Buckeye Bucks Football

BUCKEYE (0-4, 0-1): Coach Billy Burke said the problem with his defense against the run comes down to simple math. The Bucks are giving up a Medina County-high 243.0 yards on the ground per contest. “With us it’s an interception or big stop keeping us from winning,” he said. “We have third and 9 or 10 and we can’t get off the field. We’re waiting for someone to make that big play. How many times have we had the ball dangling in front of us and can’t get it done?”…No doubt, the Bucks will have a spy on Paul Fackler when they’re on defense. Fackler has accounted for 78 of Lutheran West’s 121 points this year. The senior has thrown for eight touchdowns and has five rushing touchdowns so far this season. “We’ve got to take away their quarterback,” Burke said. “He’ll be the best player on the field.”… The last time Buckeye was 0-4 was 1992. The Bucks finished 2-8.

From the GAZETTE by Albert Grindle, Staff Writer

Fans of the field goal — are you reading this, Romeo Crennel? — better realize how lucky they are in 2008. Medina County football has four standout kickers, and it could be the best group all-time as Highland’s Eric Duale, Cloverleaf ’s Chris Matejka, Wadsworth’s Matt Reed and Brunswick’s Jeff Kravetz all have big-play ability. 

Duale is the best of the bunch. While he stands just a tick below 5-foot-9 — he’ll tell you he’s 6-foot­something — the senior and three-year starter has a cannon connected to the lower ride side of his body. He’s been clutch, too, which separates him from the pack. Against Cloverleaf last year, he chipped in a 26-yarder that turned out to be the only points of the game. Friday at Tallmadge, Duale slipped on the muddy turf but still managed to split the uprights from 27 yards out with 29 seconds remaining. The boot, which gave the Hornets a 3-2 victory, would have been good from nearly 50.

Matejka is arguably the Colts’ best kicker since Ross Brunello in the late 1980s. Brunello holds nearly every school record, includ­ing hitting a 46-yarder against Buckeye in 1989. Matejka already has a 43­yarder under his belt. Considering how Cloverleaf finds a way to make seem­ingly every contest close, look for the senior to have his shot at glory. The craziest part about Matejka is he never even attempted to kick a pigskin until this summer. Now that’s talent. 

Kravetz, Brunswick’s kicker for its postseason run last season, has been nearly flawless. He is 17­for-18 on extra points and 1-for-1 in field goals, a 33­yard boot against Brecksville. With the way the Blue Devils methodically move the ball up and down the field, he probably won’t get a ton of field goal chances, but you never know. Reed grew up around the county’s all-time lead­ing booter, his older broth­er Nate, and even took over the No. 4 jersey to continue the family legacy. A starter since he was a freshman, Reed, now a jun­ior, is on pace to shatter break the county’s extra point record— Nate holds the mark with 89— and has never given Wadsworth rea­son to worry about its spe­cial teams. Nate Reed is nowa pre­season All-MAC performer at Kent State. Don’t be sur­prised if you see Matt Reed playing on Saturdays in 2010. 

Pirate chatter

My adventures around area gridirons took me to Black River for three quar­ters last Friday. The Pirates failed to disap­point with a 28-8 Patriot Athletic Conference victo­ry over Oberlin. The first impressions weren’t good. Art Stevenson Field looked like a ghost town, with a surprising lack of filled seats on the home side. The field-level area around the concession stand did have plenty of minglers, but it isn’t the type of scene everyone is used to seeing in Pirates Country. On top of that, when Black River came out of the locker room, it was a shocking sight to see near­ly 10 gimpy players with­out pads. 

In the game, however, Black River showed plenty of good things. The defense was partic­ularly impressive, espe­cially down lineman Talon Wood and middle line­backer Jon Sas. Both are 6-3 sopho­mores with plenty of clas­sic black-and-gold grit. Wood completely shut down any outside play the Phoenix wanted to run and Sas was laying big hits all over the place. Both showed their age — Sas misread a few plays and Wood over-ran some off-tackle power runs — but other than a shaky secondary, Black River looked nothing like a unit that had given up more than 380 yards per game coming in. The great news is the defense is going to get better and better and better. Offensively, the Pirates showed some promise as well. 

Sophomore tailback Matt Joppeck runs much, much bigger than his 5-9, 170-pound frame and fel­low 10th-grader Jacob O’Connor — anyone else sensing the theme here? — was electric in open space. Physically and mentally, the youthful O-line needs some work, but if there’s any area that’s bound to improve with experience, it’s up front. Overall, the Pirates looked eerily similar to Highland’s 2006 team. 

Back then, the ultra­young Hornets were taken to school by the best teams on their schedule, but played very competitively with everyone else. Two years later, Highland is the best team in the county that doesn’t have blue uniforms. That’s the road Black River appears to be taking, and it’s one with a very appealing destination that coach Al Young wishes was sooner rather than later. 

Thinkin’ out loud 
It’s becoming more and more evident that not everyone is putting two and two together under­standing the words that are crossed out in this weekly piece. It’s a joke, not an edit­ing job gone wrong or any­thing else along those lines (pun intended). Basically, the theme of phrases (usually adjec­tives) crossed out are meant to be funnier than politically correct mumbo jumbo that rules newspa­pers as a whole.

