Announcement
From the GAZETTE By Kenneth L. Coleman, Special to The Gazette
YORK TWP. — Cory Reisner played the type of game that most players only dream about during ninth period on game day. The senior running back rushed for 302 yards and five touchdowns on only 10 carries in Buckeye’s 62-21 Patriot Athletic Conference win over Columbia. Reisner fell just short of Buckeye’s single-game rushing record of 306 yards set by Dustin Supan. And it didn’t take long for the senior to get going as he scored on the first offensive play of the game to set the tone.
Reisner took the opening snap 64 yards and went untouched to put the Bucks (3-4, 3-1) ahead before their fans had settled in their seats. “As soon as I took the first run in, I knew that our line could manhandle them,” Reisner said. “Our line dominated all night and Columbia had no answers.” In three career games against the Raiders (1-6, 13), Reisner’s stat line reads 51 carries for 616 yards and 11 touchdowns. Reisner’s scoring runs were 64, 42, 38, 56 and 62 yards, respectively.
“Cory lit us up,” Columbia coach Jason Ward said. “It is a struggle to stop him and we couldn’t stop their counter all night, that’s really it.” When Reisner wasn’t getting the calls, Ryan McCormick racked up the yards for the Bucks. The jun ior tailback finished with 145 yards on 10 carries and three scores (on 35, 40, and 46-yard trots). As a team, the Bucks racked up 494 yards on the ground to beat their previous record of 485 yards.
The Bucks built a 28-0 lead in the first quarter and reached halftime up 42-0. Refusing to roll over, the Raiders showed heart in the third quarter. Their 12play drive was capped when Brandon Heidinger (25 carries, 58 yards) put Columbia on the board with 1-yard plunge. Two fumbles on consecutive possessions kept the Bucks scoreless in the third, and the Raiders took the momentum into the final quarter. They then struck on a 24yard scoring pass from John Banyasz to Brandon Clark to make it 42-14.
But the gap would get no tighter as McCormick and Reisner each found the end zone again. Reisner’s fifth score of the night stirred up some controversy. Ahead 56-21 with four seconds left, Buckeye coach Billy Burke called Reisner’s number rather than having quarterback Mike Kelly take a knee to end the game. Reisner took the handoff 62 yards for the meaning-less, and to many, unnecessary score. “He was just proving a point,” Ward said of Burke’s decision. “If that’s how he wants to prove his point, then fine. Our day will come.” Burke regretted the controversial call after the game. “I’m very disappointed in myself,” he said. “I shouldn’t have done that.” Coleman may be reached at sports@ohio.net.
