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SULLIVAN TWP. — Buckeye offensive linemen Hunter Gray, Brad Calta, Bruce Barnby, Brenden Morrissey and Jack Schroeder may have well said, “Here it comes. Try to stop it,” every time they put their hands in the dirt.
The jet sweep looked like the best play in the history of football. School and MedinaCounty records fell all over the place because of it.
Averaging a ridiculous 13.7 yards per snap Friday, the Bucks featured the play made famous locally by the dynamite early-2000s Brunswick teams to dismantle archrival Black River 56-27 in Patriot Athletic Conference Stars Division action.
“It’s a great feeling, especially because of this rivalry we have here with Black River,” Buckeye slotback Nate Scott said. “It’s a great win, and hopefully we keep it going.”
The Bucks (5-2, 2-0), who beat the Pirates (3-4, 0-2) for the first time since 2009, racked up 548 yards total offense to break a 44-year-old school record (505 vs. Smithville) and covered 24 or more yards on seven of their eight touchdowns.
Everything coach Mark Pinzone’s team did offensively revolved around the jet sweep, be it handing off to Scott (11 carries, 179 yards, 2 TDs) or Trevor Thome (3, 40, TD), countering with quarterback Nate Poldori (7, 87, TD, 3-for-7, 157 yards, 3 TDs) or using play-action to find Thome (2 receptions, 131 yards, 2 TDs) or Austin Wredberg (1, 26, TD) for no-defender-in-sight touchdown passes.
The edge set by key blocking from fullback Kyle Svagerko and wide receiver Justin Lowry was there all night, as the first seven jet attempts went for 27, 31, 29, 26, 13, 20 and 15 yards — a tidy 23.0 average — and one TD apiece for Thome and Scott.
“You know what? That is a great play,” said Lowry, who also kicked four extra points. “Our offensive coordinator, Coach (Bill) Turner, he runs it really well and he makes sure we do everything right. It’s very effective.
“Scott ran hard, and it kept working for us. Coach Turner in the locker room, he said, ‘Hey, it’s working. We’re just going to keep on going until they stop it.”’
The Pirates never did.
Buckeye led 22-0 with 10:23 left in the first half by scoring on three of its first seven plays, which went for an amazing 217 yards. The highlight was a county-record 96-yard TD pass from Polidori to Thome that immediately followed a failed fourth-and-goal by Black River.
After turning the ball over on fourth-down snaps from the Buckeye 35-, 3-, and 34-yard lines earlier in the half, Black River finally avoided being skunked with 44 seconds left in the second quarter when quarterback Mike Hazlett found Dalton Toth (70 rushing yards, 64 receiving) for a 15-yard TD.
Almost like clockwork, however, Polidori directed a no-huddle attack and lofted a floater to Thome for a 35-yard score with three seconds to go before the Black River majorettes wooed the crowd with fire-tipped batons at halftime.
The way the night was going, the 29-7 lead was more than safe.
“It’s a nice sequence of plays that they run — it’s a nice package,” Pirates coach Al Young said. “Right now, they have the folks that you need to run that package, and that’s what makes them effective. Their skill guys right now are better than our skill guys.”
Now in major trouble in the Division V, Region 15 playoff chase, the offense of defending division tri-champion Black River couldn’t keep up with its inept defense, which allowed 50 points for the fourth time this season.
Wingback David Bell rushed for 100 yards, with the longest of his rugged 23 carries checking in at only 10. Toth added 70 yards on 13 totes and fullbacks Colin Filak (13 carries, 39 yards, TD) and Corey Bartolic (8, 36, TD) combined for 75 yards and two TDs, but Black River failed to convert seven of its first nine third downs and was intercepted by Tom Harrington on its 8-yard line.
Only seven of Black River’s 64 rushing attempts went for more than 10 yards — the longest was 17 — and 49 of its 85 passing yards came on a Toth reception down the Pirates sideline in the third quarter.
“We played hard and we played physical,” said Buckeye linebacker Dustin McCullough, who had 2½ tackles for loss, including a sack.
Buckeye had no such problems offensively and boosted its scoring average to 53.0 during its five-game win streak. The Stars Division title and a D-III, Region 8 playoff berth are in sight for the boys from York, Liverpool and Litchfield townships.
If Friday is any indication, they’ll use jets to reach those destinations.
“Each play kept motivating us more and more,” Scott said. “We just wanted to go out there and hand it to them.”
Contact Albert Grindle at (330) 721-4043 or agrindle@medina-gazette.com.
Buckeye 56, Black River 27
