NELSONVILLE — With temperatures outside really starting to drop, the heat is only getting amplified on the gridiron as the regular season barrels down towards its conclusion.
With just three weeks left in the regular season before the playoffs come around, teams and programs all around the state are simply fighting. Some for playoff points and position, others for the chance at a conference title. Either way, everyone is fighting for something at this point.
Looking outside of the postseason implications, teams are still battling for bragging rights. No matter who you line up against, there’s a personal pride aspect of this all that rises. That surely will be the case as we head towards an intra-county tilt for this week’s Messenger Game of the Week.
Going over to Dave Boston Field on Friday night, Nelsonville-York looks to improve its resume and stay undefeated in conference play when the program sees an Alexander team, who is fighting for its lives in terms of postseason chances, come into town for a Tri-Valley Conference-Ohio matchup. The Spartans (3-4, 1-3 TVC-Ohio) haven’t defeated Nelsonville-York (5-2, 3-0 TVC-Ohio) since the 2015 season.
Back fully in groove, the Buckeyes have done nothing but take care of business since the team’s upsetting loss to Waterford back in September.
Since then, the team is 2-0 in divisional games, outscoring its opponents 81-28 along the way. Impressively, Nelsonville-York is coming off a 39-14 victory over a then 5-1 Wellston team. The Buckeyes have scored at least 33 points four times this season
With the rivalry stakes being amplified due to the close proximity of the programs, Nelsonville-York should expect its biggest players to step up when the lights are brightest. The team has a litany of different options to do the job in an explosive, expansive offense.
Two weeks ago it was Landen Inman going off for five touchdowns, this previous contest Dakota Cunningham recorded three himself. With Cameron Sullivan showing signs of improvement under center, Walker Stone ready to go off for 100 yards at any time and Alec Thompson on the outside prepared to open up the defense in the blink of an eye.
The team has been incredibly stout this season on defense, allowing under 15 points in each of the past four weeks. The team has given up 15+ just twice this season. That could be a bad matchup for a Spartans team that has been all-or-nothing this year.
Most recently coming off a 40-0 drubbing over River Valley last week, Alexander has had a wide variance of scores. The Spartans have two games of 40+ points but have also been shut out three separate times as well.
Alexander will rely heavily on the legs of Isaac Waller, who has been an impressive workhorse back for the program. The team will absolutely need to find a way to get him going if they want to keep it close.
Sitting at 3-4 on the year, this game will mean so much more to Alexander and the hopes of keeping a season alive. Nelsonville-York is in the midst of another run at the divisional title, the Spartans on the other hand have to worry about finding a spot in the postseason.
It’ll undoubtedly be a tough task against a well-prepared, talented Buckeyes team but anything can happen on the gridiron. Especially when rivalry and emotions come into play.
Though looking at two different scenarios, both programs have something to fight for this week in an exciting Athens County showdown.
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