Buckeye Bucks Football

From the GAZETTE by Albert Grindle, Staff Writer 

A new football season brings chills through veins across Medina County, and even though the game is the same, The Gazette’s coverage is not for 2008. Graphs (game notes) are gone and have made way for an exciting addition: school helmet graphics from www.ohiohelmetproject.com. The helmets add a great deal of flavor to our sec­tion, especially in color, and we appreciate the kindness of the aforemen­tioned website in allowing us to use them. Box scores have been trimmed down to scoring summaries, but don’t worry. Full boxes will run every Monday in The Gazette. All-in-all, these changes are just another way to bring you Medina County football coverage. If there is anything we can do to improve it, please let us know.   Believe me, it’s always a fine wine we’re trying to perfect. It’s baaack.

Fantasy freaks can rest easy. Gazette Prep Fantasy Football returns for a third season and will take on an expanded role this season in The Gazette’s already award-winning high school football coverage. Like usual, five teams will make up the league: Betty Szudlo’s reigning world champion Poe Ravens, my two-time run­ner- up Spencer Redbirds, Chad Grant’s Mallet Creek Maulers, Dan Brown’s Valley City Twisters and expansion squad Western Star Square Dancers, owned and operated by Ho Hoffman. (For the record, Western Star was a county village located between Wadsworth and Norton. In the early 1920s, it had a higher population than LeRoy, which is now Westfield Center).

Week 1 of the GPFF sea­son featured strength and balance, with Mallet Creek coming out on top with 80 points behind standout showings from Brunswick quarterback Ricky Manco (27 points), Highland’s defense (18 points) and Black River running back Jacob O’Connor (13). Poe, which pulled off a stunning cellar-dweller-to­first- place turnaround in ’07, was right behind with 75 — Medina signal caller Pat O’Boyle tallied 42 points by himself — while Valley City clocked in third with 67.   Western Star proved its worth with a steady 64 points and Spencer proved it has work to do with 61.

Throughout the season, GPFF results will appear every Thursday. Sometimes complementing this column, sometimes elsewhere. Why? Because the ath­letes love it and that’s all that matters in my book. Until that changes, the GPFF is here to stay. Now, let’s take the league by storm turn it around Redbirds.…

Gridiron Thoughts

Nothing out of the ordi­nary popped up on the opening Friday, but that doesn’t mean there are a lack of topics to cover. ? Cloverleaf 10, Buckeye 6: Here’s a coun­ty battle that should have a lifetime contract, but both teams left the field with issues to be worried about. My fear for Cloverleaf was realized when the offense failed to capitalize in the red zone on multiple opportunities, which was the same problem it had a year ago. Buckeye, meanwhile, had its heart ripped out struggled early with the loss of co-starting quarter­back Austin Friel to a potentially devastating shoulder injury, as well as a hobbled Cory Reisner, who experienced cramps. It was a contest both teams would probably like to forget, although Buckeye had to be happy with limiting the Colts, a preseason contender in the Suburban League, to just 10 points. The good news for Cloverleaf is it faces back­to- back cupcakes Fairview Park Fairview and Lorain Southview to work out the kinks before the meat of the schedule begins.

? Brunswick 51, Mansfield 35: This game is the perfect example of why final scores can mean absolutely positive­ly nothing. Zilch. Nada. Brunswick rolled over the Tygers so badly for the umpteenth consecutive season it took until the 23rd-string defense was in before Mansfield scored. Runaway freight train Brit Musal ripped off yardage with ease and quarterback Ricky Manco was dynamite in his first career start in the Blue Devils’ spread offense. And while the opponent was simply overmatched, all indications point to Brunswick being a poten­tial powerhouse yet again. Of course, that’s like saying Michael Phelps is a good swimmer, Zac Efron is popular with teenage girls and Kiera Knightly caused my mouth to drool looked good when I watched Pirates of the Caribbean. I’m just sayin’…

