Wk 5: Bexley (2-2) @ Nelsonville-York (3-1) Thurs.

[noreply66]

BX on their own 40

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BX on NYs 38

[Run baby run]

Buckeye defense is stout

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BX 1st down at the 26

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BX 1st down at the NY 13

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BX scores

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26/13 miss xpt

[Glousterite]

Wow. Bexley onside kick received by Bexley.

[noreply66]

BX goes to the NY 38 1st down

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1st at NYs 28

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1st down at NYs 16

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4th down at the NY 11

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NY holds

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that is all she wrote 26/13

[Buck Nut]

Nice win Bucks! Richards was all over the field. On to Meigs!

[Buck Nut]

Athens Messenger
By: Eric Decker

NELSONVILLE - Football on Thursday usually comes with a price these days. For the fans, it usually means scouring through the internet in order to figure out a way to watch the NFL. For Nelsonville-York this week though, it was about being forced to prepare on short rest to go to battle. Either way, it’s all about how we respond.

The Buckeyes (4-1) faced a ton of adversity on Thursday night but were seemingly able to come out on top in almost every opportunity in the team’s 26-13 win over Bexley (2-3). Gavin Richards guided the offensive attack with 161 yards on 25 carries and three scores in the win. He would also add 47 receiving yards in the win.


"We sort of got in our jumbo package there a little bit and thought we had a mismatch. He just runs hard, very seldom does the first guy bring him down," Rusty Richards, the head coach of Nelsonville-York said about the running game and Richards' three touchdown day. "He's a football player."

Nelsonville-York's defense would only allow one touchdown on the night and force three turnovers with Richards taking charge on that side of the ball too, grabbing a team-high 13 tackles and snagging an interception. Austin Gautier would add 12 tackles while Caeleb Layton had 10.

"We had to go back to more of a three-man front and some different coverages. I thought we did pretty good job," Richards said after the win when asked about what worked so well on the defensive side of the ball. "It's a big D3 school from Columbus and we just kept grinding. It wasn't pretty, but a win is a win."

The Buckeyes opened the night with intentions to establish dominance in the run game. They would do that, driving all the way down the field on their first possession of the game. The drive would ultimately result in nothing as Nelsonville-York was stumped inside the five-yard line.

As the Buckeyes did all night though, they responded.

First, the defensive unit completely shut the Lions down, driving them back to their own one-yard line and forcing a punt. On the ensuing punt, Landen Inman would grab the ball on the 37 yard line and break a litany of tackles en route to the endzone for the opening score of the night.

On the very next drive, Richards would grab his interception.

Shortly after, the Lions would get the ball back and seemingly get back into the game, well, for a few seconds.

Bexley would complete a long pass with the receiver breaking a tackle and only seeing turf in front of him. Logan Meek would chase the receiver down the entire field, forcing a fumble five yards before the endzone. Alec Thopmson would jump on the ball to give possession to the Buckeyes.

Something would eventually go in the Lions favor. At the start of the second quarter, a pass from Makhi Williams intended for Bailey Phillips bounced off the receivers face mask and sputtered up in the air. Henry Hondroulis would grab the loose ball and return it for the score, tying the game up at seven apiece.

As the theme of the night tells you, the Buckeyes would respond. Almost immediately.

Thompson would take the ensuing kick-off and run it back all the way to the opposing 25 yard line. A few plays later, Richards barreled up the middle for his first score of the game.

Following an interception from Inman in Nelsonville-York’s territory, Richards punched it in once again a few minutes later to make it a 20-7 game heading into the locker room.

Coming out of the halftime break with a two-score lead, the Buckeyes clearly made it an effort to grind the clock out with the ground game. After stunting Bexley once again, Nelsonville-York would grind out a 14-play, 74-yard drive that went into the fourth quarter. The drive would end with a one-yard score from Richards to give himself the hat-trick on the night.

Bexley would finally score its first offensive touchdown with just over 6 minutes left in the contest when Jackson Frey went up the middle for a short score, making it a 13-point game.

The Lions would recover the ensuing onside kick but be stopped after, essentially ending the game.

Starting off 4-1 on the year, the Buckeyes kick off conference play by traveling out to Meigs next week.

"Like I tell them every week, let's go 1-0. If we go 1-0 every week, we'll put more paint on the wall," Richards said when asked to assess his team heading into Tri-Valley Conference play. "I feel like we're quite a bit better than we were first week, which most teams should be. Got some positive momentum going and that's where we want to be heading into league play.”