TVC-Ohio Nelsonville-York (6-0) @ Alexander (5-1)

[O_town_ANIMAL]

down here at oak hill, we would love to play NY. good team. but were good to. hopefully we'll c ya around post season.

[FANOSPORTS]

down here at oak hill, we would love to play NY. good team. but were good to. hopefully we'll c ya around post season.

It's a possibility and if it does happen, Oak Hill will be hosting it, after N-Y loses to Athens & Ironton.

[NY BUCKS]

IVE SEEN NY AND ATHENS PLAY IN NO WAY ATHENS WINS WATCH AND SEE.

[NY BUCKS]

AS FOR OAK HILL.IT WOULD BE A GOOD MATCH UP.FOR ROUND 1.GO BUCKEYES

[buckman]

Hey Fanosports... why all the negativity? If you don't have anything positive to add to the thread, why not keep it to yourself? Kids on both sides work hard to excel, so why spend so much time denigrating NY?

I hope to see a good game and hope both teams come out healthy. May the best team win.

Go Bucks!!

[pbuck]

1 day away Bucks stay focused take it one game @ a time

[JumboT]

I look for the Buckeyes to win a close one but I will be rooting for Alexander to get the monkey off their backs. Go Sparty's.

[NYBuckeye96]

http://athensmessenger.com/articles/2009/10/08/sports/high_schools/doc4acde4d353553720953638.txt

Is this the Spartans year?

By KEVIN WISEMAN
Published: Thursday, October 8, 2009 10:05 AM EDT

The Alexander Spartans have their hands full on Friday, and not just because the Nelsonville-York Buckeyes bring a 6-0 record into Albany. There’s more than a little history going against them.

Coaches will want to dismiss it. Fans and former players for Alexander will agonize over it. Buckeye fans are always quick to remind everyone, in case you forgot.

In 37 all-time meetings, Alexander has never defeated Nelsonville-York. Not once. There was a tie, a 0-0 slugfest in 1974, but never a Buckeye defeat.

The Buckeyes are the big, bad bully on the block. The Spartans seem to play the role of the quiet kid at school that always has his lunch money stolen.

On one side, Alexander is fighting to do something that has never been done before. But on the other side, the Buckeyes are fighting to not let it happen.

Nelsonville-York is the definition of a football program. The Buckeyes churn out good players, winning seasons and league titles like it’s nothing. Alexander has always been the opposite, with two winning seasons since 1977. The Buckeyes have a state title in football in their corner. The Spartans have a state title too, but it came in volleyball.

But still, how does one high school manage to always beat another every year for nearly four decades?

Could this be the year that changes? The Spartans are in the middle of one of their best seasons in quite some time. At 5-1, they’ve already assured themselves they won’t have a losing season. Head coach Sean Arno is only the third coach ever in Albany to pull off that feat.

The Spartans have knocked some monkeys off their back under Arno. A 45-game TVC-Ohio losing streak ended in 2006 with a win over Belpre. In 2007, the Spartans beat Trimble and Wellston. Last year, they knocked off Vinton County for the first time since 1984.

But there is still a gorilla on Alexander’s back that’s bigger than Derek Arnold’s biceps. They might as well build a statue of Arno outside the football field if he somehow tosses the Nelsonville-York gorilla aside.

Matt Demosky, a 2007 graduate of Alexander, knows plenty about the streak. He said it didn’t negatively impact the Alexander teams he played on however.

“From a player standpoint and being a competitor of course I thought about the streak,” he said. “But it wasn’t a negative or a mental hurdle to jump over in my mind, but rather extra motivation to want to end the streak. I think every Alexander football player would be lying if they said they didn’t either think or talk about being the first team to beat the Buckeyes.”

Adding to the intrigue of the streak is the fact that the Spartans fair very well in almost every other sport against Nelsonville-York. Demosky is quick to point out he never lost to the Buckeyes in basketball or baseball in his four years.

“If we want to talk about a mental edge, I guess you could say we had one in baseball and basketball and they obviously had one in football. I was just glad to be apart of the rivalry because it was a fun experience and I’ll never forgot those heated battles.”

The Spartans have been close a few times. In ‘75 the Spartans were 9-0 heading into the Nelsonville-York game. The Buckeyes ruined the perfect season with a 12-6 win. In ‘76, Alexander went 7-1-2, with its only loss coming to Nelsonville-York, 14-8. In ‘95, a botched punt attempt in the end zone by Alexander gave the Buckeyes a late touchdown and a 20-14 escape of a win.

But since that game, the Buckeyes have won every contest by at least two touchdowns. It’s a long-running, one-sided series that has been short on drama.

