Of course, opening against a pair of defending state champions — Division II La Salle and D-I St. Xavier — can lead to stumbling out of the gate.
Hamilton coach Chad Murphy doesn’t see much of a difference between this year’s Colerain team and those that have dominated the Greater Miami Conference for close to 20 years.
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“I think they’re still very similar in a lot of ways,” Murphy said. “They play great defense, and they run the football. They’re still a very good football team.”
The Cardinals have shaken off those season-opening losses to win their first two GMC games against Middletown and Sycamore by a combined 80-7 margin.
“I think we played, obviously, some really good teams in the first two games,” Colerain coach Tom Bolden said. “In the first one, we weren’t very good. Against St. Xavier, we played pretty well, but the last six minutes cost us. Those two opponents helped us get battle-tested and make us more prepared for league play.”
Colerain goes into Friday’s game ranked second in the conference in rushing offense, led by 5-foot-11, 210-pound junior running back-linebacker Ivan Pace Jr., whose five rushing touchdowns are tied for second in the GMC. Senior quarterback Gunnar Leyendecker leads the conference with a 157.9 passer rating.
The defense, anchored by 6-2, 236-pound senior linebacker Dan Bolden and his 6-2, 234-pound junior cousin, linebacker Luke Bolden, is second in the conference in average total yards allowed per game and first in rushing yards allowed and points allowed. Dan Bolden, the coach’s nephew, ranks third in the conference in tackles. Luke Bolden, the coach’s son, is fifth.
They’ve helped the Cardinals adjust to having some players go both ways.
“Our numbers are down somewhat, but we’ve got some kids who are really good athletes, and we figured it would make us that much better if we could get them on both sides of the ball,” said Tom Bolden, who’s gone back to his days at Northwest to find ways of making the approach work. “We’re figuring out how to handle that, and I think that’s helped us the last couple of weeks.”
The Bolden boys also have helped the platoon of new faces on defense round quickly into form.
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“We lost our entire secondary, two linebackers and our entire defensive front,” Tom Bolden said. “We lost eight kids and had three starters back, and one of them was really a half-starter. You lose eight or nine kids and you think, ‘Holy cow,’ but we’ve only give up 27 points in four games. We’ve been really, really impressed. We’re not very big up front from a defensive-line perspective, but we have strong, athletic and quick linebackers, and we’ve got some dudes in the backfield. We make up for it on the back end.”
The primary concern of Colerain’s defense this week is containing Khaliyal Sowell, Hamilton’s 5-10, 170-pound sophomore quarterback, and 5-9, 205-pound senior running back Maleek Jarrett, who also has five rushing touchdowns.
Murphy’s primary concern is getting a handle on the Big Blue’s turnover problems. Sowell’s six interceptions lead GMC quarterbacks and are part of the reason Hamilton is 1-3 overall and 1-1 in the GMC after a 32-7 loss last Friday at Mason.
“The biggest thing with us is to take care of us,” Murphy said. “Last week we drove the ball against Mason, but turned it over twice in the red zone. We’ve stopped ourselves more than the other team has stopped us. The biggest thing is getting us right and minimizing mistakes.”
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Murphy realizes those are part of the growing pains for a team relying on young players.
“(Sowell) has gotten better and better,” Murphy said. “We’re playing quite a few sophomores on offense and defense. It’s a very talented class. We’re excited about the future of these guys, but youth is a problem, whether it’s a rookie quarterback in the NFL or a true freshman kick returner at Miami.”
Hamilton last defeated Colerain in 1997. The Cardinals own a 16-game winning streak in the series.
Friday’s game
What: Colerain (2-2, 2-0 GMC) at Hamilton (1-3, 1-1 GMC), 7 p.m.
Where: Virgil Schwarm Stadium, 1165 Eaton Ave., Hamilton
Last meeting: Colerain won 42-8 in 2015
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