? Highland 40, Rocky River 15: Four words are all you need to describe this beat down: The Bugs looked fairly really good. Although the yellow hankies flying into the air matched the number of mug shots receptions Bengals receiver Chris Henry has in his NFL career, Highland had no problem marching the ball down the field against Division III’s reigning No. 2-ranked team. West Virginia recruit Chris Snook flashed more moves than he did a year ago, causing two defenders to eat turf on his 40-yard touchdown run, and Nick Knerem showed his savvy with outstanding presence in the pocket. The defense was where it was at, however, as Rocky River couldn’t find a single big-play opportunity against middle linebacker Tyler Houska and a lock­down secondary. Although it was clear the Pirates are nowhere near the team they have been in the past, especially defensively, it was also crystal clear Highland lived up to its immense preseason expectations.Well, at least for one week. SL powerhouse Tallmadge looms to open up the league season in just two weeks.

? Wadsworth 35, Wooster 19: Take away a pair of errant throws from Generals signal caller Nick Allen that went the other way for scores and this game is much, much closer. Further pointing out how Wooster shot itself in the foot, the Generals refused neglected to give the ball to running back Shawn Riley in the second half after watching him move the ball consistently early on. Good teams still have to take advantage of those brain farts, and Wadsworth made sure to make them count. It was the absolute difference. Another thing a good team does is adjust to tal­ent accordingly. Wadsworth cashed in on that as well. Caleb Busson (131 yards passing, 35 rushing) and Anthony Schrock (47 yards receiving, 93-yard kickoff return) were steady and the tailback tandem of Aarick Jones (43 yards, 2 TDs) and Dan Mueller (67) hit the 100-yard mark. If the Grizzlies can con­sistently get similar num­bers out of those four, it’s going to be hard to game plan against them. With that said, there will be games when Schrock is double-teamed on every play, so adjusting to that scheme is the next thing to prove. As for the 271 yards Wadsworth allowed, Wooster’s athleticism isn’t sub-par, so that doesn’t light up an alarm quite yet.

? Hudson 38, Medina 16: An educated guess is the Poe Ravens were happy with O’Boyle. Outside of five turnovers, Medina was just fine with O’Boyle tear­ing apart the Explorers’ defense en route to helping the Bees gain 400 yards. The problem was in bal­ance. Even if, for instance, Brunswick Perennial Playoff Team A throws for 300 yards and its quarter­back rushes for 50 more, it still finds a way to get a run­ning back involved — unless you’re Kenton, which throws 65 times a game and wins D-IV state titles. Just 17 tailback carries in a blowout can ultimate­ly lead to teams teeing off on O’Boyle, which could spell disaster for the Bees if their main man goes down. The defense, on the other hand, did a good job of keeping Hudson from sustaining drives, but two 50-plus yard bombs through the air were back­breakers. Overall, Medina wasn’t overmatched and is facing correctable mistakes, so it’s basically nit-picking at such an early juncture in the year anyways. Consequently, there’s reason to believe things won’t be the same Friday against Barberton. Speaking of which, that contest could easily turn into a 48-41 barnburner with O’Boyle and Magics counterpart Kyle Snyder slinging the pigskin all over.

? CollinsWestern Reserve 46, Black River 12: This was the only sur­prising result as the Pirates were crushed by a Roughriders team that bare­ly won this game a year ago. My guess is coach Al Young’s sophomores had a simple case of opening night jitters and Western Reserve had more experience. However, 172 yards of offense is a big problem. A 3.0 rush average can make a coach lose his mind, too.  Those exact issues were the main reason Black River finished 4-6 a year ago, so it might be going back to the drawing board. There’s still plenty of potential in this fairly young team, it’s just a mat­ter of building chemistry. Grindle may be reached at agrindle@ohio.net or 330.721.4043.

From The GAZETTE By Brad Bournival, Staff Writer

YORK TWP. — The recipe was right during the season opener for Cloverleaf’s foot­ball team, but someone threw in a pinch of vinegar to ruin the icing on the cake during a 10-6 victory over Buckeye.

While the Colts will take Friday’s win and move on to play Fairview Park Fairview next week in non-league action, coach Kevin Gault was anything but happy about the way his squad played down the stretch.

