Announcement
YORK TWP. — At times Friday, it looked like the only thing that could stop the Buckeye football team against Revere was the Bucks themselves. If not for cramping issues — it seemed like it happened almost every play in the second half — Buckeye put together a very impressive 35-14 season-opening win over the Minutemen.
Nathan Scott ran for 96 yards on 12 carries and scored three touchdowns, while Trevor Thome had seven catches for 111 yards and a touchdown and added a two-point conversion. Defensively, Kyle Svagerko (2 sacks), Josh England (2) and Jack Schroeder (1, fumble recovery) stymied Revere quarterback A.J. Hughes at almost every stop. Aside from when Buckeye was trading yards for time off the clock in the fourth quarter, the Minutemen didn’t do much when the game was in question. Revere had 227 yards of offense, but most of it came deep in the fourth quarter with the game long decided.
“I couldn’t be more thrilled,” Bucks coach Mark Pinzone said. “We certainly had our problems with health on the defensive line, which is also our offensive line. We definitely had the cramping issues, and we’re concerned about Brad Calta with his hand, but I couldn’t be happier with what the guys did.” What the guys did for Pinzone was take out close to 10 months of frustration on Revere. A squad that made the playoffs last season by winning its last eight regular-season games, Buckeye had a rude ending to the season when Bowling Green wiped it up in a 41-7 first-round playoff beating. Players like Scott and Thome stewed all offseason, waiting to get back at Revere.
When the Minutemen stepped on the field, the Bucks never really let off the pedal. “That played a huge factor coming in for our goals and determinations,” Scott said. “Getting blown out in the first round two years in a row really sucks for us. We really take that to heart as we’re reaching for new things this year.” One of the other things the squad took to heart was the fact the Minutemen rolled Buckeye 55-7 and 43-21 in the last two openers. With that on their minds, the Bucks came out and built a 14-7 halftime lead. “This one was a big one for us,” Thome said. “Two years ago, they came here with our new coaching staff. We were excited and they hit us hard and pounded us. Last year, we were feeling good again and they smashed us again. This was a huge win and a confidence booster for us.”
That came in large part because of a patient Buckeye team that took advantage of Revere mistakes. The first came on a fumble from Devin Olsafsky that Thome eventually turned into a 1-yard touchdown run to open the scoring. The next came at the start of the third quarter, when a 10-yard punt by Nick Johnson gave Buckeye the ball on the Revere 30-yard line. Five plays later, Scott went in from 4 yards to make the score 20-7. That’s the way the Bucks rolled Friday, as their scoring drives took up 2:12, 1:11, 1:32, 2:56 and 1:52.
“It was great to show them how much we’ve improved,” two-way lineman Schroeder said. “I just hope Rocky River was watching that because they can’t stop that, either.” Note: While he didn’t have a triple-double, Roberto Lebron did get in the books for Revere. The junior carried the ball one time for 3 yards in garbage time.
