Buckeye Bucks Football

   Bucks Lead Series: (18-8-1) .667% Winning Pct.

2017 Record (2-8)

2018 Schedule 

ROCKY RIVER — Nathan Polidori flashed a million-dollar smile and, other than sweaty, jet black hair, appeared no worse for wear. Buckeye offensive coordinator Bill Turner’s faith in his quarterback was rewarded. Polidori rushed for three touchdowns, threw another and returned a kickoff to the house Friday, leading the Bucks to a well-earned 42-28 non-league victory over athletic but mistake-prone Rocky River.

The road to 10-0 is 20 percent complete. “I’m really in shock,” the 5-foot-11, 175-pound Polidori said after a hug from Turner. “I knew we had it in us, but I didn’t know if we were going to show up today. But we did.” With Turner calling the counter play “Q-skin” nearly 20 times, Polidori rushed 23 times for 219 yards while jukin’ and jivin’ defenders all over the FieldTurf. He also completed 6-of-11 passes for 62 yards, including a 14-yard TD strike to Nathan Scott, and returned the opening kickoff 90 yards to paydirt.

While All-Ohioan Trevor Thome (15 carries, 79 yards, TD) and Scott (10, 69) also were productive on the ground, Polidori was the heart and soul of an offense that posted 453 yards (391, 62), converted 6-of-8 third downs and didn’t punt in the second half. Polidori was money on the most important drive of the game, too, with four carries for 58 yards on a nine-play, 92-yard march. He capped it by juking two defenders on a 17-yard TD run that put the Bucks up by 14 with 4:40 remaining. “Our offensive line did fantastic,” Polidori said of Jalin Brock, Hunter Gray, Jack Schroeder, Bruce Barnby, Brad Calta and Co.

The game was in doubt heading into the fourth quarter, as Buckeye had taken a 35-28 lead on a 29-yard TD scamper by Polidori with 3:34 left in the third. The Pirates (1-1), who had scored 491 points over their prior 11 games, kept firing back with a dynamic offense of their own that put up 354 yards. Johnny Manziel-impersonator Eric Jones masterfully eluded pressure for 3½ quarters and finished with 18 carries for 107 yards while completing 10-of-19 passes for 128 yards. Jitterbug tailback Dameon Crawford (18 carries, 74) sliced and diced for 59 yards in the first half, while long-striding speedster Evan Nugent scored two touchdowns. 

Rocky River’s problem was five fumbles, including two lost. The most costly ones were on consecutive snaps, as the exchange was botched on third-and-1 from the Buckeye 11 and a quick-hitter to the fullback resulted in a fumble that ended up in Thome’s arms with 8:45 left and the Bucks up 35-28. Despite all its miscues, Rocky River put up a valiant last stand and had first-and-10 from the Buckeye 11 with three minutes left. That’s where the Bucks defense stood tall, as Kyle Svagerko or Brock sacked Jones on three consecutive plays to essentially clinch a victory. “I really didn’t know what to expect,” Brock said. “We watched film and things like that.

We came out strong and they came out strong, but we wanted to win more than they did. “At halftime we kind of had our heads down. We were thinking, ‘Why are our heads down? We’re tied right now. Four out of five people (in The Gazette Pick-It Line) thought we were going to lose this game. If we come out and win we’ll show a lot of people what we can do.

YORK TWP. — At times Friday, it looked like the only thing that could stop the Buckeye football team against Revere was the Bucks themselves. If not for cramping issues — it seemed like it happened almost every play in the second half — Buckeye put together a very impressive 35-14 season-opening win over the Minutemen. 

Nathan Scott ran for 96 yards on 12 carries and scored three touchdowns, while Trevor Thome had seven catches for 111 yards and a touchdown and added a two-point conversion. Defensively, Kyle Svagerko (2 sacks), Josh England (2) and Jack Schroeder (1, fumble recovery) stymied Revere quarterback A.J. Hughes at almost every stop. Aside from when Buckeye was trading yards for time off the clock in the fourth quarter, the Minutemen didn’t do much when the game was in question. Revere had 227 yards of offense, but most of it came deep in the fourth quarter with the game long decided.

“I couldn’t be more thrilled,” Bucks coach Mark Pinzone said. “We certainly had our problems with health on the defensive line, which is also our offensive line. We definitely had the cramping issues, and we’re concerned about Brad Calta with his hand, but I couldn’t be happier with what the guys did.” What the guys did for Pinzone was take out close to 10 months of frustration on Revere. A squad that made the playoffs last season by winning its last eight regular-season games, Buckeye had a rude ending to the season when Bowling Green wiped it up in a 41-7 first-round playoff beating. Players like Scott and Thome stewed all offseason, waiting to get back at Revere.

When the Minutemen stepped on the field, the Bucks never really let off the pedal. “That played a huge factor coming in for our goals and determinations,” Scott said. “Getting blown out in the first round two years in a row really sucks for us. We really take that to heart as we’re reaching for new things this year.” One of the other things the squad took to heart was the fact the Minutemen rolled Buckeye 55-7 and 43-21 in the last two openers. With that on their minds, the Bucks came out and built a 14-7 halftime lead. “This one was a big one for us,” Thome said. “Two years ago, they came here with our new coaching staff. We were excited and they hit us hard and pounded us. Last year, we were feeling good again and they smashed us again. This was a huge win and a confidence booster for us.”

That came in large part because of a patient Buckeye team that took advantage of Revere mistakes. The first came on a fumble from Devin Olsafsky that Thome eventually turned into a 1-yard touchdown run to open the scoring. The next came at the start of the third quarter, when a 10-yard punt by Nick Johnson gave Buckeye the ball on the Revere 30-yard line. Five plays later, Scott went in from 4 yards to make the score 20-7. That’s the way the Bucks rolled Friday, as their scoring drives took up 2:12, 1:11, 1:32, 2:56 and 1:52.

“It was great to show them how much we’ve improved,” two-way lineman Schroeder said. “I just hope Rocky River was watching that because they can’t stop that, either.” Note: While he didn’t have a triple-double, Roberto Lebron did get in the books for Revere. The junior carried the ball one time for 3 yards in garbage time.

*** 4th In Medina County All Time