By Craig Dunn
Logan Daily News

LOGAN — Logan coach Dale Amyx said it often in recent years: a rivalry cannot exist between two teams if one dominates the other.

So now it can be said: Logan vs. Lancaster is officially a football rivalry.

The Chieftains and Golden Gales, who have opened their respective seasons against one another since 2004, do so again Friday (7:30 p.m. kickoff) at Lancaster High School’s Fulton Field.
One thing’s different this time, though: it’s the Chiefs who are coming off a season-opening win over the Gales, not vice-versa.

After dropping each game from 2004 to 2007, the Purple & White christened new Logan Chieftain Stadium by dominating the Gales 35-10 last August.

“They’ve been real successful against us for years and years, and we finally got them… and it wasn’t that we just got them, but we got them pretty good,” Amyx said.

Indeed. It marked Logan’s first varsity football victory over a Lancaster squad in 17 games since 1945 as well as the Chiefs’ first win home win over a Gales football team since 1935.

“Now it’s a rivalry,” Lancaster coach Rob Carpenter told Amyx after last season’s game.

Game on.

“We still want to beat them. That’s how we feel about them every year,” Amyx said. “That’s a goal for us. It may have got to the point (for the Gales) that ‘we beat (the Chiefs) every year, ho-hum.’ “

If that was ever the case — well, no more. It’s fair to say Logan’s 25-point victory a year ago was a wake-up call for the Gales.

“Now that we’ve beaten them, they’re wanting revenge,” Amyx said. “They want us. I keep hearing all that stuff up that way. That’s good. It means a big crowd and everybody will be there. And we’ll be there ready, too.”

After losing to Logan, the Gales won a couple games before losing to Ohio Capital Conference Ohio Division foes Pickering-ton Central, Gahanna and Grove City. They rallied to win their final four games to finish 6-4, but barely missed the eighth and final Division I Region 3 playoff berth.

That loss to Logan in essence knocked Lancaster out of the playoffs. Amyx thus expects the Gales, who dealt with their share of injuries last season, to come out loaded for bear Friday night at Fulton Field.

“They’re strong and physical like always, and back to their wing-T (offense), which could give us some problems,” he pointed out. “They’re not throwing the ball much — I think they’re more of a run-oriented team — so it’s going to be a big key for us trying to stop the run.

“When you play a wing-T team, you have to expect them to run most of the time,” he added. “We’re planning some different schemes. They’re a lot bigger than we are all the way across the line, but that’s something we’ve dealt with before.”

That shouldn’t be as much of a factor on offense given the Chiefs’ spread style of play.

“We’re not going to line up and go toe-to-toe with them,” Amyx noted. “We’ll try to make (the Gales) defense the whole field.”

However, defense was — and still is — a question mark for the Purple & White entering the 2009 season. If the Gales try to run the ball down the Chiefs’ collective throats — and Lancaster’s offensive line averages 245 pounds per man — that will figure immensely into Friday’s clash.

“I thought we played well on defense (last Friday against Sheridan),” Amyx pointed out, “but Sheridan and Lancaster are two different teams. Sheridan’s a younger team this year and Lancaster’s big up front.

“I think our defense is starting to improve,” he added, “but I think it will be a situation where our offense carries our defense for a few weeks until we get things figured out (on defense).”

That said, expect Logan quarterback Patrick Angle to also be a factor in some of the Chiefs’ defensive schemes Friday night.

In the past, the Chiefs not only readied for the season but geared a lot of their preparation solely toward the Gales — sometimes to the point of obsessing with them — and Amyx admitted there were times that backfired. They backed off on that approach last season.

“Anytime you start off with a win, that first game’s always important,” he said. “I can think of seasons where we didn’t (beat Lancaster) and still went on to 9-1, 8-2 (seasons). It’s always good to get that win if you can. It’s a big confidence builder.

“But having said all that, I’m not basing everything on one game,” he added. “It’s one game. It’s a non-league game, and it would be good for playoff points, confidence and all that, but I’m not basing everything on one game.

“It’s a long season, and if for some reason you don’t get over that hurdle or you don’t win it, you’ve got to regroup, get back, get after it and go after those other games.”

Chiefs/Gales on ONN: Television viewers state-wide will get a chance to see the Logan-Lancaster grid rivalry. The Ohio News Network (ONN) will carry the game as “Ohio’s Big Game” at 10 p.m. Friday and 12:30 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. Saturday. It will not be shown live. Chieftain fans can see the game on Time-Warner channel 100 in Logan and Nelsonville TV Cable channel 63.

Frosh, JVs to open seasons: Logan begins its freshman season at 5:30 p.m. today with a home game against the Gales and the junior varsity Chiefs host Lancaster at 10 a.m. Saturday. Both of those games are in Logan Chieftain Stadium.