Announcement
Buckeye Strong Start; Rolls Black River In PAC
10/8/2016 - YORK TWP. — Style points are for losers.
The Buckeye football team did what it does best Friday in a pivotal Patriot Athletic Conference Stars Division game against archrival Black River. The Bucks ran jet sweep with Justin Canedy, they ran counter trey with Michael Doerge, they played stout, mistake-free defense and they even got a crowd-wooing night from punter Dominick Kriz. A fast start and late field goal by Richard Gatt were enough, as the Bucks held on 17-7 and beat the reeling Pirates (4-3, 0-2) at Edwin Steingass Field for the first time in eight years.
“This helps us a lot because tonight showed what we can do,” All-Gazette Bucks linebacker Dustin McCullough said. “It’s going to bring the team together, and we’re going to keep on going.” Buckeye (6-1, 2-0), which led 14-0 just 7:57 into the game, got 24 carries for 188 yards and a 79-yard touchdown from slotback Canedy and 92 yards on 24 totes by Doerge, who had minus-1 yard passing at halftime before finishing with 41. The most important drive did not end in a touchdown, however, as the Bucks were up 14-7 early in the fourth quarter. After softening the perimeter of the Black River defense, Buckeye threw in a wrinkle and ran jets with Canedy between the tackles for key yardage. The drive ended short of paydirt 11 plays and 82 yards later, but Gatt’s 28-yard field goal was true with 8:13 to go. With the way the Bucks were playing defensively, Black River had little chance at a comeback. “We were missing some blocks,” Canedy said. “(The Pirates) were coming hard off the edge. It was kind of hard to run to the outside, so I just kept running up the middle.”
Also key in the stalemate middle quarters was Kriz, who started at guard and defensive tackle. Kriz shanked his first punt for 24 yards, but three of his final four landed inside the 20-yard line, and the one that didn’t rolled into the end zone but still had a 46-yard net. The 6-foot, 240-pound junior went 51, 66, 52 over his final three punts, and two of the three were caught in the air by Black River returner Garrett Hord. Plagued by the poor field position, the Pirates did not reach the red zone over the final 31:47. “I’ve been punting since I was 5, and last year I just wasn’t able to,” Kriz said. “This year, they gave me a shot and I’ve been doing what I can. “I just think, ‘Wow,’ because I can usually do that pregame and it doesn’t come off that well (in a game). To finally get those off in a game, it just feels great.”
Surprising Black River with pure speed, Buckeye got on the board when Doerge dropped back to pass and scrambled right for an 18-yard score. Canedy then got the edge and broke an ankle tackle near midfield on his way to the house 2:46 later. The Pirates responded by getting their counter run game going, as Riley Gibbs (8 carries, 79 yards) had carries of 12, 16 and 17 yards and Black River reached scoring range. Fullback Jacob Campbell, who had a quiet night with 13 carries for 43 yards and had to carry multiple defenders just to get miniscule gains, bulled in from the 1 to make the score 14-7 in the second quarter. Another strong defensive performance kept the Pirates around for the next 20 minutes.
Linebacker Curtis Roupe was everywhere, while end Nick Wagner and linebackers Matthew Potter and Cory Hamilton factored in on tackles for loss. Black River’s biggest problem was nine penalties for 70 yards, as holding calls in particular killed momentum whenever the fast-paced wing-T offense strung together 5- to 10-yard plays. “We hurt ourselves, and it’s been the case all year,” Roupe said. “Like Coach (Al Young) always says, ‘Nobody really stops us. We stop ourselves.’ Those are mental mistakes we need to fix.”
Buckeye also had defensive standouts, as McCullough stuffed quarterback Mike Hazlett in the open field on fourth down in the fourth quarter, Isaiah Williams, Jacob Kohler, Cody Jackson and Brent Medvec (fumble recovery) had sacks and sophomore Logan Schulz added two tackles for loss. The Bucks are allowing 11.0 points during their six-game winning streak, continuing to win the old-fashioned way with ball control and defense. The road doesn’t get any easier with Firelands (6-1, 2-0) and Keystone (6-1, 2-0) next up. “This really means a lot to me personally and to the entire team because of all the injuries and all the adversity we’ve faced,” Kriz said. “After losing (last year’s) seniors, after losing three of our starters (to injury), this means the world.”
Contact Albert Grindle at (330) 721-4043 or agrindle@medina-gazette.com.