More people have come up to me on the street say­ing they love it, so, like elections in the great United States are sup­posed to be based on, the people’s vote counts. … Generally speaking, this column has morphed into a near-exclusive foot­ball one — not that there’s anything wrong with that — but Medina boys golfer Gavin Kruchan deserves some recognition. While helping the Bees stretch their amazing con­ference winning streak to 57 matches last Thursday, the senior sported a red, white and blue ribbon on his uniform in memory of Sept. 11, 2001.  What a classy move. … Give football beat writer Brad Bournival credit. He finds a way to whip out a magic potion in his basement to witness close games. 

Week 3’s Brunswick­Brecksville tilt saw the Blue Devils gain 383 yards. Guess how many yards Brecksville had? Yep, 383. The rushing yards weren’t far off, either, as Brunswick gained 213 to the Bees’ 209. 

Week 4’s Tallmadge­Highland tilt saw each squad gain 173 yards. The best part? The Hornets had just one more play from scrimmage (48-47). Oh, and did we mention both games had win margins of one point? (Brunswick 38­37, Highland 3-2). This pretty much guar­antees Friday’s Brunswick-Normandy tilt will be a complete statisti­cal blowout. 

Might be a stretch, but I’ll put my small salary on the Blue Devils. … Hat’s off to Medina after picking up its first win of the year in a 22­0 demolition triumph against Brush. The best news on the offensive side was a running back finally gave Pat O’Boyle a break had a good game as Jake Arthur rumbled for 74 yards on 11 carries.

The meat of the sched­ule is coming up, though, so it’s the defense’s turn to rise to the occasion. … Here’s hoping Cloverleaf fans don’t indulge in a loaded bacon-covered cheeseburger with a side of bacon-covered cheese fries before taking in a Colts game. They’re playing too many close games for arteries to stand. … In case anyone was wondering, the aforemen­tioned Highland­Tallmadge contest was the county’s first-ever 3­2 game. It was only the eighth time an area school won by allowing two points. 

Here are the other instances: 2002 Brunswick­Middleburg Heights Midpark (21-2), 1993 Buckeye-Highland (6-2), 1978 Black River­Wellington (14-2), 1973 Medina-Brunswick (20-2), 1963 Buckeye-South Amherst (14-2), 1955 Wadsworth-Orrville (22-2) and 1921 Medina-Valley City (21-2). 

Since I’m on a roll with useless stats, Medina is the only county team to win a game 2-0. The Bees pulled the trick a surprising three times. The first was against Berea in 1926, the next was 1937 against Wellington and the last was 1943 against New London. … Finally, Wadsworth’s defense deserves some love. After yours truly crit­icized the Grizzlies for not being able to stop the run, they responded by keeping Revere totally in check. Since I’m a self-pro­claimed county homer — although it would be more work for us, I wish every area team made the play­offs (my boss would kill me if it happened)— maybe I should do this more often. 

Yo, Medina, show me something. Grindle may be reached at agrindle@ohio.net or 330.721.4043.

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.

BUCKEYE (0-3): Excuse Billy Burke and Buckeye for not being too worried about being winless after three games this season. The non-conference streak of losses grew to six under Burke, but his Bucks aren’t ready to jump ship just yet. In 2007, Buckeye started 0-3 but won six of its last seven games, claiming the Patriot Athletic Conference Stars Division in the process. “I think the kids understand the gauntlet of the first three games,” said Burke, whose opponents are 8-1 this year.

“We know we can start bad and finish well. We’re actually better at this point than we were a year ago.” That belief holds true, especially when you look at the results this year. Cloverleaf looks like a contender this year for postseason play and the Colts barely eked out a win over the Bucks 10-6. Highland, a sure-fire playoff team, was down a point at intermission in Week 2 before winning 29-7. The Bucks went into overtime in an 18-15 overtime loss to Grafton Midview a week ago.

“You’ve got to find positives in wins and losses,” Burke said. “We’ve played good competition and we’ve played well. We’re in good shape and as healthy as we can be.” … Clearview has outscored its opponents 105-32 this season. That’s the most points scored by any PAC team and the fewest given up as well. LW: L, 18-15, OT, at Midview. TW: Clearview (3-0). NW: at Lutheran West (2-1).

From the GAZETTE, by Albert Grindle, Staff Writer

First, Wooster run­ning back Shawn Riley scampered for 100 yards. Next Nordonia tailback John Hamilton went berserk rumbled for 235. Then Medina quarter­back Pat O’Boyle got his shot, rushing for 206 — a Medina County record for a QB by a wide margin. Wadsworth’s defense has a big problem, and it’s a disturbing one.

Allowing a ridiculous 253.3 yards on the ground every game is going to catch up with the Grizzlies at some point. O’Boyle was particular­ly giddy to face the Grizzlies in front of a regional television audi­ence on Fox Sports Net. The Bees’ game plan wasn’t necessarily complex — counter right, counter left — but it sure worked. As long as Medina cracked down on mam­moth Wadsworth defensive tackle Ben Buzzelli and made sure to get a hat on middle linebackers Jake Palidar and Zach Watts, O’Boyle ran around like a 6-year-old at recess.

