Blackburn column: Newark-Zanesville rivalry needed a jolt. The upstart Wildcats delivered it.

The chants reverberated loud and clear from the opposing student section as time wound down on Friday night at Zanesville's John D. Sulsberger Memorial Stadium.

"This is our house!"

The students, coaches and players from Newark no doubt relished a rare win against their longtime archrivals. They shared hugs on the field afterward that resembled those after a playoff win, rather than the season opener.

When you've had your teeth kicked in as long as Newark, with no winning seasons in 18 years, you've earned the right to celebrate after such a victory. Wildcats quarterback Steele Meister, who accounted for four touchdowns, called it his biggest win in football.

More importantly, even if Zanesville fans won't admit it, it brought a little bit of the rivalry back.

The Wildcats and Blue Devils have been playing football for more than a century, with many deciding Central Ohio League titles in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. It was not until the 2000s when things took a one-sided turn.

The general dislike between the two towns, with Zanesville always feeling its neighbors to north look down on it, is genuine. Based on 20 or so years of covering the rivalry, and hearing plenty of stories from the folks of yesteryear, there have been many instances when Newark fans embraced rubbing Zanesville's nose in a loss.

One sticks out to me.

I was on press row at the Ohio Expo Center Coliseum during the 2008 Division I district basketball finals. The Blue Devils had delivered a sound defeat to the Cats in the regular season. But a crowd of around 7,000 saw Zanesville's double-digit lead dissipate in the second half that Saturday morning.

Those there will never forget the way Newark fans swarmed the court after the comeback win, only to be run off by Ohio State Highway Patrolmen. It was one of those things that will always stick in the craw of Blue Devil fans.

The Greg Avery-led Cats ended with the state championship under coach Jeff Quackenbush that year, and Zanesville has yet to field a team of that caliber since. And Newark has since controlled the rivalry, especially in the last decade.

Yet, never has the series been as one-sided as the headlock the Blue Devils have enjoyed in the last 15 years in football, with 13 wins in 15 meetings. Few have been decided by single digits, as former coach Chad Grandstaff never let the Cats breathe in his 15 years.

Newark's win in 2016, a year after Zanesville reached the Division III state semifinals, was against one of the worst Zanesville teams this century.

Newark went 18 years between wins at Sulsberger, which is almost unfathomable considering Newark is twice the size of Zanesville in population and enrollment. Even at a so-called "basketball school," that figure has never made sense.

I have a feeling it's going to be much more competitive in the future, especially if Wildcats coach Bill Franks is as bullish on the future as he claims. Friday's on-field product was certainly improved from recent years, although we'll see how he fares next year without one of the better quarterbacks in the area.

Now both teams are opposite ends of the spectrum entering Week 2.

The Cats have always seemed to be regrouping, but now they're in attack mode with Mount Vernon coming to White Field. Zanesville, accustomed to being 1-0, hosts Division II Louisville while licking its wounds and hoping to get healthier. The Leopards, from the highly respected Federal League, are coming off a 42-21 loss to New Philadelphia.

Second-year Zanesville coach T.J. Langermeier mostly blamed his team's youth and lack of Friday night experience as reasons for the loss. He easily could have attributed it to glaring breakdowns in the secondary, untimely penalties and a woefully inefficient second-half passing game, or simply lauded Meister's quality passing.

In any case, Zanesville's losing streak has reached six, the skid dating back to a 33-7 loss to Licking Valley in Week 6 of last season. Langermeier said the game against Louisville is one his team can win, but only if it plays with fewer mistakes.

Fighting mental mistakes has been a recurring theme of Blue Devil football, long before Langermeier took command. It was the primary reason that Newark left town with its horns blowing. The Blue Devils have always been able to do enough to keep their rivals in their rearview.

Suddenly, that doesn't seem so imminent.

sblackbu@gannett.com; Twitter: @SamBlackburnTR

This article originally appeared on Zanesville Times Recorder: Blackburn column: Newark-Zanesville rivalry got much-needed jolt