Announcement
From the GAZETTE: By Jason P. Skoda, Staff Writer
YORK TWP. — Chris Medaglia won't do it, at least not until Buckeye's football season is over.
The last time the Bucks' first-year coach let his guard down and broke a smile, the team lost the following week.
So the 30-year-old isn't being rude; he's just being cautious.
"I told a few people that I'm not going to let up until the season is over," Medaglia said. "I will look back at everything we accomplished once the season is over. The last time I smiled was after we beat (Warren) JFK and we got beat the next week (by Triway).
"There is no way I am letting my guard down until we are done and then I can finally relax."
The Bucks (8-1, 3-1) can take one step toward a sigh of relief tonight as they host Black River (8-1, 4-0) at Steingass Field.
If Buckeye beats the Pirates, it grabs a share of the Mohican Area Conference title for the first time and assures the Bucks will make the playoffs for the first time.
If that happens, Medaglia is sure to let a smile creep into the team huddle afterward. It would be Buckeye's first league title since the
Bucks won the Inland Conference in 1987.
"Wins and all of that ...," Medaglia said. "I don't know how much I had to do with them. What I did was get the players to believe. I think they are proud to wear their jersey and say they play for Buckeye and that hasn't always been the case in the past."
Senior defensive tackle Travs Travers said there has been a difference in the program since Medaglia took over for Jeff Ladner.
"We are about being a team more than before," Travers said earlier in the season. "(Coach) Ladner talked about being a team, but (Medaglia) made it about the team. We are all in this together with one goal in mind."
Black River coach Al Young has noticed the difference as well.
"Their team speed is good and they are big," Young said. "I thought coming into the season they would be a very solid team, but Chris has done a super job and they believe in him."
York Township hasn't been the only place where a transformation has taken place. Just two years ago, Black River was 3-7 and winless in the MAC.
Young has the Pirates one win away from capturing their second outright title (they shared three others) since 1998, and a win assures Black River would host a Division IV first-round playoff game.
"We're still young, but experienced," said Young, whose Pirates were 6-4 last season. "I thought we'd continue to progress, we'd be at the top of the MAC and have a shot at the playoffs. I knew we'd have a good team and everything has fallen into place."
And that place led to a showdown with Buckeye.
"We can't get into a hole early," Young said. "We have to be error free. Their defense has scored a touchdown every game (actually four) I think. It sure makes you think before you pass the ball."
The Pirates, ranked fourth in D-IV, Region 13, run the ball (273.4 yards a game) and think "pass" second. That's different from in the past when Black River ran the ball and passed only when hard pressed, and still the Pirates usually ran.
"It's a new dimension," said Medaglia, whose Bucks are seventh in D-III, Region 10. "They still run the ball as hard as ever, but now they mix in the pass. It can be a very tough combination to stop."
The Pirates average 6.2 yards a carry, led by senior Brett Hastings (1,009 yards, 20 TD), and 23.7 yards a catch, led by senior Andrew Cortese (17 catches, 546 yards, 4 TD). Junior quarterback Kyle Clark is running the offense better than any time in his three years at the helm.
It will be Buckeye's biggest test. Led by Travers, linebacker Tyler Van Drei, and defensive back Darren Cereshko (9 interceptions), it yields only 83 yards rushing a game and has picked off 16 passes.
Life won't be easy for Black River's defense, either. Buckeye, led by Van Drei (531 yards, 12 TD) and Forest Mercer (672 yards, 4 TD), averages 231.7 yards on the ground.
The Pirates, led by Clark, linebacker Stefan Mullins and Cortese, give up 98.3 yards a game.
"This is what playing the game is about," Medaglia said. "We look at it as we have to win this game to make the playoffs. We have to beat our biggest rival to accomplish things no one thought we had a chance of doing.
"The only thing left is to play the game."
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