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From the GAZETTE: By Jason P. Skoda, Staff Writer
Although never proven, there is a belief that twins have a special connection.
The stories are commonplace, especially on afternoon television.
Next on Maury: Adopted by separate families shortly after their birth, identical twins meet 39 years later and discover more than a brotherly bond. The similarities in their lives, from their given names to their choice of automobile, are simply astonishing.
On the next Springer: One was on the East Coast, the other on the West. He was in a car accident and broke his hip, while at precisely the same time she couldn't get out of bed because of a stiff hip.
Tonight at Steingass Field: The Cereshko brothers continue to stymie opponents with their ability to make plays on the run — like the one they pulled off in the season opener. The Buckeye juniors put six points on the board when a bootleg running play was called for quarterback Dan, but when he got to the corner, he just threw into the end zone and brother Darren made a spectacular diving catch in the end zone.
Sounds like a lot of sweeps week hype?
It does to the Cereshkos.
"That stuff is a myth," Dan said. "When he has an itch, I don't have to scratch, too."
Buckeye first-year coach Chris Medaglia isn't so sure.
"There's definitely something there," he said. "I don't know what it is. On that play against Wellington, Dan said he knew his brother would be there. It was a play they improvised."
Dan, a 5-foot-10, 170-pounder, reiterated there are no special telekinetic messages being passed between brothers.
"We are just making football plays," Dan said. "We've been playing together for a long time and sometimes we know what the other is going to do before it happens, but that's just anticipation. It doesn't have anything to do with being twins."
Whatever it is, the Cereshko brothers are a big reason why Buckeye might be on the verge of a historical season. A win tonight against Vermilion (2-1) would give the Bucks their first 4-0 start since 1954.
"Both of them are phenomenal athletes," Medaglia said. "Dan will get on the corner and a (defender) will be face-to-face and he still gets the outside. Darren is out there every down, offense and defense."
Darren's three touchdown receptions rank first in the county, and his six catches (for 127 yards) are tied for sixth. This from a kid who didn't join the team until after the regular season started last year as a sophomore.
"I still don't know why I didn't come out last year," said Darren, who has a bleach-blond touch to his short 'do. "I saw all my friends and knew I had made a mistake. I got back on the team and played some defensive back last year and that's helped me.
"It's been fun. We are playing well and it's cool having my brother as the quarterback. We've gotten together on a few touchdowns."
And that's just fine with their coach.
"Dan looks for Darren more than anyone else and I don't have a problem with that," Medaglia said. "Sometimes it's almost like they are playing pitch and catch. They've been doing it 15, 16 years. When you do something that long, you are comfortable with it."
Darren, also 5-10, 170, has been one of the forces on Buckeye's defense as well. The cornerback has one of the team's two interceptions — Dan has the other — and is a big part of a Bucks defense that is giving up only 196 yards a game.
"We kind of keep Dan in a bubble because he is so important to our offense," Medaglia said. "With that said, in obvious passing situations we can't afford to not have him out there. And we definitely can't afford to not have Darren out there every play. He can do so many things."
The Cereshkos' ability to make plays is more than skin deep. It's in the blood.
Their uncle, Ron Brant, is the school's all-time leading rusher. Brant rushed for 4,373 yards from 1977 to '79 and set the Buckeye record for touchdowns (54).
"I look at the picture in the cafeteria a lot," Darren said of a photo acknowledging Brant's selection as an All-Ohioan. "It motivates me to try do some of the things he did."
Dan's progress at quarterback has been spurred by two coaching changes.
The most important was Medaglia being promoted from offensive coordinator to head coach after Jeff Ladner resigned. Medaglia might be Dan's biggest fan.
"Even before Coach Ladner resigned, I was talking to him about Dan and how it wasn't going to work with a drop-back offense," Medaglia said. "I didn't want to make the kid fit the system, I wanted the system to fit the kid.
"When I got the power to make that decision myself, I knew exactly what I wanted to do."
The second move happened because of a chance meeting between Buckeye athletic director Ken Woodruff and quarterback coach Scott Sorrell at the Damon's in Medina.
A few weeks later, Sorrell, who played quarterback at LaGrange Keystone and Ashland University, got a call. Before he knew it, the former Medina High assistant was helping Medaglia implement the new system that puts Cereshko on the corners, where he can use his athletic ability.
"The first time I met him he knew exactly what I wanted to do with the offense," Medaglia said of Sorrell. "He probably knows more about the offense than I do. He probably calls 75 percent of the offense on Fridays."
Sorrell has no problem calling on Dan, who ranks second on the team with 154 yards on 22 carries (7.0 average) and has scored two touchdowns. He's completed 52.9 percent (18-of-34) of his passes, with five touchdowns and two interceptions.
"He's getting more and more confident each week," Sorrell said of his prodigy. "The first thing I was told when I got here is that he can't go to his left, but I showed him you are really attacking a target and not going a certain direction. He took to it, and most of our big plays this year have come when Dan has gone to his left."
Dan didn't get much playing time on offense last season with then-senior Dustan Dolata running the team, but Cereshko is taking advantage of his opportunity.
"The coaches said I could get 1,000 yards rushing and passing this year," he said. "It's a goal I've set. We already passed one of my goals by beating Highland. That (17-15) win proved to everyone that we can do anything we set out to do.
"It started with Coach Medaglia. From the very beginning he has told us that we can do things that have never been seen at Buckeye before. We want to win the (Mohican Area) conference. We want to make the playoffs. When that happens, that will be something special."
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