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Revere Week 1

Posted by Dave Rea at Oct 25, 2017 5:00PM PDT ( 0 Comments )

One year after a season-ending knee injury,

Adam Fauver leads Buckeye to victory over Revere

 

8/25/2017 - By RICK NOLAND Gazette Assistant Sports Editor

YORK TWP. - Today will be the one-year anniversary of a season-ending knee injury suffered by Adam Fauver, but the Buckeye quarterback wasn’t worried about that one bit Friday night. Whether it was passing, running or simply directing his team’s offense, the 6-foot-1, 206-pound senior led the Bucks to a 24-10 non-league win over Revere in the season opener for both teams. “I’ve been waiting for this for 364 days,” Fauver said. “I’m always confident and ready to go heading into a game.” After hurting his knee in the second quarter of the Bucks’ season-opening overtime loss at Revere last season — Buckeye won its next nine games — Fauver made a triumphant return, rushing 22 times for 64 yards and completing 8-of-10 passes for 144 yards, including a 47-yard touchdown to tailback Dominic Monaco.

More impressive, Fauver did it while running a much different offense from a year ago, when Buckeye quarterbacks operated almost exclusively from the shotgun under previous coach Mark Pinzone. With former Wadsworth coach Greg Dennison now at the helm, Fauver spent about half his time under center with the Bucks in an I-formation and the other half in the shotgun with one running back in the backfield.

“It’s a huge change from last year,” he said. “I like it a lot more, honestly. It feels like a little more of a pro style. I’m more of an NFL guy than a college guy.”

With Fauver directing the offense, Buckeye outgained Revere 349-210 and had a 17-8 edge in first downs. The disparity was much greater after the first half, which ended with the Bucks leading 24-3 and holding a 277-94 advantage in yards total offense and a 13-3 edge in first downs. After Buckeye’s Clay Gunkelman and Revere’s Sam Webster exchanged field goals in the first quarter, Fauver hit Monaco down the right sideline for the game’s first touchdown.

A Minutemen safety tried to jump the route near the sideline, but Fauver recognized it and threw the ball to the outside shoulder of Monaco, who turned and ran about 30 yards untouched into the end zone. “I saw the safety coming up,” Fauver said. “I thought if I put the ball away from him, (Monaco) had a really good chance of breaking one.” With Revere facing second-and-12 at the Buckeye 46-yard line in the second period, defensive end Dom Kriz set up Buckeye’s next score by pouncing on the ball when Minutemen quarterback Brian Leuhsler dropped a shotgun snap from center. “I saw it on the ground and I knew someone had to grab it, so I dove on it as fast as I could,” Kriz said.

On the next play from scrimmage, Fauver handed off to speedy Justin Canedy, who immediately handed off to the equally fast Anthony Watkins going the opposite direction, the result being a 45-yard untouched TD around right end. The Bucks then forced a three-and-out and blew the game open late in the second period. Fauver rushed three times for 29 yards and hit tight end Logan Schulz for 18 yards before Monaco (10 carries, 37 yards) scored from 3 yards with Buckeye in a power-I formation. The Bucks defense did the rest.

Gage Williams had two sacks and Isaiah Williams had one, Evan Tesar had an interception, Austin Bir and Schulz had key tackles for loss and Pat Caniglia broke up a pass in the end zone on fourth-and-7 from the Buckeye 13. Revere’s only touchdown came on a 1-yard run by Matt Buser (16 rushes for 76 yards, 6 receptions for 94) with 10.2 seconds to go and a lot of Buckeye second-teamers on the field.

Just as important was punter Kriz, who had kicks of 58, 52 and 41 yards, with the latter pinning the Minutemen at their own 4. “That’s one of the best feelings,” Kriz said of getting his team out of trouble with a booming kick. “Last year I didn’t get to do it too much (because the Bucks moved the ball so well), so it feels good to do it in a game that matters.” Kriz, who is 6-foot and 242 pounds, started playing soccer when he was 4 years old and took to punting very quickly last year when Pinzone gave him a chance, but he quickly concedes he doesn’t look like a traditional punter and is often reminded of that fact by his appreciative teammates. “They all make fun of me,” he said with a laugh. “They call me ‘The Chubby Punter’ or ‘The Fat Guy That Kicks.’ They keep telling me I’m going to drop the snap, but it hasn’t happened yet.”

