Zanesville Blue Devils win seventh straight in rivalry against Newark Wildcats
By: Caleb McCleskey, Noah Bowman, Shane Scalfaro
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NEWARK, Ohio (WOUB) — On the opening day of the season, the Zanesville Blue Devils beat the Newark Wildcats 40-14. With the first game of the season being a rivalry, the Wildcats had the opportunity to show out in front of their home crowd against the Blue Devils. The rivalry between these two teams brings up the tale of the “Nok Nerk” game going back decades with Zanesville winning the majority of the games.
For the first kickoff of the game, the Wildcats were receiving the ball which then led to a fumble allowing the Blue Devils getting the first possession of the game. By the end of the first quarter, the Wildcats found themselves in a 0-14 hole as the Blue Devils were capitalizing off their turnovers.
In the second quarter, the Blue Devils showed no sign of slowing down as their offense was dominating the Wildcat defense. With 4:06 left in the second quarter, the Blue Devils were able to pick off a critical interception allowing them to get to the Wildcats 17-yard line.
Seconds later, Drew Doyle found himself in the endzone, but Newark was able to block their extra point. For the game Doyle rushed for 148 yards and was able to give the Blue Devils 2 touchdowns.
At the end of the first half, the Blue Devils were leading the Wildcats 40-14. After halftime adjustments and revisions, the Wildcat defense was able to slow down the Blue Devils offense for the first time in the game. But the Blue Devil Defense were able to return the favor, making the third quarter scoreless for both teams. Going 6 minutes into the fourth quarter, neither team still was able to score, but Newark did not want to disappoint their home crowd for what the game had already unfolded. With less than 5 minutes to go in the game, Steele Meister was able to get the Wildcats one last score before the game came to a close. For the game, Steele Meister threw for 101 yards and ran for 1 touchdown.
At the end of the fourth quarter, the Blue Devils beat the Wildcats 40-14. Even with Newark losing the game to Zanesville, the tradition of the “Nok Nerk” game lives on.