Although the Suburban League has three passing teams in Green with sig­nal caller Jesse Mason, Copley with Dom McClain and Barberton with Kyle Snyder, those squads might not have a reason to take to the air if Wadsworth’s run woes continue. On top of that, what about Highland’s Chris Snook and Tallmadge’s Tyler Fortner, who are without question the best running backs Wadsworth will face? They have to be licking their chops at this point. Simply put, someone other than the inside crew needs to step up defensive­ly if the Grizzlies want to be a contender in the SL. We’ll find out Friday against Revere, which has been hovering around the 250 mark on the ground. 

Of course, Wadsworth isn’t the only school with defensive problems. Medina (340.6 yards allowed), Buckeye (354.6) and Black River (382.7) all have major holes as well. Throw the Grizzlies into the mix, and the four teams have given up 356.8 yards. Yikes. 

Holy Toledo 
The tide has officially turned in Gazette Prep Fantasy Football after Week 3. Gazette Sports Editor Betty Szudlo and her Poe Ravens, the preseason GPFF favorite, had an absolutely ginormous per­formance, to say the least. The defending league champions not only scored a whopping 119 points, but broke their own record for points in a single week by one. On top of his 200-plus rushing yards, O’Boyle, who ran for a 10-point 82­yard score, passed for 90 yards and accounted for three touchdowns. In the process, he took over the MVP lead with 49 points. 

Brunswick wideout Jared Kaderbeck was strong in his first start with 27 points, while Highland tailback Chris Snook netted 20 points on his two carries against Brookside. Buckeye running back Shawn Cordes added 10 for Poe, which still broke the league mark despite losing three points from Burnswick’s defense. 

Szudlo’s Ravens (10-2) weren’t the only unit kick­ing you-know-what and taking names having a field day in Week 3. Ho Hoffman’s Western Star Square Dancers were great as well with 106 points. Wadsworth QB Caleb Busson’s 39 points led the way for Western Star (5-7), which also received good nights from Cloverleaf QB Cody Roberts (29) and Wadsworth running back Aarick Jones (21). Too bad the Square Dancers didn’t start Black River’s Matt Joppeck, who had 34 points against Manchester. 

My Spencer Redbirds were 2-2 with 79 points (Brit Musal is my hero good). Dan Brown’s Valley City Twisters were 1-3 with 64 points and Chad Grant’s Mallet Creek Maulers were winless with 63. Although there are still six weeks remaining in the regular season, a three­way logjam for the final playoff spot between Mallet Creek, Spencer and Western Star could make it interesting. 

The tie-breaker will be overall points, so Spencer gets the nod right now, but Mallet Creek and Western Star aren’t far behind. Also, please take notice the league’s scoring sys­tem that supplements the results. We received a cou­ple e-mails regarding how everything works, and hopefully this will clear up the questions. 

Around the world                                                                                                OK, let’s take the cheap Rick Noland route and bust out random ran­domness. … As fellow staff writer Brian Dulik pointed out, Friday’s Highland/­Brookside game might have been the first where four quarterbacks from the same team each completed a pass. The Hornets’ Nick Knerem, Anthony Petrilla, Trey Edwards and Jerry Scholle did just that against Brookside. 

It’s really a meaningless question, but things like this keep people like Dulik and I — both self-pro­claimed “numbers nerds” — up at night.… Courtesy of Buckeye stat guru Dave Rea: The last time the Bucks were 0-3 in back-to-back years was 1977 and 1978. The good news? In 1979 they had arguably the best team in school his­tory and finished 10-1.… Two years ago, football beat writer Brad Bournival and I thought we wouldn’t see another do-everything player like Brunswick’s Dustin Zielaskiewicz for a while.

Whoops. Cloverleaf ’s Kyle Juszczyk sure made us look dumb as he’s done everything but water the field at Gene Clark Stadium. Wait a second. Never mind. My guess is not everyone outside of Westfield Township will appreciate get that joke. … Nice to see Buckeye run­ning back Ryan McCormick was rewarded for his 119-yard effort against Highland with one carry more than the marching band’s tuba play­er Friday against Grafton Midview. … Did you know Highland’s uniforms were designed by Snook on the video game Madden NFL 06?… Speaking of the Hornets, they will have their hands full Friday against Tallmadge.

While the Blue Devils aren’t as deep offensively as in years past, running back Tyler Fortner is a ter­ror and Tallmadge always does a great job of calling sneaky misdirection plays at perfect times. Highland is more than confident, but I would be shocked if either team wins by more than 10 points. … Drove by Buckeye High School the other day and nearly put my 1993 Buick LeSabre in a ditch on state Route 252 (not that I couldn’t use the insurance money to buy a new car).Reason being, the new scoreboard at Edwin Steingass Field is unbe­lievable. Someone in the athletic booster club is doing a heck of a job raising money if they can shell out the coin for something like that. Grindle may be reached at agrindle@ohio.net or 330.721.­4043.