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Wellston, N-Y face off again with TVC-Ohio, playoffs at stake
PAUL
BOGGS
Brown News Service
WELLSTON - This year's
annual week eight football matchup between the Nelsonville-York Buckeyes and
the Wellston Golden Rockets takes place on - of all days - Friday
the 13th.
However, in recent years, the better luck has been with the Buckeyes, the
three-time defending Tri-Valley Conference Ohio Division champions.
But, will this Friday the 13th be the lucky day for the Rockets in their
quest to unseat the Buckeyes as division titleholders?
The winner of Friday's affair sure has the inside track, as Wellston travels
to Nelsonville-York with both TVC-Ohio and playoff implications on the line.
Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at Boston Field in Nelsonville.
In one of the most important games in Southeast Ohio every year, Wellston and
Nelsonville-York are meeting - once again - with plenty at stake.
Both squads have won four games in a row, as both last lost in week three.
The Buckeyes enter at 6-1 and Wellston at 5-2, but both are a pivotal 2-0 in
the TVC-Ohio. Beginning with the 2000 season, the winner of this battle has
gone on to capture the league championship.
The Bucks, before the last three crowns, were winners in 2000 before Wellston
won back-to-back bouts and TVC-Ohio titles in 2001 and 2002.
In addition to the league race, the outcome also impacts the playoff chances
of both clubs.
Nelsonville-York, which has also made three straight Division V, Region 19
postseason appearances, currently sits fourth in Region 19 following the
latest release of the Ohio High School Athletic Association computer ratings.
Wellston, meanwhile, which qualified for the Division IV, Region 15 playoffs
two years ago, finds itself fifth in Region 15 this week.
The top eight teams in each region qualify for the postseason with the top
four in each region earning first-round home tilts.
According to www.joeeitel.com, Wellston controls its own destiny towards a
playoff berth.
However, Rocket head coach Heath Hinton knows that the road to a division
title - and any playoff site - goes through Nelsonville-York.
If the playoffs began this week, the Buckeyes would be hosting on the new
artificial surface of the hallowed Boston Field.
Hinton and his team are used to the road, as the Rockets are playing their
third straight road game and fifth in six weeks.
Furthermore, Boston Field has not been friendly to the Rockets, as Wellston
has won just twice in Nelsonville in 20 years (1986 and 2002).
The Blue and Gold came close in both 2000 (47-46) and 2004 (13-8), but fell
short in the final moments both times.
"We should be getting
used to an hour or so bus ride," said Hinton, whose Rockets won at Meigs
(16-12) and Belpre (34-13) in the last two weeks. "It's going to be
crucial for us to go over there and handle the environment and that
adversity. We need to understand what their crowd is going to be like, how
fired up their team is going to be and how fast they are going to play.
Hopefully, we can match their intensity and speed on the field."
He also understands that the Buckeyes are the favorite, and that being league
champions means defeating the three-time league champs on their home turf.
"We're the underdogs and everybody kind of understands that," he
said. "Hopefully, we'll embrace it and we'll play a little looser. If
you want to win the league, you have to beat Nelsonville-York. No one has
done it in three years and I don't know the last time they lost a league
game. Coach (Dave) Boston and his staff do a great job of preparing for the
league not only during the season, but also the winter. They're a top-notch
program because of how hard their kids work and how well their coaches coach.
It's going to be hard to win over there, but there's always that one
time."
For the Buckeyes, they hope "that one time" is not Friday the 13th.
Since entering the TVC in 1970, Nelsonville-York has claimed 16 league crowns
in football.
Already the first school to three-peat in the division, the Orange and Brown
aim to add to their rich history with a fourth straight TVC title.
"It's never been done before in the history of the league, so our kids
understand the importance of that," said Nelsonville-York head coach
Dave Boston. "Our seniors know what is in front of them - to be the
first class ever to win the league four straight times. But winning the
league, outside of winning all of our games, is our top goal every year. We
feel like our non-league schedule prepares us, both mentally and physically,
every year for the league."
Under the direction of Boston, and four-year starting quarterback Jay
Edwards, the Buckeyes are a perfect 17-for-17 in league contests.
Nelsonville-York last lost a league bout at Belpre in 2002.
This season, Nelsonville-York has already chalked up key road victories at
Vinton County (32-13) and Meigs (36-19).
A win over Wellston means that only Belpre and Alexander stands in its way
toward four championships in four years. Belpre is 0-2 in the division, and
Nelsonville-York has never lost to Athens County neighbor Alexander.
The key to the Buckeyes' success in division play has been their defense,
which has held Wellston to 25 points in the last three meetings.
Led by its linebacking corps, Nelsonville-York is known for its active,
aggressive and attacking 5-3 unit. Look for the Buckeyes to try and force
turnovers, be opportunistic around the football and force the Rockets into
poor field position.
"Those guys (Buckeyes) fire off the ball and come after you on
defense," said Hinton. "It's a total onslaught - defensive line,
linebackers and defensive backs. I told our kids that if they smell blood, or
if they smell fear, they'll just come after you more. They usually like to
blitz when you're in 2nd-and-long or 3rd-and-long, so we have to minimize or
stay out of those situations."
In order to avoid such predicaments, Wellston must win the war along the
lines, and get its best athletes - senior quarterback Jake Walburn and
sophomore halfback Matt Lockard - the ball in space.
"It's an old saying, but defense wins championships," said Boston.
"We pride ourselves on being aggressive and swarming to the football.
Wellston has good size up front, they'll try to establish (senior fullback
Scott) Baldwin and they have some nice athletes that can make big plays,
especially (Jake) Walburn and (Matt) Lockard. We have to be on our toes, read
our keys, stay at home and not overpursue. We have to be smart, fundamentally
sound and not get caught up in the misdirection or get out of position. You
can't make mistakes against a good team like Wellston. Coach (Heath) Hinton
does a nice job of preparing them, it will be a tremendous test for us."
The Buckeyes are known for their physical fronts and, on offense, a
smashmouth power-based running attack.
In addition to anchoring the defense as linebackers, seniors Edwards and Bear
Lewis lead the N-Y ground assault.
Hinton admitted that even with the Rockets' size and strength, the Buckeyes
"statwise, are bigger than us."
"They have big, strong kids and they have some great athletes that hurt
you in many ways," said Hinton of the Buckeyes. "Like every offense
and defense, they play well when their offensive and defensive lines are
playing well. Offensively, they just push you around and blow you out of the
water. They do a top-notch job of running their styles - both on offense
and defense."
Either way, Hinton knows a win at Nelsonville-York will be difficult. But, he
said he always looks forward to games such as Friday's.
Big games that Boston's squad is already used to - and has won before.
"Wellston is a good team, and if we think we can overlook them for a
minute, then we're dead wrong," he said. "There's been two or three
years where we've won that they were expected to beat us. We know what's at
stake, our kids know the caliber of team they are about to face and it just
comes down to lining up and making the fewest amount of mistakes."
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