Announcement
WESTFIELD TWP. — The Buckeye football team’s defense got in on the fun Friday. Often overshadowed by an explosive offense, the Bucks pitched a shutout in downing Cloverleaf 35-0 in non-league action at rainy Gene Clark Stadium. Buckeye (3-0) held the Colts (1-2) to 92 yards on 49 plays — 41 rushing and 51 passing — in recording its first shutout since a 13-0 win over Black River in Week 9 of the 2009 season. “It shows what we can do,” 6-foot-2, 185-pound senior linebacker Jaret Yohman said. “We’ve just got to get better.”
After giving up 14 points to Revere in Week 1 and 28 to Rocky River in Week 2, the Bucks forced four Cloverleaf turnovers, with backup Keaton Sandor intercepting two passes, Dustin McCullough coming up with another pick and reserve Brian Medvec recovering a fumble. Add a vicious tackle on a kick return by Josh England — plus the always steady play of stars Trevor Thome, Nathan Polidori, Nathan Scott and McCullough — and Buckeye allowed the Colts to cross midfield on just one possession. Cloverleaf’s deepest penetration was the Bucks 30-yard line. “That does a little for our morale,” Buckeye coach Mark Pinzone said. “The defense was a little upset last week, especially in the first half. They did a fabulous job.”
The Bucks, who held explosive Rocky River to seven points in the second half while blowing open what had been a close game, also did what they wanted offensively while playing things pretty close to the vest against the Colts. Quarterback Polidori completed just two passes in five attempts, but both went for touchdowns — the first a 43-yarder to Scott to open the scoring, the second a 55-yarder to Justin Lowry that accounted for the game’s final points with 7:51 left in the third period. Polidori added a game-high 61 yards rushing on 11 carries, while Thome had seven carries for 41 yards and TDs of 4 and 9 yards.
Scott finished with 49 yards on nine attempts, including a 13-yard score, and Justin Canedy had five carries for 49 yards as the Bucks finished with 318 yards total offense. “We have to execute and continue to get better,” Pinzone said. “We can lose any game at any time. We talk about winning series and winning quarters.” The Colts, who ended an 18-game losing streak with a 9-6 overtime win vs. Keystone in Week 2, did some nice things at times, but had trouble stringing positive plays together.
Converted wide receiver Austin Greer, suspended for the first two games of the season, ran hard while finishing with 39 yards on eight carries and also caught two passes for 11 yards. Nick Soika added four catches for 40 yards. “(Greer) adds that little bit of explosiveness, that dynamic play,” Colts coach Justin Vorhies said. “We have weapons. It’s just a matter of getting them the ball and executing play after play.”
Cloverleaf had two quarterbacks on the field simultaneously for the majority of the game, with sophomore Travis Grissom (5-for-14, 45 yards, 2 int.) lining up under center but often going in motion while senior Russel Gretsinger (1-3, 6 yards, int.) took a shotgun snap. “We were three good plays, bad play,” Vorhies said. “Defensively, three good plays, bad play. Our kids fought, but those bad plays really came back to bite us.”
Buckeye, which has a very good shot at going 10-0 and is aiming to win the first playoff game in school history, had something to do with that. “They’re good,” Vorhies said. “They execute. That’s the thing.They out-executed us.