Demosky said he doesn’t think talent is the issue as much as stability. Nelsonville-York has three coaches in its history. Demosky had three coaches in his four years of high school. But now that Arno is in his fifth year, the stability is taking hold.

“Arno in his fifth year is getting results,” he said. “Overall the players are bigger, faster, stronger and more dedicated to the program than in years past.”

Arno agrees. He downplayed using the streak as extra motivation for his team, but did say he has seen a change since his first season.

“I think our kids coming into it understand that they’ve been in the program for four years,” Arno said. “And that’s important to them. Because they don’t question ‘do I block this guy, do I block that guy?’ They understand who they block. They understand what their job is. They understand what their role is. That is consistency you don’t get in Alexander’s history. Alexander’s history is constant turnover.”

Nelsonville-York coach, and former Buckeye player, Dave Boston Jr. has seen both sides. He had a pair of winning seasons as coach of Alexander in the 1990s, but he never beat his alma mater. Boston also downplayed the significance the history of the series adds from the Buckeyes’ standpoint, but did say he was happy for Alexander’s successful start.

“It’s a great thing for Alexander, they’re hunting for a playoff opportunity and a league title and we are too,” he said. “That just heightens the game.”

While it would be hard to get someone associated with the Buckeyes to admit it in public, I’m willing to bet I know how they feel when it comes to dominating a county rival. Jackson has defeated Wellston 19 times in a row in football. I played in games nine, 10 and 11 of that streak for the Ironmen. Jackson might as well have never lost to Wellston as far as we were concerned. The message in our locker room every year was that losing to Wellston wasn’t an option. It wouldn’t happen on our watch.

It was one of our most pressure-packed games every year. We were considered heavy underdogs my senior year in 2001. Wellston brought almost its entire team back, led by one of its greatest players ever in tailback/linebacker Brad Young, who went on to play at Ohio University.

The pressure that night was immense. It wasn’t just any other game, we didn’t want to be responsible for the streak ending.

But it was staring us in the face, trailing 33-32 in the fourth quarter. But two Wellston turnovers turned into two late touchdowns for us. We won 44-33, overcoming a big game from Young. The sense of accomplishment was topped only by the sense of relief.

Two schools will be playing for more than just the playoffs and a league title Friday. Nelsonville-York wants to keep one of its greatest traditions going. The Spartans want new traditions immediately.

What exactly would a Spartan win mean for the community?

“It would be huge to say the least,” Demosky said. “I think I speak for the whole Alexander community when I say it would feel like the weight of the world would be lifted off the shoulders of the Spartans.”

[Nybucks70-80]

Go Bucks!
I hope the Sparty's come ready to play! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VInNWIHXz7w

[Orange and Brown]

Good story!!!!!
Sorry Sparty!!!! We are going to own ya for at least 3 more years

[FANOSPORTS]

Hey Fanosports... why all the negativity? If you don't have anything positive to add to the thread, why not keep it to yourself? Kids on both sides work hard to excel, so why spend so much time denigrating NY?

I hope to see a good game and hope both teams come out healthy. May the best team win.

Go Bucks!!

Hey, the Messenger article above sure as heck is more negative (even though it states facts) towards Alexander than I'll ever be against N-Y. Talk about kids reading things, heck if the Alex kids read this Messenger article they may not even want to show up.

(p.s. - Look at the posts above & below this, those are very positive posts aren't they.)

[buckeyeguy]

we are going to show alex why they wont beat us. why they never have, see when they get a good year going they tend to forget who we are.. WE ARE NY and were going to remind you these boys only need to remember one thing to win this game and that is REMEMBER WHO YOUR PLAYING FOR GO BUCKS yearly spankin sends alex to 5-2

alex 12

NY 49

[Orange and Brown]

Hey Fanosports... why all the negativity? If you don't have anything positive to add to the thread, why not keep it to yourself? Kids on both sides work hard to excel, so why spend so much time denigrating NY?

I hope to see a good game and hope both teams come out healthy. May the best team win.

Go Bucks!!

Hey, the Messenger article above sure as heck is more negative (even though it states facts) towards Alexander than I'll ever be against N-Y. Talk about kids reading things, heck if the Alex kids read this Messenger article they may not even want to show up.

(p.s. - Look at the posts above & below this, those are very positive posts aren't they.)

I do agree that there is no reason to pick on you when there are several posts that can be taken negitively, but it does seem like you have a real bone to pick with Nelsonville-York, not sure why or if some of us are just reading to much into your posts.

Really I don't care whats said as long as people are not calling kids out or putting them down. We all get carried away some times, but we all have to remember that we are talking about high school kids who are 14-18 years old! When the season is over they move on to the next event in there lives! Some people on this sight seem to have trouble doing that!!

