The Associated Press

 

Beating a team for one of the few times in the history of a rivalry is huge. Doing it while capturing a championship is even better.

That’s what the Albany Alexander Spartans did Friday with a 36-0 win against Nelsonville-York to clinch at least a share of the Tri-Valley Conference Ohio Division title. For the Spartans (7-1, 5-0), it’s their first championship in 19 years since winning the TVC-Hocking in 1996.

Alexander’s other league titles came in 1993 and 1975.

Maybe just as importantly, Alexander won for just the second time in the series, improving to 2-41-1 against the Buckeyes. Under second-year coach Alex Penrod, the Spartans are third in the Division V, Region 17 computer ratings.

Among other notable rivalry wins last week, Millbury Lake scored 35 unanswered points to down Pemberville Eastwood 49-14 for its first win in the series since 2000. The Flyers are 8-0 overall, 5-0 in the Northern Buckeye Conference and fourth in the Associated Press Division V state poll.

Also, Cincinnati Archbishop Moeller’s Matt Coughlin, a Michigan State commit, kicked two late field goals to give the Crusaders a 55-52 win against Cleveland St. Ignatius in a game played at Dublin Coffman High School. Moeller won against the Wildcats for the first time since they first met in the 1989 Division I state championship game.

Coughlin made a 36-yard field goal with 3:31 left in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 52-52. After St. Ignatius failed to convert on fourth down from its own 29, Coughlin kicked the winner from 26 yards with 10 seconds to go.

St. Ignatius led 38-14 late in the first half. Its quarterback, Dennis Grosel, passed for a school-record 456 yards and three touchdown and added three rushing touchdown. Moeller QB Thomas MacVittie had 475 yards passing yards with six TDs.

LONG TIME COMING: Crestline won for the first time in 25 games with a 36-32 victory over Fremont St. Joseph Central Catholic.

J.C. Clark had 132 yards on 26 carries and a touchdown, while JR Wolfe passed for a TD and ran for two more for Crestline, which hadn’t won since beating Greenwich South Central 28-22 on Sept. 13, 2013.

Toledo Rogers snapped a 19-game losing streak as Bryson Powell scored from the 1-yard line with 30 seconds remaining to lift his team to a 19-18 win against Toledo Scott. Powell also had a 6-yard TD run in the first half. Scott’s Adrian Lane returned an interception 99 yards for a touchdown for an 18-13 halftime, but Rogers rallied to avenge a 24-0 loss in 2014.

Another streak came to an end when Cincinnati Winton Woods blanked Cincinnati Elder 14-0, marking the first time the Panthers had been shut out in a regular season game since Sept. 28, 2007, in an 18-0 loss to Cincinnati St. Xavier.

FOOT NOTABLE: Jordan Leasure of Amanda-Clearcreek was busy and productive. He rushed for 263 yards on 29 carries and two touchdowns and caught a TD pass. He also had a two-point conversion, an interception, a fumble recovery and blocked a field-goal attempt in a 29-28 win over Circleville Logan Elm. . John Colangelo was Mr. Everywhere for Canton Central Catholic in the Crusaders’ 47-14 win against North Canton Hoover. He scored on a 33-yard run, a 48-yard interception return and an 88-yard kickoff return. . Daniel Bangura of Canal Winchester Harvest Prep needed only eight carries to gain 255 yards and three touchdowns in a 54-12 win over Grove City Christian. . Grafton Midview QB Dustin Crum returned after missing 2 1/2 games with a separated shoulder and threw for 312 yards and two TDs and rushed for 71 yards and another touchdown. . Chris Jones has put up big numbers for Cleveland Heights Lutheran West in the past two games, running for a combined 586 yards and 10 touchdowns. . Philip Dozier became Hamilton Badin’s all-time leading receiver in a 29-9 win over Dayton Chaminade Julienne. Dozier has 1,818 career yards.

MAKING GOOD: In Napoleon’s 18-15 win against Whitehouse Anthony Wayne, the Wildcats Layne Good returned a blocked punt 31 yards to set up the tying touchdown and two-point conversion with 2:05 left. Later, Good intercepted a pass and returned it 39 yards to the Anthony Wayne 6-yard line with 28 seconds to play, and 19 seconds later Logan Peckinpaugh hit an 18-yard field goal for the win.

RUNNING LOOSE: Jackson spread the wealth in a 47-6 win against Pomeroy Meigs. Five Ironmen rushed for at least 80 yards to help Jackson total 529 yards on the ground and 610 yards of total offense in the first meeting between the schools since 1982. Collin Massie led Jackson with 125 yards and a TD on 11 carries. . Athens’ Zacciah Saltzman rushed for 371 yards and four TDs on 44 carries, and also had three 2-point conversion runs in a 50-42 overtime victory at Wellston. He had the game-winning TD in overtime. The previous game, Saltzman had 304 yards and seven touchdowns in a 49-34 win over Pomeroy Meigs.

TAKE A BOW: Leipsic’s Nate Brecht rushed for 182 yards, had an 80-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and a 28-yard interception return for a score in a 22-7 win over Arlington. . The Hicksville defense had seven sacks, three interceptions and a pair of fumble recoveries in a 36-22 win over Haviland Wayne Trace. . Middletown Fenwick improved to 8-0 for the first time in school history with a 67-7 victory over St. Bernard Roger Bacon. . Jason Schultz, who suffered a broken jaw three weeks earlier, kicked a 43-yard field goal with nine seconds left to get Minster a 24-21 win over St. Henry.