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10/13/2007
9:11:00 AM |
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Buckeyes keep
Wellston winless WELLSTON — The
Nelsonville-York Buckeyes ran away with the Friday night game against the
Wellston Rockets, literally. Nelsonville-York tainted
Senior Night for Wellston by posting 43 points on the scoreboard thanks in
large part to a running game that racked up 328 yards. Zach Talbert and Derek
Arnold paced the ground attack with a combined three touchdowns and 165 and
117 rushing yards respectively. Eight different Buckeyes carried the rock,
each tallying positive yards as Austin McDonald and Nick Hunter also
scampered for scores. “Our big guns stepped up.
Zach (Talbert) played outstanding, he ran with great authority and strength
and that’s what a fullback’s supposed to do,” said NYHS coach Dave Boston.
“Our 1-2 punch with Derek (Arnold), he came out and made the slashing cuts
and pulled off the big run for us tonight. It was just a great second-half
effort out of the Buckeyes tonight.” “We were able to bring in
some other backs tonight too. Scott Cunningham came in and did an outstanding
job. Austin McDonald stepped in there and scored and blocked real well for
us. We were real diverse in the backfield tonight.” Cunningham was coming off
an injury last week that forced him from the game against Meigs. However,
against Wellston, the senior looked very healthy, carrying the football four
times for 23 yards and a touchdown and returning to his usual ball-hawking
ways on defense. “Scott’s an outstanding
football player. He’s a tremendous worker, he plays tireless and been one our
team leaders this year. What a great asset he’s been to our program,” said
Boston. Defensively meanwhile, Nelsonville-York
shut down Wellston’s offense and held the Rockets to just three points — a
Matt Lockard field goal late in the second quarter. Lockard was the lone
bright spot in an offense that was held to 192 yards on 59 plays. The junior
ran for 122 yards on 19 carries and also threw for 72 yards as well. In the
statistical anomaly of the night, Lockard accounted for 194 yards, two more
yards than the team’s eventual total. The quarterback connected on all seven
of his passing attempts in the first quarter but was left wanting in the
second half, going 0-for-7 with an interception. His favorite target came
in the form of Jeff Matteson who caught four passes in the first quarter and
finished with seven catches and 59 yards. “They threw the ball real
well tonight. We’ve seen improvement in their game over the last couple
weeks,” said Boston. “Lockard’s a heck of an athlete and Jeff Matteson, we
knew he was an outstanding athlete and our secondary coaches and defensive
coordinator made a great transition at halftime and we pretty much shut them
down.” The halftime adjustments
allowed Nelsonville-York to hold Wellston’s offense to 27 yards in the third
quarter. The junior varsity players worked their way on to the field in the
fourth quarter, holding Wellston’s reserves to negative yardage. “I thought our kids came
out with a little more enthusiasm, a little more life and played like they’re
capable of playing,” said Boston. “Wellston’s been a first
quarter team, they play well for one quarter but then start tapering off in
the second quarter and they just haven’t been able to get it done in the
second half. We knew if we kept the pressure on them, we could take care of
business,” he added. “Take your hats off to their kids though, they played
their hearts out. Our kids, again, it was a great effort in the second half.” Nelsonville-York altered
the scoreboard first after a 0-0 first quarter by having Talbert pound in a
one-yard touchdown run. Two possessions later, the Buckeyes were back in the
end zone, this time on Cunningham’s two-yard dive. Wellston used a sustained
drive late in the second quarter to get in the red zone, coming away with the
field goal before halftime. In the third quarter,
McDonald earned his TD from a yard out then Arnold broke through a hole in
the defense and sprinted 63 yards for his score. Talbert added his second
six-pointer in the final frame while Hunter punched his ticket for six during
the junior varsity’s time on the field. Boston went on to talk
about the effort his reserve players gave. “Anytime you’re able to
work your young people in and get them varsity experience, its always a
feather in your program’s hat. You know, these kids stepped in tonight and
played outstanding defense tonight and even scored so we’re real proud of our
young people. The future looks bright at Nelsonville-York.” The immediate future
could be bright for the Buckeyes as well. Next week, Nelsonville-York hosts
Belpre in a Tri-Valley Conference Ohio Division match. Both teams are 3-0 in
division play with the winner clinching a share of the league title. After that game, the
Buckeyes will travel to Alexander and Belpre hosts Meigs in week 10. Should
either team win out, that squad will earn sole possession of the TVC-Ohio
championship and could be in line for a spot in the playoffs. |
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