Cloverleaf dominated the contest through three quar­ters, pitching a shutout and completely outclassing its opponents on both sides of the line of scrimmage. Buckeye stud Cory Reisner — he had 1,454 yards rushing and 23 touchdowns last season — was limited because of cramps. The All-Gazette back rushed just 11 times for 47 yards and caught two passes for 16 yards.

Add Bucks starting quarterback Austin Friel leaving with a severely injured shoulder and it should have been a Cloverleaf whitewashing. Yet, the Colts never found the knockout punch, miss­ing two fourth-and-shorts in the red zone, fumbling once and missing a field goal. “We’ve got to learn to play four quarters,” Gault said. “We got fatigued. We fumbled twice in the fourth quarter and we got gassed. But in the end we played hard.” 

Up 10-0 and looking for their third shutout in as many seasons, the Colts got complacent in the fourth quarter and made a game of it. Buckeye backup quar­terback Mike Kelly saw Andy Young sneak inside Cloverleaf ’s Devin Hansen on fourth-and-9 from the Cloverleaf 24 to bring the contest to 10-6. But Ryan McCormick kicked the extra point into the line and Kyle Juszczyk recovered the onside kick, allowing Cloverleaf quar­terback Cody Roberts (13­of-18, 126 yards, TD, 31 yards rushing) to ice the game away.

“It’s tough to emulate game speed,” Buckeye coach Billy Burke said. “It took us a game to get our feet wet. It wasn’t nice. We took a shot and tried to make a play in the end. It just didn’t work.”

Cloverleaf jumped out to a 7-0 lead when Roberts found Keegan Conry (4 catches, 79 yards), in stride when he beat Kelly in the first quarter for a 38-yard scoring strike and pushed it to 10-0 when Chris Matejka boomed a 42-yard field goal just before inter­mission.

Through three quarters the Colts’ offensive line was crushing Buckeye’s front four and the Cloverleaf defense was chewing up the Bucks. Buckeye had just four first downs in the first half and managed just 75 yards offense. When the Bucks did get the ball moving, the Colts stepped up.

Kelly took the Bucks down the field on the open­ing drive of the third quar­ter but had his effort squashed when Andrew Weese stepped in front of Matt Shaw in the left cor­ner of the end zone on third-and-8 from the Cloverleaf 16.

“I just feel like we came together and fought them off,” said Juszczyk, who plays linebacker as well as a tight end/fullback for the Colts. “Both sides were the key to the win. They’re the engine that runs our car.”

UP NEXT: Cloverleaf (1-0) at Fairview Park Fairview; Buckeye (0-1) at Highland.   Bournival may be reached at bournival929@sbcglobal.net or 330.721.4045

From the GAZETTE, By Albert Grindle, Staff Writer

Dual-quarterback sys­tems have worked on the college level and Ohio State plans to have one of its own this fall. That said, why not Buckeye High, too? That’s what second-year coach Billy Burke is con­templating, and it might be the key to his squad’s season.

With ev­eryone and their broth­er trying to stop all­everything tailback Cory Reis­ner, the play of junior Mike Kelly (5-11, 162) and sophomore Austin Friel (6-1, 166) in the defend­ing Patriot Athletic Con-fer­ence Stars Division champi­ons’ new zone spread offense will be crucial.

“We have a junior who is not the greatest passer in the world, but he’s elusive, and we have a sophomore who can be a prototypical quarterback,” Burke said. “They have skill sets where we need both of them.” While the offense may seem predictable depend­ing on which signal caller is in the game, Burke feels that won’t be an issue con­sidering both are solid wide receivers as well.

“They both may be in the game, but you may not know who’s going to be under center,” Burke said. “You need two guys who have to be ready because they’re going to be part of the running game.” Of course, having a run­ning back like Reisner, who statistically could work his way into the all-time top 10 running backs in Medina County, doesn’t hurt in the least. The 5-foot-11, 166-pound senior was on an entirely different level in conference play, averaging a you-gotta­be- kidding 176.6 yards rush­ing and 2.6 TDs in seven PAC games, including hit­ting the 250-yard barrier twice and scoring five times once.

