Since the week six loss at Logan, Athens has needed a win every week to stay in playoff contention.
This week is no different, but this weeks opponent, Nelsonville-York, adds even more urgency.
“There won’t be any settling in these types of games,” coach Ryan Adams said. “It’s gonna be on for four straight quarters.”
Nelsonville-York (7-2, 5-0 TVC Ohio) and Athens (7-2, 5-0 TVC Ohio) come into the season’s culmination with identical records. Athens has won its last three games, Nelsonville-York its last six.
The Kroner Trophy is one of many honors at stake in this year’s showdown. The winner of Friday’s game will be the conference champion and will most likely (not guaranteed in Athens’ case) make the playoffs.
The winning players will be able to cherish the memory and over-exaggerate their role in the triumph as years go by. The losers will feel the sting of a season that will seem lost, and of the taunting at county fairs from the opponent.
With so much riding on this game, nerves will be a factor.
“There’s a lot riding on being able to control and contain different emotions, without a doubt,” Adams said. “We’re gonna take a very business-like approach to things.”
Nelsonville-York is by far the most impressive team Athens will have played this season. The Buckeyes have allowed 12 total points in five conference games, zero in the first half. In fact, they haven’t been scored upon since the fourth quarter of a 47-6 blowout against Meigs four weeks ago.
“They’re very good,” offensive coordinator Nathan White said. “Physical everywhere, D-line’s very good, their linebackers are super aggressive and the back end is as good as we’ve seen. We certainly respect that program and get that it’s a big challenge. That being said, we’re not gonna change anything and hopefully our best is good enough.”
On the other hand, Athens ranks first in the conference in points per game, so Nelsonville-York hasn’t seen an offense as good as Athens in a while, either. Even if the Buckeyes do present a huge challenge, Adams believes the Bulldogs can leverage the Buckeyes dominance thus far into an advantage.
“Nobody’s put points on the board in the first half and nobody’s hung with them, let alone get them behind,” Adams said. “Those are the kinds of situations you want to put them in—something that they’re not familiar with — and that’s what we’re gonna be geared up to try to do.”
The Athens offense has been the overwhelming strength of the team for most of the season. Quarterback Brendan Sano has been a large reason for the offensive success, and he is fully recovered from last week’s bout with strep throat.
Sano’s performance Friday night will determine the answers to many of the questions surrounding Friday’s matchup with Nelsonville-York, and Adams is content with depending on his senior leader.
“Brendan’s a really loose kid in terms of his emotions and not getting too bottled up,” Adams said. “I don’t worry about the Brendan Sano’s of the world.”