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Rocky River Week 2

Posted by Dave Rea at Oct 25, 2017 5:00PM PDT ( 0 Comments )
Buckeye Dominates Rocky River In Non-League Victory
 

9/2/2017 - By HARRY PECK The Gazette 
 
ROCKY RIVER - The Buckeye football team steamrolled Rocky River with an offense that was sometimes explosive and sometimes dominating. With a 35-16 final, Buckeye nailed shut the non-league win with two second-half touchdowns and largely played keepaway while grinding the clock with a procession of first downs.
 
Right after halftime, Buckeye allowed a Rocky River first down but forced a punt. Taking possession after the Pirates punt and a penalty, the Bucks went 63 yards in seven plays, with the big strike a 41-yard Adam Fauver pass to Logan Schultz, who was tackled on the 2-yard line. Dominic Monaco plunged in for his second touchdown to give Buckeye a 28-10 lead. The Pirates managed two first downs, but after another punt, Buckeye took over on its 32 and proceeded to run a 12-play meat-grinder drive that featured only one pass attempt, an incompletion.
 
Justin Canedy, who had 170 all-purpose yards in the first half, ran a counter around left end for a 5-yard score on the first play of the final quarter for the Bucks’ final touchdown. “We followed our game plan to run every play correctly, and one of our goals was to score every time we were in the red zone,” Fauver said. Rocky River made a final effort by driving 56 yards in four plays, with Dameon Crawford, who totaled 47 yards on the drive, catching a 15-yard TD from Michael Finnigan. The Bucks offense killed the final minutes with a punishing ground attack, piling up four first downs before Fauver took a knee at the Rocky River 19.
 
The Bucks’ ground game showed up in the first half as well. Taking possession on their own 10-yard line, Buckeye drove 90 yards in 11 plays, with Monaco going in from 6 yards out. Canedy sparked the visitors in the first period with a 22-yard pass from Fauver, plus a 15-yard sweep. Buckeye scored again on Austin Bir’s 4-yard run before Rocky River dented the scoreboard with a 38-yard field goal by Michael Conrad. Canedy, however, took the ensuing kickoff, bounced outside and went 82 yards.
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Lutheran West Week 4

Posted by Dave Rea at Oct 25, 2017 5:00PM PDT ( 0 Comments )
Buckeye Bounces Back And Shuts Down Lutheran West
 
 
9/16/2017 - By HARRY PECK The Gazette
 
YORK TWP. - Buckeye’s football team waited a whole week to get the taste of last week’s game against Cloverleaf out of its mouth. The Bucks took no prisoners, piling up offense yardage and stifling every effort Lutheran West offered in a 48-0 non-league blowout. Buckeye improved to 4-0, while Lutheran West fell to 2-2.
 
“Last week we just didn’t have much focus and this week we had a great week of practice,” Buckeye coach Greg Dennison said. “Our play action on offense was good and our defensive line played well. When you control the line, especially both lines, good things happen.” “We told ourselves we couldn’t do that again,” Bucks quarterback Adam Fauver said of a closer-than-expected 28-14 win over Cloverleaf in Week 3. “Mentally all week, our practice was great.”
 
The practice and focus translated onto the field and into the game. In the third quarter alone, Anthony Watkins returned the kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown, Fauver scored from 50 yards out and Austin Bir added a 69-yard run as the period expired. Defensively, Buckeye kept the Longhorns’ big guns in check.
 
Quarterback Rory Zakareckis, who had 333 yards passing in his first three games, plus 269 yards rushing, with five touchdowns total, was totally stifled. The quarterback was held to zero yards rushing on six attempts and hit only 5-of-13 passes for 64 yards in the first half. Trey Decicco, a freshman, played the entire second half for Lutheran West. Similarly, running back Gerald McHenry managed only 4 yards rushing after arriving at Buckeye averaging 10 yards per carry. McHenry and Zakareckis suffered repeated sacks or negative yardage plays from a surging Buckeye line.
 
