The Athens Bulldogs (9-1) are coming off a heartbreaking loss to their rival, the Nelsonville-York Buckeyes Friday at home. With the loss, it was projected that the Bulldogs would miss a chance at playing in the postseason altogether. They are now ranked second in the Tri-Valley Conference with a 5-1 record, right behind the undefeated Buckeyes.
Luckily for the fans, as well as the team and coaching staff, the Bulldogs now have an opponent this upcoming Friday in the form of the Buckeye Valley Barons (8-2). The last game the Barons played was against the Bexley Lions, where they won 49-35 while on the road. In terms of their football program, Buckeye Valley is quite similar to Athens in being very consistent from year to year.
Last season, the Barons had a 6-5 overall record, which included an early postseason exit at the hands of the mighty Steubenville Big Reds. Coincidentally, the Bulldogs also had their season cut short when they faced the Big Reds at Harding Stadium in 2024.
In the past five seasons, Buckeye Valley has made an appearance in the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) Football State Tournament four times, having made it in 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024.
Like Athens, the Barons have not been an elite team-to-beat type of school every year, but have shown themselves to be competitive despite facing opponents that were alike in style of play or just flat-out superior teams.
Based on how both of these teams have performed in the regular season, this is a matchup that will put both the Bulldogs and the Barons in an interesting game of chess to see which squad will come out on top.
The Bulldogs’ Head Coach Nathan White and the Barons’ Head Coach Grant Georgic will need to expertly plan how they’ll execute strategies defensively and offensively so that they each have the best opportunity for a victory.
The same goes for players for Athens and Buckeye Valley as well. White will look to upperclassmen players like senior quarterback Daniel Heightland, senior running back Anthony Sutton and junior wide receiver Weston Wheatley for offensive firepower. He will also lean on defensive leaders like sophomore linebacker Tremayne Scott to perform at their best
Versus Nelsonville-York, the Bulldogs were at their worst offensively compared to the rest of their season. It was the first game they didn’t even score over 20 points. Communication between the players on the field will be crucial in order to come away with a playoff win.
Ultimately, Friday’s playoff game will come down to which team wants to win the game more and keep their season alive.
