Announcement
From The GAZETTE By Chad Grant Special to The Gazette
COLUMBIA STATION — A good running back knows the names of the guys who open the holes up for him.
Buckeye junior Cory Reisner can recite his linemen’s names without even a second thought.
The big boys opened huge holes as the Bucks scorched Columbia 34-14 in a Patriot Athletic Conference cross divisional game Friday.
Reisner racked up a career-high 252 yards and five touchdowns behind a line that dominated the entire game.
“I have been saying all year that (the offensive line) is what we were going to hang our hat on,” said Buckeye coach Billy Burke, whose ballclub is 3-4, 3-1. “And the last few weeks, we have been putting up a lot of running yards and scoring a lot of points.”
Buckeye’s running game totaled 359 yards on 56 carries and converted 20 first downs.
“We wanted to pound the ball down their throats,” Reisner said. “We knew we could handle them up front and the line did an excellent job.”
Cody Carrow, Dan Novotny, Cody Muhek, Josh Varney, Jake Wuensch and Kelton Keller made sure the Bucks did just that.
Even when Columbia (3-4, 2-2) offered resistance, the 5-foot-10, 160-pound Reisner run through tackles and finished strong.
“He’s a self-starter,” Burke said. “He’s a self-motivator. All we have to do is set up a game and he is ready to rock-n-roll.”
Overshadowed by the performance of Buckeye’s feature back was the play of its stingy defense.
The Bucks picked off Columbia quarterback Matt Jarrell (10-of-27, 68 yards) three times and held the Raiders to 158 yards of total offense.
“All week in practice we have been stressing defense,” Buckeye safety Michael Cullin said. “We knew they wanted to pass, and if we shut down the run, we could force them to pass. That gave us the chance to get some picks.”
Cullin picked off two of Jarrell’s miscues, while Darrin Boulton snagged the third.
But the Bucks’ biggest defensive stand came on the ground. They led 28-14 midway through the third quarter and Columbia had a first-and-goal at the Buckeye 3.
The Bucks’ defense stopped four straight running attempts by the Raiders, including three consecutive tries inside the 1.
“That was crazy,” Novotny said. “The crowd really picked up and we knew they were going to go up the middle. Our tackles dove into the ground and we didn’t let them get anything.”
The two tackles stuffing up the middle were Carrow and Muhek, who provided 505 pounds of bulk.
“I told them that this is the kind of things that people write books about,” Burke said. “That always takes place. It is real hard to hold somebody four plays from 1 yard.”
Grant may be reached at wp.medina-gazette.com or sports@ohio.net.
