Big Blue?
Hamilton (0-1) travels to Lakota East next Friday to open Greater Miami Conference play, while Badin (1-0) visits St. Francis DeSales.
Badin 18, Hamilton 0
Badin ‒ 9 6 0 3 ‒ 18
Hamilton ‒ 0 0 0 0 ‒ 0
B: Brown 31 pass from Ritzie (Warner kick)
B: Muffed punt safety
B: Yordy 12 pass from Ritzie (Conversion failed)
B: Warner 25 FG
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: High school football: Badin beats Hamilton in renewed rivalry