[FANOSPORTS]

Hey Fanosports... why all the negativity? If you don't have anything positive to add to the thread, why not keep it to yourself? Kids on both sides work hard to excel, so why spend so much time denigrating NY?

I hope to see a good game and hope both teams come out healthy. May the best team win.

Go Bucks!!

Hey, the Messenger article above sure as heck is more negative (even though it states facts) towards Alexander than I'll ever be against N-Y. Talk about kids reading things, heck if the Alex kids read this Messenger article they may not even want to show up.

(p.s. - Look at the posts above & below this, those are very positive posts aren't they.)

I do agree that there is no reason to pick on you when there are several posts that can be taken negitively, but it does seem like you have a real bone to pick with Nelsonville-York, not sure why or if some of us are just reading to much into your posts.

Really I don't care whats said as long as people are not calling kids out or putting them down. We all get carried away some times, but we all have to remember that we are talking about high school kids who are 14-18 years old! When the season is over they move on to the next event in there lives! Some people on this sight seem to have trouble doing that!!

Agreed, I don't call kids out, put them down or even mention them (good or bad by name). I speak about the school's athletic teams as a whole and basically give my opinions on scores and potential outcomes of games in both the regular and postseason while not being biased and trying to be realistic so I do think some people are reading to much into my posts. Have a great day

[YOU'RE TIGER BAIT]

come on you buckeyes you, setting up a huge showdown week 9 in the tank.

[mr.dude2010]

IVE SEEN NY AND ATHENS PLAY IN NO WAY ATHENS WINS WATCH AND SEE.

athens has yet to play their best football. while they've done good, they havent hit the height of their potential yet. look for that week 8 against nelsonville, it should be a hell of a game.


nelsonville 34 alexander 14

[NY BUCKS]

NY NEEDS to STAY FOCUSED 1 GAME AT A TIME.
GET THE RUN going and NY STAYS UNBEATEN.
LETS GO BUCKEYES!!!!

[Rufus]

Looks like it's going to be a wet one. This game will come down to the running game. Both schools have excellent backs and turnovers will probably be the deciding factor.

[NYBucksDad]

It’s Football FRIDAY
Buckeye’s beat Alex in this game and it should be a close game, closer than many think. I do still have a soft spot in my heat for Alex and wish them the best BUCKEYE’S roll. I still have many friends and family that live in the Alexander School District and that attend Alex. Good luck I hope both teams stay injury free.
LET’S GO BUCKS

IT’S GAME DAY BOYS BUCKEYE FOOTBALL

[west siders]

NY looks to keep the streak against Alexander alive! This will be the 38th game between the two schools and NY has never lost to Alexander!


NY leads all-time series 36 wins, 0 losses, 1 tie
1972 Nelsonville-York (H) 14-0
1973 Nelsonville-York (A) 20-6
1974 Tie (H) 0-0
1975 Nelsonville-York (A) 12-6
1976 Nelsonville-York (H) 14-8
1977 Nelsonville-York (A) 14-8
1978 Nelsonville-York (H) 28-6
1979 Nelsonville-York (A) 40-0
1980 Nelsonville-York (H) 56-13
1981 Nelsonville-York (A) 50-6
1982 Nelsonville-York (H) 58-0
1983 Nelsonville-York (A) 26-7
1984 Nelsonville-York (H) 21-6
1985 Nelsonville-York (A) 54-14
1986 Nelsonville-York (H) 26-0
1987 Nelsonville-York (A) 46-0
1988 Nelsonville-York (H) 24-0
1989 Nelsonville-York (A) 46-0
1990 Nelsonville-York (H) 49-8
1991 Nelsonville-York (A) 33-8
1992 Nelsonville-York (H) 34-0
1993 Nelsonville-York (A) 35-16
1994 Nelsonville-York (H) 48-14
1995 Nelsonville-York (A) 20-14
1996 Nelsonville-York (H) 36-14
1997 Nelsonville-York (A) 41-0
1998 Nelsonville-York (H) 49-13
1999 Nelsonville-York (A) 35-14
2000 Nelsonville-York (H) 56-6
2001 Nelsonville-York (A) 30-0
2002 Nelsonville-York (H) 40-6
2003 Nelsonville-York (A) 40-13
2004 Nelsonville-York (H) 47-12
2005 Nelsonville-York (A) 46-22
2006 Nelsonville-York (H) 47-6
2007 Nelsonville-York (A) 26-13
2008 Nelsonville-York (H) 40-19

that is amazing but I think it ends today