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Announcement
From the GAZETTE By Jason P. Skoda, Staff Writer
It was a short but very important conversation.
In the second week of the season in 2001, Darren Cereshko stood on the outskirts of a Buckeye football practice when Chris Medaglia sauntered over and asked him if he wanted to play.
Cereshko gave into his desire, and one season later the Buckeye junior developed into The Gazette's 2002 MVP for football.
What if Medaglia, then the offensive coordinator, hadn't taken the initiative?
"I don't even want to think about it," said Medaglia, who took over as head coach this fall. "I'm sure he probably would have played this year, but the development wouldn't have been there.
"Darren had a phenomenal season and I don't know where we would have been without him."
With the 5-foot-11, 170-pounder, the Bucks (9-2) had their most wins since 1979, won their first share of a Mohican Area Conference title and qualified for the postseason for the first time in school history.
In a season that saw him play many great games, Cereshko's performance in the Bucks' 42-14 win over Warren John F. Kennedy in Week 5 may have been his best.
Cereshko scored on a 55-yard pass from his twin, Dan, on the game's first offensive play, then intercepted JFK quarterback John DiFiore on Kennedy's third possession. He returned it 80 yards down the sideline to give the Bucks a 13-0 lead after they had run just six offensive plays.
Cereshko had two more interceptions, including one he took 35 yards for a score in the fourth quarter, to put a stamp on an incredible individual show.
"About the only thing we accomplished tonight was making No. 34 look like an all-state player," Eagles coach Tony Napolet said after the game. "He was all over the field."
Napolet was half right. Cereshko not only made first-team All-Ohio, he shared the Division III Defensive Player of the Year with Newark Licking Valley's Jake Butler.
It was the third postseason award for Cereshko.
He was also the Defensive Player of the Year in the MAC and co-Defensive Player of the Year in the Northeast Inland District.
"I think about what if I didn't play last season sometimes," Cereshko said. "I thought I should just concentrate on baseball, but when I saw everyone else playing, I knew I had to play.
"I'm happy that I did because I don't think I could have had that type of season if I didn't."
And all it took was for someone to ask.
"You can see why they went after him," said Scott Sorrell, who finished his first year on the Buckeye staff. "He is a tremendous athlete and most of the plays he makes are on instinct."
Cereshko finished the season with 20 catches for 405 yards and six touchdowns as the Bucks' speed threat on offense.
Defensively, he was an even bigger playmaker. Cereshko finished with 51 total tackles, including one for a loss, three fumble recoveries (including one to setup the game-winning score against Black River), intercepted 12 balls and returned four for touchdowns.
He did all this despite playing just a handful of plays against Loudonville due to a knee bruise sustained early in the first quarter.
"He is a good kid who has a great feel for the game," Triway coach Jim Reynolds said. "He has great field perception. He would see a play develop and then get there before it happened."
Next season could be one of frustration for Cereshko. A run at the school record of 16 interceptions in a season would be nice, but Cereshko may not see 16 passes all of next year.
Regardless of what happens his senior year, Cereshko had a career's worth of impact plays in 2002.
It started with an interception return for a TD in 7-on-7 drills at LaGrange Keystone and finished with two TD receptions in a playoff game against Willard.
In between there were plenty of games being played.
"He baited some of those quarterbacks into thinking the receiver was open," Sorrell said. "This is basically a first-year player tricking veterans into mistakes. They'd throw it and Darren always made the right play."
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