Week 3
Location: Glouster Memorial Stadium, Glouster, Ohio
Coaches: Trimble - Phil Faires, Nelsonville-York - Dave Boston Jr.
Series Record: NYHS 24 THS 12 Ties 2
Joe Higgins
Messenger Staff Writer 9/9/07
Defense wins championships...and apparently Nelsonville-York/Trimble rivalry games. That is, defense and a dramatic fourth-quarter drive by the Tomcats wins Nelsonville-York/Trimble rivalry games.
After trailing by six points for much of the game, Trimble scored the game-tying touchdown and a senior came up big by nailing the extra-point to win the game and create history. No other Tomcat team had beaten Nelsonville-York in three out of four games, until Saturday night's 7-6 final.
"It's just great. I knew we'd have to play our best game and that's what it took," said THS coach Phil Faires, "We had to play a great game against a great Nelsonville team. One of the best victories we've ever had."
Considered an underdog in multiple facets of the game, the Tomcats showed why records never matter when these two teams match up. Nelsonville-York came in at 2-0 while Trimble was 0-2 but with the fans in full force and so much history between the two schools, the Bucks and 'Cats always put on a show.
The two teams played a game of field position throughout the first quarter as both clubs had four possessions of the football without the benefit of a score. Nelsonville-York also boasted the only first down tallied in the frame. Aside from a solid showing of special teams play from both sides, the highlight of the period came on a pass play at the 43-yard line that Scott Cunningham picked off and returned to the 32
Building off of that play, the Buckeyes rang in the second quarter in proper fashion. A few run plays were dampened by a delay-of-game penalty, setting up a 4th-and-10 at the 16-yard line. Undeterred, Michael Barrick connected with Mark Campbell on a slant down to the 3-yard line for a first-and-goal. One play later, Zach Talbert punched it in for the lead at the 8:52 mark. Trimble's defense stopped the two-point conversion run cold to hold the score at 6-0. The lack of the kicking game would later come back to haunt the Buckeyes.
Trimble had an opportunity to answer right back but faltered inside the five-yard line. Trimble's big play came on second down when Isaac Standley tossed one up to his receivers but a player from both schools came down with it. Nelsonville-York's Cunningham and Trimble's Chris Runyon came down with possession of the ball and by rule was given to the Tomcats at the 11-yard line. An illegal procedure penalty on fourth down pushed Trimble back five yards and the Buckeye defense stepped up to cause a turnover-on-downs.
On Nelsonville-York's next possession, Derek Arnold broke out a 43-yard rush to get the ball to midfield but the Buckeye offense would stall, giving possession back to the home team. Trimble had its own troubles getting the ball past midfield as a sack from Austin McDonald would bring the half to a close with the Buckeyes still ahead, 6-0.
Nelsonville-York's second possession of the second half was dominated by the 'Cats. First, Barrick was brought down for a sack and an eight-yard loss by Brandon Keith and then Charles Faires intercepted Barrick on a screen pass.
Trimble owned the ball for the rest of the third quarter and worked its way back into the red zone. The Buckeyes' defense showed its stuff once more, stopping the drive at the two-yard line and causing a turnover on downs as Standley's keeper was stopped just short on fourth down.
In the fourth quarter, Trimble recovered a Barrick fumble at the 50-yard line, setting the stage for the late-game drama.
On 4th-and-one at the 39, Scott Bycofski came up big with a rush to convert the first down. On the next play, Standley went to the air and Arnold skied to pick off the pass, only to come down out of bounds. With second life, Trimble was still facing the clock as well as the Buckeye defense.
On 3rd-and-six from the 20, a roughing-the-passer call was made on the Buckeyes, setting up 1st-and-goal at the 10. Two identical plays were called where Standley would roll out of the pocket and try to hit a receiver in the end zone. Two incompletions resulted. The third time proved to be the charm though as Standley connected with Adam Mulford at the back edge of the end zone with just 22 seconds left in the game.
Standley then crossed himself before setting up to attempt the PAT. A good snap and hold was made as Standley booted the football and watched it sail like a low line drive over the goal posts for the go-ahead point.
Faires said, "Adam Mulford said he'd get open and he did. He's been injured all year, he's still gimping around right now but he made the catch right there. Isaac made a great throw. We ran the same play three times in a row so our line did a great job too."Defensively, both teams were stellar as Nelsonville-York only gained 132 yards on offense and Trimble amassed just 131 yards."All the coaches had a good defensive plan. We wanted to stop Arnold and make someone else beat us," said Faires. "I think we stopped their bread and butter. Without our defense coming through, we don't have a chance."He added, "This gives our kids confidence. You gotta play with confidence. That's gonna do nothing but makes us better right there."
The Buckeyes will try to regroup with a home contest against Crooksville while Trimble will look to build off of this win with a home date against Symmes Valley on Friday.