Pre-season expectations are to football teams as kryptonite is to Superman.
High school teams tasked with learning and maturing while facing extreme pressure to succeed might fall short no matter how talented they are. But if the first two games of the season are any indication, the Nelsonville-York Buckeyes will not be one of those teams.
Thanks to strong leadership from senior quarterback Nathan Dean and senior running back Dustin Young, the Buckeyes have started out 2-0 this season. The team has outscored its opposition 76-18.
Though Tri-Valley Conference play does not start until the end of September, those early wins indicate that the Buckeyes can handle the pressure of once again being the conference favorite.
In fact, they might be even stronger than last season. Young has amassed more than 450 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground, including a four-touchdown burst in the first half of Nelsonville-York’s season opener against the Trimble Tomcats.
“To be 2-0 is a tremendous feeling at the beginning of the season,” Young said. “But as a team, we have to put those games behind us and take every team just as serious as the last.”
Although those gaudy statistics are a reason why the Buckeyes have won their first two contests, the lack of such numbers for their opponents has been equally impressive. Nelsonville-York’s defense has had a lot of room for error thanks to Young and the rest of the Buckeyes’ offense.
So far, the defense has allowed only three touchdowns on the season. Trimble senior fullback and reigning all-TVC-Hocking selection Austin Keith managed only 22 yards rushing on 14 carries in the season opener.
Nelsonville-York’s 2-0 start is encouraging, but Young knows the challenges his team faces in the weeks ahead.
Three of the Buckeyes’ five conference games this season will be played on the road. That includes the final two games of the regular season against conference opponents Alexander and Athens.
mt051510@ohiou.edu
