High School Football: Badin pulls away late to beat Alter in GCL Coed clash

“We knew it was going to be a dog fight,” Grayson said. “People talk about pressure being on us because we’ve got everything to lose. But once you’ve played in big games and big moments, it’s not pressure — pressure makes diamonds. That’s what we do.”

Badin and Alter were tied 14-14 midway through the third quarter and both teams had just exchanged missed field goals.

Momentum teetered until quarterback Colt Emerson found Larkyn King for an 80-yard touchdown strike down the sideline with 4:55 left to play.

Moments later, Grayson ripped off a 62-yard touchdown run that sent the home stands surging.

“When I broke it, I was kind of mad but kind of happy,” Grayson said with a grin. “I was cramping, kind of dizzy — it felt like forever. I was just ready to get to the end zone.”

Alter wasn’t finished, driving inside Badin territory with under 3 minutes remaining. But Grayson stepped in front of a deep throw to shut the door.

“They were driving the ball right at us,” Grayson said. “But our D-line put pressure on the quarterback. He tossed it up, and when you toss it up like that, that’s not a 50-50 ball — that’s a 100% ball for our defense.”

Alter scored first on a 1-yard plunge from Jake Botti. Later in the first quarter, Badin jumped to a 14-7 lead on a 4-yard reverse by James Brink and a 73-yard burst from Hudson Heid.

In the third quarter, Noah Jones tied it for Alter with a 2-yard score at the 7:01 mark.

From there, the defensive tension mounted. Badin’s Emmett Sackenheim came up with a momentum-saving interception, and both kickers misfired to keep the game deadlocked until King’s explosive reception.

“We had to get momentum back,” Badin coach Nick Yordy said. “I said it on the headset — we needed a spark. That deep ball to LT changed everything.”

With the win, Badin (9-0, 4-0 GCL Coed) secured its 31st straight league victory and clinched at least a share of its eighth consecutive GCL Coed title.

“We don’t talk about the streaks,” Yordy said. “We’ll worry about that when I’m retired and sitting at the lake. Right now it’s one week at a time. We told the kids our playoffs started this week, and they didn’t flinch.”

Alter coach Ed Domsitz said the difference came down to execution under pressure.

“We wanted it to come down to the fourth quarter — and it did,” Domsitz said. “But when you play a team like Badin, you’ve got to finish. They made the plays in the fourth quarter. We didn’t.”

Grayson didn’t hesitate when asked about what comes next.

“We celebrate this tonight,” he said. “Then we erase it. Next play mentality — we move on to McNick.”

Badin hosts McNicholas next Friday, while Alter (6-3, 3-1 GCL Coed) travels to Chaminade Julienne.