In the first half, the Bucks had two scores on the board before half the crowd at Edwin B. Steingass Field was really settled. Dominic Monaco sprinted 66 yards up the middle on the game’s first play. Upon a change of possession, tight end Logan Schulz was wide open deep and caught a 67-yard TD from Fauver. Anthony Musarra caught a 23 yarder from Fauver to wrap up the touchdown barrage in the third quarter and for the game. Clay Gunkelman split the uprights on 6-of-7 PAT kicks.
 
For the game, Buckeye piled up 402 yards total offense, including 290 on the ground on just 17 carries. Fauver put up 127 yards rushing on eight carries and Monaco added 67 on just three carries. Fauver was 4-for-8 passing for 112 yards, all in the first half. The Bucks threw no passes in the second half. Buckeye quarterbacks also delayed at the line of scrimmage repeatedly, milking the clock.
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Columbia Week 5

Posted by Dave Rea at Oct 25, 2017 5:00PM PDT ( 0 Comments )
Buckeye Rolls Columbia In PAC Cross-Division Victory
 

9/22/2017 - By DAN BROWN The Gazette
 
COLUMBIA TWP. - What started as a good old-fashioned game of can-you-top-this was ended by Buckeye’s football team in the second half. A combination of offensive execution after key defensive stops gave way to a rout, as the Bucks walked away with a convincing 49-20 victory over Columbia in Patriot Athletic Conference cross-division play.
 
Leading 28-20 at halftime, Buckeye (5-0, 2-0) battled penalties and a pair of turnovers to score 21 unanswered points and lock up the victory. “We just had to do what we do,” said Buckeye quarterback Adam Fauver, who finished with three touchdowns. “Coming in, we knew it was going to be a tough game, because we’re usually the two best teams in the conference. I just think we stuck with what was working. We’re in shape, we’re conditioned, so we knew we had to push through the pain in the first half.” A scoring barrage featuring Raiders standout running back Brandon Coleman and Bucks wideout Justin Canedy slowed to screeching halt, as both teams dealt with miscues and the unusual midseason heat.
 
That’s when Fauver and Buckeye took over. The senior, who finished with 112 yards on 17 carries and another 102 yards through the air on 6-of-8 attempts, scored from 8 and 10 yards midway through the second half to all but ice the victory. “It’s so nice for me, because I know the line takes pride in doing the job right,” he said. “I love letting them get some praise, too. They fought through everything in the first half, made some adjustments and fought hard the rest of the way.” Two things made that possible for Fauver: Canedy setting the tone early and a defense that locked down the explosive Coleman.
 
After a Raiders touchdown on a fumble recovery in the end zone by Ben Alten, Canedy took the ensuing kickoff 86 yards untouched and followed with a 68-yard sprint on an end-around on his first offensive touch. “I just saw the open field,” said the modest Canedy, who had 220 all-purpose yards. “The guys blocked great. I just saw the hole and went through it. Once I break open, I’m like, ‘100-meter dash right here.’”
 
From there, the Bucks used the state-qualifying sprinter as a decoy to open things for Fauver to. But don’t forget about the defense, as Dom Kriz was dominant with a pair of sacks and fumble recovery in the second half. Combine that with interceptions from Pat Caniglia and Anthony Watkins and a fumble recovery from Jacob Doerge and the rout was on. The Bucks also did a better job of containing Coleman, who left the game in the fourth quarter with a leg injury. Coleman had 188 yards on 26 carries, including a pair of scores, but had just 30 yards on six touches after halftime.
 
“I thought out guys came out in the third quarter and played great,” said Columbia coach Jason Ward, whose team fell to 3-2, 1-1.” Obviously, they’re a heckeva team. They’re well-coached, have lots of talent and we couldn’t stay with them. Sometimes you get beat by a better team, and that happened tonight.”
 
