Buckeye rallies to clinch first
postseason win in school history

Their prize is a regional semifinal against second-seeded Kenston (10-1) next week. Things briefly looked eerily similar to postseasons past for Buckeye (10-1), but then Anthony Watkins stepped up and took a short pass from Jacob Doerge and went 64 yards to put the Bucks ahead to stay with 1:34 left.

“I wanted it so bad,” an emotional Watkins said. “I’ve seen that ending repeated since my brother (Carlton) has been here. I wanted to be the one that broke the streak. I wanted to score. I wanted to make history. I wanted to be the one who leads this team.” Playoff participants nine other times, Buckeye always found heartbreak in the first round. There had been years where the Bucks were blown out. There had been three-point losses. There had been overtime losses. And when Alliance (7-4) went ahead for the first time on a stunning 80-yard touchdown pass with 1:53 remaining, it looked like the next chapter of misery was going to be added to the books.

Right before that, Buckeye looked like a lock to win. Up 21-19, it marched to the Alliance 14-yard line, but a fumble by Dom Monaco (18 carries, 98 yards, 2 TDs) gave the Aviators the ball on their own 20 with 2:07 to play. Brandon Alexander rolled to his left and hit a wide-open Gavin Geier on an 80-yard touchdown on the next play to put Alliance, which had trailed since Buckeye scored on the first drive of the game, up 25-21.

Then Watkins stepped in and added a wrinkle that will be talked about for decades. Buckeye began its drive on its 36 with 1:48 remaining and coach Greg Dennison called 78 under, which is a simple screen to Watkins near the right sideline. Watkins caught it at the 35, broke two tackles at the line of scrimmage and stepped out of another at the 48 before turning on the jets. Aviators defensive back Demarko Brooks had a chance to ground him at the 2-yard line, but the senior jumped into the end zone and into the history books.

“Right after Alexander’s pass, my first thought was, ‘It figures that’s going to happen,’” Doerge said. “But I went right back into the offensive mode and started thinking, ‘What are we doing? Are we going to go with the two-minute drill or are we going to go with a pass play?’ I tried to keep my head as well as I could and I guess it worked out. “I honestly couldn’t see (Watkins). I got hit after the pass (and a flag for roughing the quarterback was thrown). I turned back and was looking at the ref and then I saw him through a mass of people going down the sideline. I just couldn’t believe it.”

Up 14-0 and 21-6 in the first half, Buckeye didn’t get a first down in the second half until there was less than five minutes in the fourth quarter. That drive ended with Monaco’s fumble, but it didn’t end in defeat.

“I knew we had two minutes left after (Geier’s score),” Monaco said. “I know we have one of the best playmakers in Medina County with Anthony Watkins. With time left on the board, anything can happen. “The heart of this team is crazy. All year, we just believed we could do it. We had so much adversity. We had 18 seniors graduate. We got blown out by Revere (in Week 1). We strung nine wins in a row and now 10. This win is for every single Buckeye alum that has ever played football. This is for everyone.”

With the first playoff win in school history under their belt, the Bucks now want to make it two. “Now that they have a sense of it, they know they can compete in the playoffs,” Dennison said. “We’re excited to be playing in Week 12.”