Announcement
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.”
