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From the GAZETTE By Tom Suitts, Special to The GAZETTE
LOUDONVILLE — Buckeye unleashed its one-two scoring punch of Brad Bauman and Tyler Van Drei to roll over Loudonville 28-7 in Mohican Area Conference play Friday night.
Bauman, a 6-foot, 200 pounder, rushed for 136-yards on 16 carries and scored twice on runs of 37 and 7 yards. He also had seven sacks for the Bucks (7-1, 1-1).
Van Drei, 6-1 and 210 pounds, was just behind with 15 carries for 101 yards. He scored the other two Buckeye TDs on an 8-yard dash around left end for the first score of the night. He followed with a 9-yard run up the middle in the third quarter.
"The offensive line was great," Bauman said. "The first half they were iffy, but the second half they came out fired up. We didn't have to throw a pass in the second half. We just came out and rammed it down their throat."
Buckeye coach Chris Medaglia, in a terrific mood after the win, kidded Van Drei about falling short of 100 yards. After some good-natured arguing, it was confirmed Van Drei was over the century mark.
"It wasn't my night, it was the offensive line's night," Van Drei said. "They drove off the ball making huge holes for me to run through. Got to give all of those guys the credit."
Both backs can't wait 'til next week when they face Clear Fork.
"We're going good, but we have a big game next week," Van Drei said. "We're not satisfied with this win at all. We have to come out hard and get the next win."
Medaglia was particularly pleased with the Bucks' second half.
"We came out throwing a little bit, but they did a real good job of sitting on what we'd worked on all week long," Medaglia said. "Still, we managed two touchdowns in that first half. We stubbed our toe a couple of times and got some unnecessary penalties.
"At halftime, we just decided we'd find out what type of a team we could be. We didn't have to throw a pass in the second half. When you have two backs over 200 pounds that run like deer, you should be able to run the ball. There was a sequence there in the third quarter when I'd run Brad one play, then Tyler the next, back and forth."
Loudonville coach John Lance shook his head afterward. Not only did he lose the game, he lost his No. 1 running back, Brad Lackey, late in the game.
"He's probably gone for the season with an ACL," Lance said. "Buckeye can really move that ball. They're a very good team, and after seeing them and Black River, I know who I'd pick."
Then he just grinned.
From the GAZETTE, By Brad Bournival, Staff Writer.
FRANKLIN TWP. — After a hiccup the week before, Buckeye's football team didn't mind living on the edge for a second straight week.
Dominating a non-conference tilt with Akron Manchester for three quarters Friday, the Bucks let the Panthers back in it before holding on for a 14-7 win.
"We don't bury teams. We let them hang around and then let our defense step up," Buckeye coach Chris Medaglia said.
"I told the boys before we came out we were going to have to win games 14-7 and 10-9, and to do that we're going to have to rely on our defense."
The Bucks (6-1), who beat a Manchester team that has made it the playoffs 12 straight years, needed a huge stop by linebacker Tyler Van Drei before
breathing a sigh of relief against the Panthers (4-3).
Down seven and facing fourth-and-11 from the Manchester 46 with 1:41 remaining, Panthers quarterback Tim Syx appeared headed for a first down when Van Drei rushed to the right sideline and blasted him out of bounds a yard shy of the first.
Dan Cereshko (106 yards passing, 1 rushing TD) took a knee after that to salt away the win.
"I was back in pass coverage when he got around Brad (Bauman)," Van Drei said. "I saw the first down marker and hit him before he got there and then went crazy."
So did the rest of the Buckeye defense, which erased the memory of a 24-21 Mohican Area Conference loss to Triway the week before.
In a very hostile environment, the Bucks only allowed Manchester across the 50 four times and didn't give up a touchdown until seven minutes remained.
"We've been trying to find the character of this unit all year," 2002 Division III Defensive Player of the Year Darren Cereshko said. "We needed our defense to come out and hold a good team like this to seven points.
"For us to hold them to only four times past the 50 is huge."
As has been the case for most of the season, the Bucks relied heavily on the play of Dan and Darren Cereshko.
The tandem didn't have a great performance — Darren finished with just 5 yards total offense — but when called upon the brothers responded.
Darren took the opening kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown and Dan gave the Bucks what would be the deciding touchdown on a 33-yard scamper with 51 ticks remaining in the third.
"They're everything," Medaglia said. "There isn't anything they can't do."