“Cory Reisner is pretty special anyway, so it was in our best interest to design an offense to utilize his skills,” Burke said. The X-factor once again will be junior running back Shawn Cordes and his sprinter’s speed. The 5-9, 150-pounder has been plagued by injuries over the past two seasons, but Burke said doctor’s have cleared him to play.

Rounding out the skill positions will be Darren Boulton, Caleb Nelson and Andy Young at the wideout spots. Matt Shaw is slated to play tight end. The first push has been a recent strength in Bucks Country and Kelton Keller (6-4, 240), Zac Callihan (6-1, 184), Cody Carrow (5-10, 234), Cody Muhek (6-1, 237) and Tyler Erb (6-5, 232), from left to right, will aim to make sure the reputation of tougher-than-beef-jerky hosses stays intact. “What we have, essen­tially, are kids who have worked hard and they’re big kids and they all can move,” Burke said. “The kids care to get better, which is a blessing.”

Ryan McCormick will take his shot at kicking extra points and field goals. Soccer player Rick Smetana will handle the kickoff responsibilities, with Kelly punting. The potential bugaboo Burke faces this season is depth on the lines. All five starters on the O-line will man the D-line in the Bucks’ 50 shade system, and while there will be times inexperienced play­ers can give the starters a blow, Burke is “definitely” concerned.

“We’re just going to deal with it, actually,” he said. Shaw, Chris Boutton, Callihan and Zach Maxwor­thy will make up a veteran linebacking core that should help the Bucks improve a defense that ranked sixth in the county a year ago. Numbers will be the theme in the secondary. All­PAC cornerback Kelly is back locking down oppos­ing wideouts. Nelson and Boulton will also play in the defensive backfield.

The safety position will be a four-man rotation of Reisner, McCormick, Young and Jake Boettner. All in all, depth is a prob­lem in York Township, but Burke believes his team has as good a shot as any­one to take the Stars Division once again and get to the playoffs for the first time since 2005. “I think at this point in the year, we’re better than we were last year,” Burke said. “I’m confident in that respect. Everyone else is getting better, too, but I feel good about us.” Grindle may be reached at agrindle@ohio.net or 330.721.4043

Gregor done before he starts

BUCKEYE (6-4): Linebacker/tight end Tucker Gregor tore his anterior cruci­ate ligament and is out for the season. Zach Maxworthy will fill his spot on defense with Matt Shaw taking over offensively. “He’s a team captain and team leader,” Burke said. “It’s not fun to lose someone like that.” … Running back Shawn Cordes is completely recovered from a broken foot. … Edwin Steingass Field is sporting a new scoreboard and goal posts. … Buckeye has lost its last four non-league games. … The Bucks need three more wins to get to career vic­tory No. 300. They are 297-223-13 overall. TW: Cloverleaf (6-4). NW: at Highland (6-4) at Field.

 Helmet Graphics Courtesy Of Ohio HS Helmets

Thanks go out to Zach Schoup at Ohio HS Helmets who allows us to the helmet graphics on the website, Twitter and stat sheets. You will notice on this page and also our field locations page, that all of the helmets are correct for this season. He has done a great job recreating the head gear of all the high school teams! Check out his site by clicking on the link above!

2007 Bucks 

The 2007 Bucks went 6-4 on the season under new Head Coach Billy Burke and captured their 2nd PAC Stars Division Championship in the 3 years of the conference's existance. Assistant Coaches Bob Jenne, Frank Reutter, Keith Curtin, Kevin Minor, Andy Wuensch, Seth Kujat, Brian Bauman and Ryan Otto. They scored 224 points while giving up 204.

QB Jesse Horton was 61 of 123 for 762 yards with 7 TD's and only 4 INT's. Darrin Read was the leading receiver with 24 receptions for 334 yards. He had 2 receiving touchdowns and scored 44 points on the season, which included 1 Field Goal and 29 Extra Points.