Announcement
From the GAZETTE: By Jason P. Skoda, Staff Writer
YORK TWP. — From the start of the football season, there has been something different with the Buckeye program.
Whether it was missing the playoffs by a fraction of a point last season or the infusion of positive thinking brought by first-year coach Chris Medaglia, the Bucks are being driven to do things not seen in a long time at the school.
Friday night's 36-0 thumping of Loudonville in Mohican Area Conference play was another indication Buckeye is on to something in 2002.
The Bucks (7-1, 2-1) have been led by junior Darren Cereshko's big-play ability on both sides of the ball all season, but the junior wide receiver/defensive back bruised his right knee on the second series of the game and never returned.
In seasons past it could have been the first circle in the road down the drain for Buckeye.
Instead, senior Mike Kruse stepped into Cereshko's role and helped Buckeye pound the Redbirds (4-4, 0-3).
"Mike Kruse was huge," Medaglia said. "Everyone on this team knows he has a role. They follow it, and when someone goes down the rest just step up.
"That never would have happened before. It would have been a reason to have a negative reaction."
This year, all it meant was Kruse and Tyler Van Drei took over the offensive load.
Van Drei, who had 151 total yards and two touchdowns, started the scoring with a 44-yard run with 3:57 left in the first and closed it with a 37-yard reception with 10:36 left in the game.
Kruse put the Bucks up 17-0 by hauling in a 17-yard strike from Dan Cereshko with 5:05 left in the second quarter.
"I haven't had many chances to do anything this year," said Kruse, who finished with three catches for 32 yards and added an interception. "It felt good to step in and makes some plays.
"When (Cereshko) went out we knew we had to look to someone else for big plays."
Dan Cereshko (9-of-14, 140 yards, 2 TDs) replaced his twin brother's penchant for returning interceptions for touchdowns.
He picked off Loudonville's Richard Beans and took it back 47 yards for the score 19 seconds before halftime to give the Bucks a 23-0 lead.
It was Dan's first defensive TD of the season and left him two short of Darren's three defensive TDs.
"We came in trying to do some uncharacteristic things on offense," Loudonville coach John Lance said. "We came in wanting to pass because we knew we were going to struggle running the ball.
"When (Cereshko) went out we thought it played right into our game plan."
In years past that might have been the case, but the Buckeye defense held the Redbirds to 131 total yards and allowed Loudonville to cross the 50 just once.
"We weren't going to let up," said senior defensive end Jason Seeley, who had a fumble recovery. "There is too much on the line.
"It's a great feeling this year. We've never been in this position and we aren't going to stop until the end of the year."
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