From the GAZETTE, By Ho Hoffman, Special to The Gazette.
SHREVE — Buckeye's football team fell from the ranks of the unbeaten Saturday afternoon 24-21 to Triway in a game that was suspended after one quarter Friday.
When the Bucks look at the game film, they will find they have only themselves to blame. Triway (3-3, 1-0) capitalized on three Buckeye (5-1, 0-1) turnovers to score 17 points and win the Mohican Area Conference opener.
"We shot ourselves," Buckeye coach Chris Medaglia said. "Triway is a good team, but we gave them too many opportunities with turnovers, penal-
ties and a short field for them to work with. They took advantage of every opportunity we gave them and showed they were better than us today."
The third turnover was the killer for the Bucks. Leading 21-17, Buckeye fumbled on its own 45-yard line, giving the ball to Triway with 2:23 remaining in the third quarter. From there, the Titans covered the distance in 11 plays to score the winning touchdown with 9:23 left.
Even the winning score was tainted and slightly aided by Buckeye. Triway had first-and-goal at the 8, but wound up facing fourth down from the 6. Quarterback Ryan Mullins rolled left, found the lane blocked and reversed his field through the middle of the Buckeye line.
Six yards and three missed tackles later, Mullins found himself in the end zone for the winning score.
"It was a huge win for us," Triway coach Jim Reynolds said. "It puts us in first place in the MAC and gives us an excellent shot at the playoffs."
It was so important for the Titans, they completely switched their offensive scheme in preparation for the Bucks. In their previous five games, they had only used the no-huddle offense in one series against Orrville, but in the first quarter it was all no-huddle.
On their first possession, set up by a Chad McDaniel interception at the Buckeye 37, Triway used four plays to get into the end zone. The final 22 came on a Mullins pass to Linc Rottman.
The Bucks answered with their only sustained march of the game, using nine plays to go 74 yards. The final 24 came on a Dan Cereshko to Darren Cereshko pass, the first of two scoring plays by the combo. Their second was a 77-yarder.
After an exchange of possessions, Triway took advantage of a roughing the passer penalty to set up a 30-yard field goal by Brandon Morrow to take a 17-14 lead just six seconds into the second quarter.
One minute later, the game was suspended due to lightning.
Tyler Van Drei's 92-yard touchdown run with 5:57 remaining in the third period then put Buckeye ahead 24-21.
From the GAZETTE, By Jason P. Skoda, Staff Writer.
Dan Cereshko's first varsity football season ended with surgery.
Darren Cereshko's finished with a trip around the proverbial banquet circuit collecting awards.
Darren was named the Gazette's MVP, the Mohican Area Conference Defensive Player of the Year and shared Defensive Player of the Year honors in Ohio for Division III.
They are twin brothers, who shared the same bedroom for so many years, faced with different fates.
One got all the accolades, while the other dealt with rehabilitating his right knee.
It appears Dan got the short end of the stick, but really, it gave the Buckeye senior an edge.
"I was happy for Darren; he had a great year," Dan said. "He deserved everything, but it also motivated me to be at my best. I wanted to come back bigger and stronger."
It started soon after the medial meniscus in his right knee was injured in the Bucks' 42-21 loss against Willard during the Division III playoffs last season.
Dan, the team's quarterback, was pressed into duty on defense against the pass-happy Crimson Flashes, only to have his knee wrecked while making a tackle.
He sat on the team's bench with his leg elevated while his teammates tried to mount a comeback in the school's first OHSAA postseason game.
The comeback proved futile, but Cereshko's time alone on the sideline wasn't.
"I knew then I was going to have to work to get better and I wanted to be back for baseball," he said. "I wanted to make sure I was ready for football."
Cereshko didn't miss any time on the diamond and he's been sparkling so far this season in football.
The Bucks are off to a 5-0 start, he set the school's single-game record for passing yards (302) and ranks first in career touchdown passes (22) at Buckeye.
He's on pace to shatter the Buckeye record for passing yards in a season (1,266 by Tim Devericks in 1995) and could make a run at the career mark of 2,515 (also Devericks).
It's safe to say there's no hitch in his giddy-up.
"Dan has been tremendous," Buckeye coach Chris Medaglia said. "He is more mature, the game has slowed down for him and he's basically another coach on the field."