Despite two turnovers in the third quarter, Buckeye kept pressuring Raiders quarterback Jared Bycznski (3-for-9, 18 yards, 2 INTs), forcing four fumbles and recovering two. “We talk all the time about how you respond to bad things is going to determine how successful you are,” Buckeye coach Greg Dennison said. “Some bad things happened to us there. We had a couple of penalties that hurt us, but we responded. We regrouped at halftime and played much better defensively in the second half. “I’m so proud of the way our kids played. We competed, and that’s a really good win because they’re a really good team. Anytime you beat a team like that, you know you had to do a lot of things right.”
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Wellington Week 6

Posted by Dave Rea at Oct 25, 2017 5:00PM PDT ( 0 Comments )
Buckeye Dominates Wellington In PAC Stars Division Victory

 
9/29/2017 - By RICK NOLAND Gazette Assistant Sports Editor
 
YORK TWP. - The Wellington football program has just 31 players — the band has 24, counting twirlers and an electric guitar player — so the Dukes don’t have junior varsity or freshman teams. Buckeye, however, got plenty of action for players in all three levels of its program in rolling to a 50-0 Patriot Athletic Conference Stars Division victory that could have been much worse. The Bucks took a 41-0 halftime lead behind varsity quarterback Adam Fauver, then used backup Michael Knoll and all 5-foot-5, 107 pounds of freshman QB Brendan Miller in a second half that was played with a running clock.
 
“It was awesome,” said 6-foot, 212-pound senior right guard/inside linebacker Turner Mitchell. “We fired on all cylinders. We respect all our opponents and we give 100 percent on every play. We want to be the first Buckeye team in school history to win a playoff game, so we just keep going at it.” The Bucks (6-0, 1-0) scored touchdowns the first five times they had the ball — the drives covered 8, 42, 34, 45 and 67 yards — and added an electrifying 49-yard punt return TD by Jonathon Neel late in the first half. “We had great focus all the way throughout,” Neel said. “Even with the young guys coming in, they played hard. It was just a great team win all the way around.”
 
Try as he might to hold down the score — the Bucks didn’t attempt a pass in the second half and 10 players had rushing attempts on the night — a Greg Dennison-coached team scored 50 points for just the third time in his 24-year, 256-game career. The Dukes (0-6, 0-1), who have only 24 players from 10th through 12th grade, finished with minus-31 yards rushing and 103 passing, 44 of that coming on a late-game completion.
 
The Bucks didn’t put up monster offensive numbers — 214 yards rushing, 84 passing — because they didn’t have to nor try to and because they repeatedly got the ball in great field position. Collin Graham, Isaiah Williams and Logan Steppenback had interceptions for Buckeye, while A.J. Kirlough recorded a safety and 6-1, 223-pound third-string sophomore tailback Armando Nigh, who finished with 69 yards on 10 bruising carries, scored a TD when he recovered a Wellington fumble in the end zone from his linebacker spot.
 
Wellington opened the game by putting all its offensive linemen but the center near the sideline in an attempt to throw quick-hitting flare passes behind the line of scrimmage, but the Bucks weren’t fooled. By the time the game ended, Buckeye had gotten sacks from Anthony Musarra, Austin Bir and Gage Williams, among others, and a fumble recovery from Taylor Salmonski to set up a Week 7 Stars Division showdown at undefeated Black River. “It’s Buckeye vs. Black River,” Neel said. “It’s a big rivalry and we’re both undefeated. That’s going to make it even more fun.”
 
In addition to Nigh’s defensive TD and Neel’s punt return, the Bucks got 4- and 1-yard scores from starting tailback Dominic Monaco (6 carries, 56 yards), a 34-yard TD pass from Fauver (6-for-7, 84 yards) to tight end Logan Schulz, a 5-yard run by Bir and a scintillating 31-yarder from Justin Canedy, who broke two tackles and sidestepped another along the left sideline.
 
While the Bucks vow to continue taking things one game at a time, they have bigger goals than a fifth straight Stars Division title and undefeated regular season. “Ever since we’ve been growing up, we’ve heard that Buckeye’s never won a playoff game,” Neel said. “It’s an ongoing thought. It’s not a matter of wanting to get into the playoffs. It’s that we want to win a playoff game.”
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