Badin High School has won the Greater Catholic League-Coed football title for the past four years running. With schools like Alter, McNicholas and even Chaminade Julienne close on their tails after some heavy offseason Badin losses, this season could be the most competitive in recent conference history.
Four GCL-Coed teams won a playoff game in 2023. Of those, Badin has had the most turnover. Any time any of those four teams play each other in 2024, it will be a must-see.
Here, listed in alphabetical order, is a preview of each team in the GCL-Coed for the 2024 season:
More: Fall in love with the Enquirer's 2024 high school sports preseason coverage
Alter
2023 : 12-4, made Division IV state final
Head coach : Ed Domsitz
Returning players : QB Gavin Connor, RB Noah Jones, RB Rod Owens, OL/DT Simon Deddens, DE Nolan Ogburn, LB Connor Watkins, LB Okemdi Eze
Outlook: Alter returns a majority of contributors from a team that made it to the state final last season. Starting quarterback Gavin Connor, who had 19 touchdowns to just three interceptions last season, will return. So will the team's three leading running backs, including Noah Jones who rushed for over 1,200 yards last season and totaled 19 touchdowns. On defense, the team lost leading tackler Henry Reifschneider but returns top players Nolan Ogburn (91 tackles, 12.0 tackles for loss in 2024), Simon Deddens (8.0 tackles for loss) and Okemdi Eze (10 tackles for loss in 2024).
Alter's only conference loss of last season came at the hands of GCL champ Badin 29-24. The two meet this season on Oct. 11.
Badin
2023 : 13-1, made Division III, Region 12 final
Head coach : Nick Yordy
Returning players: RB Lem Grayson, DL Royce Rachel, DB Maacah Samples
Outlook : Badin has been one of the premier powerhouse programs in the area for the last half-decade. The team hasn't lost a game outside of postseason play since 2019. In that time, Badin's success has transcended graduations and personnel changes. The 2024 season might be their depth's most serious challenge yet.
Badin loses its starting quarterback Alex Ritzie, who threw for 18 touchdowns and nearly 2,500 yards in 2023. The team also loses its top seven receivers from last year, leaving just three players who caught a pass in 2023. The good news for the Badin offense, at least, is that they return leading rusher Lem Grayson, who went for 919 yards (5.1 yards per carry) and 17 touchdowns in 2023.
The Badin defense will also be quite young in 2024, as the unit loses six of its top seven tacklers from 2023. Royce Rachel, who had seven sacks and 10.0 tackles for loss last year, will lead the Badin defense as a senior.
Carroll
2023 : 2-8, missed postseason
Head coach : Cody Byrd
Returning players : RB/LB Matthew Rodgers, WR/DB Jayden Crawford, WR/DB Jack McGeady, DL Jacob Brazel
Outlook : Carroll was the only team in the GCL-Coed to not win a conference game last year. The team scored 35 points and allowed 231 in conference games. Carroll hasn't won a conference game since 2021. In 2024, Carroll loses its starting quarterback, Zach Van Meter, and its best defensive player Noah Mangold. A lot will need to go right for the Patriots to break out of the basement in 2024.
Chaminade Julienne
2023 : 7-5, made Division III, Region 12 quarterfinal
Head coach : Earl White
Returning players: RB Nydrell Wright, RB Ethan Stacey, RB Aiden Lowery, RB Malachi Ringer, DE Joe Hudson, DL Jeffrey Blair, DE Ricky Ford III, LB Keegan Fowler, DB Colin Kadel
Outlook : Chaminade Julienne finished fourth in the GCL-Coed in 2023, despite a positive point differential both in conference games and overall. They beat the SWOC's second-best team Mt. Healthy in the playoffs before losing 30-21 to Tippecanoe, a school in Dayton's suburbs.
The Eagles are well positioned to build on their season from last year and maybe even win more than three conference games for the first time since winning the GCL-Coed in 2019. The Chaminade Julienne offense is nearly exclusively a rushing attack. Last season, the Eagles had four rushers finish with over 700 yards. All four return this season. The defense is in a good position as well, as it returns three players who had at least three sacks last season, plus leading tackler Keegan Fowler and defensive back Colin Kadel, who had four interceptions in 2023.
Fenwick
2023: 5-5, missed postseason
Head coach: Fred Cranford
Returning players: RB Connor Schmuelling, RB Adam Rucker
Outlook: Most of Fenwick's top contributors from last year who didn't graduate transferred. As such, it's difficult to forecast a team with a new head coach and few returning contributors.
Jordan Vann, Derrick Singletary and Cordae Davis transferred to Middletown for the upcoming season. Vann, who plays multiple positions and led the team in rushing last season, has multiple Division I offers to play football, including from Duke and Kentucky. Singletary also has multiple Division I offers, including one from Kentucky. Davis had 30 tackles and 2.5 sacks last season.
Cameron Hunter, who had 50 tackles and 5.0 tackles for loss, is now at Mason. Bowling Green commit Vincent Giordano is now at Lakota West. Starting quarterback Austin Rickert has transferred to Lebanon.
Fenwick hasn't won the GCL-Coed since 2015. First-year head coach Fred Cranford certainly seems like the right man to get them back there. Cranford was already the head coach at Fenwick from 2006-2012, and he was an assistant there from 1998-2005. After he left Fenwick in 2012, he was the coach at Loveland for six years. In his first year there, he led the team to a 15-0 record and a Division II state championship.
Running backs Connor Schmuelling and Adam Rucker, who combined for more than 800 rushing yards last season, appear to be back.
McNicholas
2023: 6-6, made Division IV, Region 16 quarterfinals
Head coach: Mike Orlando
Returning players: QB Braden Bobo, RB Caleb Naumann, WR/DB Nate Colyer, LB Blaize Voelker, DL Bo Tobin
Outlook: McNicholas was great in 2023. The Rockets scored 161 points and allowed just 94 in conference games. They lost to Badin 38-35 in the last game of the regular season, narrowly avoiding a three-way tie for the best record in the GCL-Coed with them, Badin and Alter all finishing at 4-1.
The Rockets return their star quarterback, Braden Bobo, who threw for 28 touchdowns to seven interceptions in 2023. Their leading rusher Caleb Naumann will also return, but the team will need breakout performers in the receiving corps as their four leading receivers by yards have all graduated. On defense, they lose four of five leading tacklers, but return impact players like Blaize Voelker (83 tackles, 2.0 sacks in 2023), Bo Tobin (4.5 sacks) and Nate Colyer (five interceptions).
Note: All stats are from the GCL-Coed website .
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: GCL-Coed football preview: Conference title could be up for grabs as Badin rebuilds
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