Undeafeated vs undefeated. Needless to say, this is the showdown that everyone has been waiting for. If you like football, go to this game.
In the last week of the regular season Nelsonville-York (9-0) travels to Athens (9-0) Friday night in a clash that will determine the Tri-Valley Conference Ohio division championship and also go a long way in determining playoff seeding.
For Athens, it is all about beating Nelsonville. The Bulldogs have lost to the Buckeyes by one point each of the past two years. In both games, Nelsonville staged fourth-quarter comebacks and Athens missed an extra point that could have tied the contest.
Head coach Ryan Adams echoed the sentiments being felt around the program.
"What means more to use than anything else is just to knock off the Buckeyes and try to get this monkey off our back that we’ve been battling for the past three years," he said.
If Athens is going to get the victory, they will have to figure out how to slow down Nelsonville's dynamic offense (45 ppg), and score on a defense that is giving up less than 6 points a game.
“Our defense needs to play high-motor football and fly around to the ball," Adams said. "I think the team that makes the fewest mistakes, as far as turnovers and offensive execution go, will certainly have the upper hand in the game."
Adams said Athens has faced offenses with passing and running games that measure up to Nelsonville's, but never a team that has done both so well.
"I think Galipolis has a stronger running game and Warren might have a better passing game but neither one of those teams had the other element in their offense," Adams said. "Nelsonville may not be as good at running or passing as those two teams but they do both very well, and certainly well enough to keep you off balance."
Anchoring Nelsonville's balanced attack is a duo of seniors, quarterback Nathan Dean and running back Dustin Young.
Young has rushed for 1,574 yards and 25 touchdowns while Dean has thrown for 1,571 yards and 14 scores.
Athens has their own offensive star in senior running back DeVon Sharp. He has rushed for 1,185 yards and 22 touchdowns, in addition to a receiving score and even a pssing td.
Adams said he thinks Sharp and the rest of the offense will have some success against the Buckeyes defense but that it will be a challenge to slow down Dean and Young.
"I think eventually our offense is going to be effective against their defense," Adams said. "What I think is going to be interesting is how our defense plays against their offense."
Athens defense has been their strength all year long, but is certainly facing a new challenge.
There are plenty of highly anticipated matchups to watch, and it should be an extremely competitive game.
"You’re looking at almost two mirror images of each other. It’s going to be an interesting scenario and a great game of football in Athens county," Adams said.
