Three area football teams have already guaranteed themselves a .500 season.
The Athens Bulldogs, Alexander Spartans and Nelsonville-York Buckeyes have a combined record of 15-0 and will put their undefeated marks on the line Friday night.
All three squads play in the Tri-Valley Conference Ohio Division with three other teams, leaving half the division undefeated.
Inevitably, that will change as the teams start divisional play this week; however, none of the unbeaten teams meets until Week 8 when Athens hosts Alexander.
This week, the Bulldogs (5-0) host the Meigs Marauders (4-1) to begin divisional play. Meigs’ sole loss was to Dawson-Bryant by a score of 43-7. Athens beat Dawson-Bryant 48-14, so the similar records might not be indicative of an equal matchup.
Still, coach Ryan Adams does not see any reason to take the contest lightly.
“(Meigs) Coach (Mike) Chancey is the dean of the TVC-Ohio. He’s been around a long time, and he’s going to get as much out of his talent as anyone else will,” Adams said. “We’re expecting a very good football game.”
Despite being undefeated, Athens is still looking to put together a complete game.
“We have not played well offensively and executed for four quarters yet,” Adams said. “We’re hoping to do that Friday as we enter conference play and the tougher part of our schedule.”
Coach Dave Boston and Nelsonville-York (5-0) also begin division play this week at home with a matchup against the Wellston Rockets (3-2). The Buckeyes are the reigning TVC-Ohio champions and have won every game this season by at least 20 points.
Wellston’s rushing attack will present a new challenge for Nelsonville-York, led by senior running back Jaylen Prater, who has verbally committed to Northwestern.
“Right now, they’re an improved ball team. They’re clicking on all cylinders and they’ve beat some fine programs,” Boston said. “They’ve got a real nice back in the Prater kid. He’s an extremely big and fast physical kid. We’re going to have to key on him and shut down their running game.”
The Spartans (5-0) and coach Sean Arno take on the Vinton County Vikings (1-4) at home for their conference opener. Alexander has been a dominant team so far, with their closest game being a 28-0 blowout against River Valley last week. They have registered two shutouts this year.
Arno said league play will be more difficult.
“It’s different because it’s league, and these kids know each other well,” he said. “They’ve played against each other for years.”
On the other side of the conference, the Trimble Tomcats (2-2) continue TVC-Hocking play with a road trip to Waterford (3-2).
They have momentum coming off two straight wins and a 67-0 thrashing of Miller last week, but coach Phil Faires said the matchup with Waterford is usually pretty competitive.
“We expect a dog fight,” he said. “They always play us pretty tough.”
As TVC-Ohio play continues, each week has increasingly important playoff implications.
as506610@ohiou.edu
