Announcement
HENRIETTA TWP. — Too many sophomores was a problem for Firelands on Senior Night in a 50-12 Patriot Athletic Conference Stars loss to Buckeye. With seven sophomores starting for Firelands on both sides of the ball, Buckeye controlled the line of scrimmage all evening. The Bucks scored 23 points in the first quarter, 36 in the first half and cruised to their 26th straight win within the division.
“Monday we probably could have drawn Buckeye’s game plan, knowing that they’re going to run the ball and be physical against us,” Firelands coach Ryan O’Rourke said. “Our kids aren’t ever going to back down from anybody and we’re going to expect a certain level of play and a certain level of intensity. Buckeye showed why they’re the class of the PAC this year. It’s nothing that we’re going to take away from them, they’re certainly an excellent football team. We maybe had some moments here and there, but they just outplayed us.”
The Bucks (7-1, 3-0) made life difficult for sophomore quarterback Jacob Farley and the Firelands offense. Firelands’ first three drives resulted in a pair of three-and-outs and a safety as Buckeye took an early 16-0 lead. The Falcons (4-4, 2-1) were held to minus-3 rushing yards in the first half and failed to pick up a first down.
“We needed to prove what we could do,” Buckeye junior running back Armando Nigh said. “We wanted to come out and end this game early because if you give a team a chance, if you give them hope in your heart, it makes the game a lot tougher.”
Buckeye led 36-0 at halftime, which is exactly what coach Greg Dennison wanted to see. “They have some really, really good young players,” he said of the Falcons. “When you can jump on a team that’s young like that early it makes a big difference.”
The Falcons showed some life in the second half, thanks to senior Blake Ruffner. Ruffner, who started the game at slot receiver and ended it at quarterback, provided a pair of big plays for Firelands — a 33-yard touchdown run in the third quarter and a 65-yard touchdown pass to Alex Angle to close out the scoring in the fourth. He added 14 tackles on defense, three for a loss.
“Bottom line is he’s a scholarship athlete,” O’Rourke said of Ruffner. “I hope people recognize that and I hope he continues playing this game because he does a lot of things that are special. He’s just an extremely talented kid. He can do things on his own that you can’t teach. “You’ve got to let a kid like that run free and appreciate him while you have him.”
