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Grant Wallace and Nick Corvo each rushed for more than 100 yards and the defense dominated all but four minutes, leading Highland to a 44-6 non-league victory over Buckeye on a muggy 89-degree night.
The defending Division II, Region 4 champion Hornets (1-1), who were coming off a disheartening 21-20 loss to Wooster, rushed for 396 yards despite a mercy-rule clock over the final 21:32.
“It was great. It was a good confidence booster to get us back on the right track,” two-way lineman Tyler Frederick said. “We really need to pick it up from here and not have mental breakdowns like (against Wooster) and just keep going.”
Corvo (8 carries, 116 yards), a 6-foot, 225-pound wrecking ball, rushed for 50-, 27- and 3-yard scores, with the first coming on a right-side hole made by Frederick and tackle David Leach that was as wide as state Route 94.
The slashing Wallace had 11 carries for 142 yards and scored on a 19-yarder after breaking three tackles, while quarterback Tyler Zelinski (3-for-12, 34 yards) threw a TD to Coltin Kinsey on a tunnel screen and rushed for another.
Highland went old school without starting quarterback Blake Phelps (dizziness) and called power plays using pulling backside guards as lead blockers for most of the game.
“Honestly, we really don’t have a complex offense,” the 6-2, 265-pound Frederick said. “There’s a lot of options off it, but we run it all day in practice and that’s all we do until we master it.”
Buckeye (0-2), which has been outscored 86-27 in two games, struggled in the trenches and finished with 150 yards total offense. The Bucks rotated Trevor Thome, Nathan Scott and Kyle Svagerko at running back — the trio combined for 82 yards on 17 attempts — but the bigger issue was poor blocking by their wide receivers rendered jet sweeps useless.
Protection and drops were factors contributing to scrambling quarterback Nate Polidori (6 carries, 48 yards) finishing 3-for-12 for just 12 yards, but Buckeye put everything together in the second quarter with an 11-play, 77-yard drive that was capped by an 11-yard TD pass from Polidori to Scott on third down.
“Our kids did a nice job and made plays (on the scoring drive),” Bucks coach Mark Pinzone said. “We’d like to have some more of them. I’d like to be taller and better-looking, but that didn’t happen, either.”
The key sequence came with Highland leading 21-6 midway through the second quarter.
Zelinski dropped back on his own 12-yard line and threw across the middle. The attempt was tipped at the line of scrimmage and into the arms of linebacker Jaret Yohman, who rumbled to the 3.
It was the Bucks’ golden opportunity to get back into the game, but they couldn’t put up any points. Highland linebacker Keith Williams stuffed Thome for a 3-yard loss, Hornets corner Zack Levine snuffed Scott for a 2-yard loss and Polidori threw an incomplete pass. Brenden McBride’s 27-yard field goal attempt then went wide right.
Highland wasted little time capitalizing with a seven-play, 80-yard drive that ended in a Zelinski 13-yard TD run.
“That just boosted us up,” Williams said. “Our coach (defensive coordinator Kevin Bowers) got into our faces and said, ‘It’s a mindset,’ like he always says. We came down there and we all looked at each other and said, ‘We’re not going to give it to them,’ so we stopped them.”
The second half was little more than window dressing, as Corvo and Wallace scored TDs and the Hornets’ second-string defense stonewalled quarterback Michael Doerge for a late safety.
Highland outgained Buckeye 162-34 over the final 24 minutes.
“We did great tonight,” said Williams, whose defense also received a fumble recovery from Logan Kosik and two tackles for loss from Tony Svoboda. “We knew all of their plays. Our coaches coached us really well.”
Contact Albert Grindle at (330) 721-4043 or agrindle@medina-gazette.com.
