Announcement
From The GAZETTE By Adam Ferrise, Special To The GAZETTE
YORK TWP. — All there was on Buckeye’s football field were smiles, hugs, chest-bumps and primal screams.
How could there not be?
The Bucks started the season winless after three games but battled back.
Buckeye entered Friday in the hunt for the Patriot Athletic Conference Stars Division title with Keystone and Wellington ahead of them.
But one night changed all of that as the Bucks rolled Keystone 21-6 and got help from Brookside, which beat the Dukes.
With Wellington getting upset by the Cardinals 14-7, the Bucks are in the driver’s seat and can win the division outright by beating the Cardinals next week.
“It’s amazing,” Buckeye senior tailback Cory Reisner said. “We came out 0-3 and not feeling that great about ourselves, but we came back strong. Now we have a chance to win the PAC by ourselves.”
Buckeye had a number of key injuries in its first three games, which coach Billy Burke said was one reason for the rough start.
“The kids have worked so hard,” he said. “I felt so bad the first couple of games the hard work didn’t pay off. But we just kept fighting and persevering and it paid off.”
Behind a front five that dominated the line of scrimmage, Reisner rumbled all over Keystone’s stellar defense for a career-high 250 yards and two touchdowns, including a 91-yard TD run in the second quarter.
Reisner accumulated the fourth-highest rushing total in school history for a game.
“Obviously, he means a lot to us,” Burke said. “He goes out and plays so hard. He was pretty good, but the offensive line who was opening holes for him are pretty good, too.
“Once they finally got back and together, that’s when we started getting on a roll. When we have a solid and consistent offensive line we took off.”
After an interception by Buckeye safety Michael Cullin at the 9-yard line, the Bucks line opened up a huge hole for Reisner.
One snap after the pick, Reisner broke off his 91-yard touchdown, which proved to be the defining moment of the contest.
“Buckeye’s line is big and strong and they have great athletes running behind them,” Keystone coach Don Clairico said. “The thing about playing them is you have to be perfect all the time. You get one guy out of position on one play and they’ll take it to the house.”
The Bucks were just as stellar on defense. They recorded three interceptions — two by Darrin Read — recovered a fumble and only allowed one touchdown in four Keystone trips to the red zone.
Most impressive was how they held Keystone star running back Shane Robinson to just 62 rushing yards and forced Keystone to out of there comfort zone.
“Our offensive line said they couldn’t move their defensive line so we had to go to the passing game a little more,” Clarico said. “They have some big studs.”
Burke said he couldn’t completely enjoy the win because there is still one more game to win.
“It’s like a golfer going up to the 18th green with a two-stroke lead,” he said. “You want to hole the two-foot putt and not two-putt. That’s the situation we’re in: We want to do it right.”
Ferrise may be reached at wp.medina-gazette.com or sports@ohio.net.
