CINCINNATI — No one needs to remind McNicholas senior linebacker and fullback Jack Mayer about what is at stake Friday night against visiting Badin.
“Obviously it’s a little more important than any other game,” Mayer said. “Some of the best competition we’re going to face all year. We kind of look at every single game as its own thing and not really looking past anything.”
The postseason awaits Badin (Division II) and McNicholas (Division III).
And yet Week 10 brings a championship mentality to McNicholas (8-1, 4-0 GCL Co-Ed division) and Badin (7-2, 4-0 GCL Co-Ed).
Friday’s winner captures the GCL Co-Ed title.
“We don’t approach it any differently, but we do embrace it,” McNicholas coach Mike Orlando said. “That’s why kids come to this school – we play in games like this. We look forward to it.”
McNicholas, winners of eight consecutive games, is trying to win its first GCL title since 2017 when it was the Central division winner. That season was also the most recent time the Rockets defeated the Rams.
“We’ve got our hands full,” Orlando said. “We’re going to have to do everything we can just to compete with these guys.”
McNicholas is led by several players including senior quarterback Braden Bobo, who is second in program history in passing yards (5,474), second in career touchdown passes (62) and second in completions (388), according to athletic director Drew Schmidt. Former University of Minnesota quarterback Bryan Cupito, a 2002 McNicholas graduate, is the leader in those three categories.
Bobo, a three-year starter has thrown for 1,054 yards and 10 touchdowns this season. He’s rushed for 401 yards and four touchdowns.
“Braden is a three-year starting quarterback for us,” Orlando said. “He’s another coach out there. He knows it all and has seen a lot of it. He does a lot for us. He’s a senior captain. He took it over as a sophomore after our quarterback went down in the first half of the first game and hasn’t looked back since.”
Junior running back Caleb Naumann, son of offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Todd Naumann, has rushed for 1,093 yards and 14 touchdowns.
Defensively, senior linebacker Blaize Volker has 67 tackles (48 solo). Senior defensive lineman Bo Tobin, son of Cincinnati Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin, has eight sacks and three fumble recoveries. Junior linebacker Zac Belmont has 4 ½ sacks.
Mayer is second on the team with 53 tackles including five sacks. Senior defensive back Nate Colyer has six interceptions and is tied for the program lead with 15 career interceptions.
Orlando said the 16 seniors are embracing this opportunity to compete for a league title Friday night. The Rockets have unofficially clinched a home playoff spot Nov. 1, according to Joe Eitel. A win over Badin could propel the Rockets to the No. 2 seed in Division III, Region 12.
“I don’t anticipate it (the game) being too big for them or anything,” Orlando said. “Just looking forward to the night. We got to have a good week of practice like every week and come Friday we’ll show up.”
Badin, which moved up to Division II this season, has won seven consecutive games since starting the campaign with an 0-2 record. Badin’s two losses came to Hamilton in the season opener and Columbus St. Francis DeSales. Hamilton has a 7-2 record in Division I and DeSales is 8-1 in Division II.
“Right now our team has gotten better every week since Week 1,” Badin coach Nick Yordy said. “We lost a large number of seniors and our team has responded well. We had some kids that needed to learn how to play on Friday nights.”
The Rams are No. 7 in Region 8 and have unofficially clinched a playoff spot, according to Eitel. Badin could move up to No. 2 in the region with a win on Friday night.
However, the focus this week is on another GCL championship. Badin has won six consecutive GCL championships including five outright titles. It shared the GCL Co-Ed title with Chaminade Julienne in 2019.
“This week is just another week in the GCL,” Yordy said. “We know we are going to be in for a tough, physical game. McNick is very well coached and they tend to always give us issues week 10. This will be a tough test for us as a team.”
Badin has won 26 consecutive GCL games entering Friday night. That included a 14-0 win over visiting Chaminade Julienne last week.
Badin is led by several players, including junior quarterback Colt Emerson, who has thrown for 735 yards and nine touchdowns. Junior running back Lem Grayson has rushed for 742 yards and 10 touchdowns. Junior wide receiver James Brink has 32 receptions for 387 yards and six touchdowns.
“On offense, our line has continued to improve and Lem Grayson has been a workhorse,” Yordy said. “(Junior wide receiver and defensive back) Declan Brown has been doing well on offense and defense. Defensively, the whole unit has been playing extremely well.”
Defensively, junior linebacker Trent Owens has 72 tackles. Senior defensive lineman Royce Rachel has 52 tackles including seven sacks. Senior Xander Arnold has three interceptions.
“Our defense has been playing well all year,” Yordy said. “We have relied heavily on our defense and week after week they have stepped up. They played a great game against CJ by holding them to zero.”
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