Buckeye Bucks Football

From the GAZETTE by Adam Ferrise, Special to The Gazette 

YORK TWP. — Buckeye football coach Billy Burke likened his winless team to a swimmer trying not to drown. If that’s the case, Clearview running back Anthony Hitchens was the one holding the Bucks under water Friday.

Hitchens rushed for 182 yards on 32 carries, leading the Clippers to a 14-7 win over Buckeye in a Patriot Athletic Conference cross­division game. “Right now, we just don’t have kids that make plays,” Burke said. “We’re running hard, we’re blocking, we’re tackling hard, but … we don’t have that big-play capability.” Buckeye (0-4, 0-1) turned the ball over five times, including on its first two pos­sessions. Worse for the Bucks, both came in the red zone.

Buckeye quarterback Mike Kelly threw the first of his three interceptions, all picked by Lucas Walters, at the Clippers 15-yard line. On Buckeye’s next pos­session, running back Cory Reisner fumbled at the Clearview 4-yard line, end­ing a 74-yard march. The Clippers (4-0, 1-0) promptly marched 96 yards, capped by a 57-yard touch­down pass down the right sideline from Zach Anderson to James Washington.

“It’s sort of a punch in the face when you work so hard and get great field position and then turn the ball over,” Burke said. “That takes as much wind out of your sails as a turnover that you throw in the middle of the field.” The Bucks took over and went five plays before turn­ing the ball over on downs. Kelly was sacked twice dur­ing the drive, including on fourth-and-13.

“I told our defense they really set the tone for us,” Clippers coach Mike Collier said. “We had a few mistakes in there, but fortunately we were able to force some turnovers that bailed us out.” Then Hitchens took over. The junior tailback gained all 64 yards on the Clippers’ ensuing drive, including a 3­yard touchdown burst that made the score 14-0 with 3:45 remaining in the first half.

“Our offensive line did a great job in the first four games,” Hitchins said. “If they can keep it up, I can keep it up. They’ve been working hard, so that’s why I’m doing what I’m doing now.” Hitchins racked up 103 of his rushing yards in the first half, while Anderson completed 4-of-10 passes for 130 yards in the same span. “It sends a message out to the other teams in the con­ference,” Hitchens said. “I’m really excited to be 4-0.”

Kelly cut the lead in half with 6:47 remaining in the game on a 36-yard touch­down pass to Matt Shaw. Hitchens then gave Clearview two first downs, draining more than three minutes off the clock. The Bucks finally start­ed from their own 15-yard line and drove 42 yards before Kelly threw his final interception with 1:05 left in the contest.

Reisner led the Bucks with 87 rushing yards on 19 carries and Shawn Cordes had 65 yards on seven carries. “It feels like we’re swim­ming, but we can’t get our head above water, yet we’re swimming hard,” Burke said. “We can’t get a breath.”

UP NEXT: Buckeye (0-4) is at Lutheran West. Clearview (4-0) enter­tains Black River. Ferrise may be reached at sports@ohio.net.