Buckeyes win battle against Tomcats
By: Jack Zwiezinski
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GLOUSTER, Ohio (WOUB) – The Nelsonville-York Buckeyes traveled to Glouster for their long-standing tradition of opening the season against the rival Trimble Tomcats. Tonight marked the 56th meeting between the two teams, and the Buckeyes came away with the win, 34-8.
The Buckeyes started the game with the ball and pushed down the field. The Tomcats managed to hold them and force a turnover on downs in their own territory. Trimble took the ball and strung together a drive to send it into Nelsonville-York’s half of the field before Trimble’s defense brought its opponent to a standstill. The first quarter ended with both teams holding each other scoreless.
Nelsonville-York opened the second quarter with the ball. Trimble forced a fumble shortly after and recovered the ball, placing it on Nelsonville-York’s 20-yard line. Trimble capitalized on the placement to bring itself closer to the end zone, before FB Luke Orsborne punched the ball in through contact to put the first points on the board. The Tomcats weren’t done there, handing it off to RB Trevor Gowen, who slipped around the outside for the 2-point conversion to put Trimble up 8-0.
Halfway through the second quarter, Nelsonville-York drove down the field in retaliation, handing the ball off to RB Walker Stone. Stone sped down the sideline through contact to put 6 on the board for the Buckeyes. Nelsonville-York handed the ball back to Stone, who threaded the needle through the offensive line for an additional 2 points to tie the game 8-8.
Trimble was unable to do anything on its next drive, putting the ball back in Nelsonville-York’s hands. Buckeye RB Austin Gautier marched the team down the field to the 20-yard line before the ball was knocked out of his hands by a Trimble defender who recovered the fumble. The Buckeyes held the Tomcats out of their territory and got the ball back, but couldn’t do anything and ended the half 8-8.
The third quarter opened with the Tomcats receiving the ball, but were held by flags and the Buckeyes’ defense. Nelsonville-York started its first drive of the second half slowly, strung together by Gautier who planted the team at the 5-yard line. Gautier tiptoed along the sideline and punched the ball in for 6 more points, putting Nelsonville-York up 15-8 halfway through the third quarter.
The Tomcats’ next drive led to a quick snap that fell out of RB/WR Paul Sharp’s hands, allowing the Buckeyes to recover. Nelsonville-York put its foot on the gas from here out and carried the momentum of their previous drive to take the victory 34-8.