Cereshko ranks first in Medina County in TD passes (10) and second in passing yards (969). Overall, he is 59-of-111 (.532) with 10 scores and four interceptions.
The difference in his command of the Buckeye offense from his first start last season to his 17th tonight at Triway is vast.
"Last year, Dan was one of the athletes running around making plays," offensive coordinator Scott Sorrell said. "Now, he is the general out there.
"He's reading defenses. When the defense goes one way, he goes the other."
It's what Medaglia and Sorrell imagined when they chose offenses before last season.
They knew they had a 5-foot-11, 170-pound athlete, so instead of sitting in the pocket, they have Cereshko doing sprintouts on passing plays, where he can throw balls 55 yards on the run.
Putting him on the edge with the option to run or pass is an enviable position.
Unless, of course, you're the opposition.
"The kid's a great athlete and he fits perfectly into their system," Black River coach Al Young said. "He's very efficient and you never know what he is going to do with the ball."
Cereshko, who set the school record for completion percentage (.504) last season, ran for 522 yards last season, but he's just starting to commit to the run this year.
Against Columbus Bishop Ready last week, he picked up 37 of his 92 yards on the ground this year. Most of that came on a 23-yard scamper where he escaped a sack and dove for extra yardage at the end of the run.
"That was a backyard football play," Sorrell said. "Dan is at his best when he is running and throwing.
"It puts defenses on their heels because they aren't sure what he is going to do."
Cereshko's drive also comes from trying to surpass last year's first share of the Mohican Area Conference title and playoff appearance.
"We're not as big, but I think we are quicker," said Cereshko, who has visited or plans to visit Heidelberg, Baldwin-Wallace and Kent State this fall. "We have to get on some of the little guys, but we are getting better."
It's no coincidence Buckeye's resurgence — the Bucks have won 14 of their last 15 regular-season games — has coincided with Cereshko's emergence.
"I'm willing to do whatever the team needs to win," Cereshko said. "We were down for so long none of us want to go back."
From the GAZETTE By Jason P. Skoda, Staff Writer
YORK TWP. — Buckeye football coach Chris Medaglia had some doubts early this season whether the Bucks had the toughness to repeat last year's breakout campaign.
That's no longer a question after Friday night as the Bucks blew out Columbus Bishop Ready 35-10 at Steingass Field.
The Silver Knights (2-3) opened the second half with a 10-play, 87-yard drive to close within 14-10.
Buckeye (5-0) responded with 21 points over the next 4:27, with two of the scores coming after Ready turnovers.
"It's very important to score in those situations," Medaglia said. "Scoring and putting them away is all about attitude, and we showed some tonight."
The Bucks responded to the Knights' second-half opening drive with a seven-play, 75-yard drive of their own to gain a 21-10 advantage.
Buckeye's defense took over at that point, as Darren Cereshko's third interception of the season gave the Bucks possession on the Ready 26.
Dan Cereshko (8-of-18, 147 yards, 4 total TDs) hit Tyler Van Drei on the first play for the score.
Van Drei then forced Mark Buerkle to fumble after a first-down reception and Brad Bauman recovered on the Knights 47.
Six plays later, Dan Cereshko's third touchdown pass landed in the breadbasket of Kyle Camara near the left pylon for a 35-10 advantage with 53 seconds left in the third.
"Our saying is, ‘Kick them in the mouth when they're down,'" said Bauman, who had two sacks and 102 yards rushing on 14 carries. "We had to get a three-and-out, but turnovers work."
The Buckeye defense allowed 213 total yards, 65 of which came on a halfback pass for the second-half TD when Darren Cereshko fell down.
"We played a good defensive game against a pretty good team," Medaglia said of Ready's wing-T offense. "They show a lot of looks, but we did a good job of following the ball instead of the fakes."
Offensively, Buckeye ripped off yardage in big chunks. The Bucks totaled 364 yards, with 217 coming on the ground.
Dan Cereshko connected with twin brother Darren for a 41-yard score when the latter beat single coverage on the Bucks' second possession.
After throwing for a school-record 302 yards last week, Cereshko had three TD passes against Ready.
"We've faced some tough gunslingers this year, but I like that quarterback over there," Ready coach Larry Wolf said. "That kid can play."
Cereshko said the Bucks are rounding into shape.
"We are getting better each week," he said. "The offense is moving the ball and the defense is stopping people. We need to get better, but things are going well."
