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From The GAZETTE: By Lisa Gayle Grayson, Staff Writer
WILLARD — Chris Hawkins knew what Buckeye coach Chris Medaglia and his staff were going through this week.
Four years ago, the Willard football coach was scrambling days before the Crimson Flashes' first playoff game.
"I remember my first year as coach (at Willard), it was so overwhelming," said Hawkins, who is in his fourth year with the Flashes after heading Bucyrus Winford for five seasons.
But Willard is a couple of years from those pre-playoff game jitters.
Unlike Buckeye, which is preparing for its first playoff competition, Hawkins will be coaching his third Division III regional game with the Flashes tonight when the teams meet in Willard at 7.
The Flashes' playoff resume is noteworthy. They boast a 3-4 record heading into their fifth regional appearance.
In 1999, Hawkins took his first team to the regional semifinals. Behind quarterback Charlie Frye, now playing for the University of Akron, the Flashes lost 33-27 to eventual state runner-up Columbus Bishop Watterson.
Willard returned to regional action in 2001 and again made it to the semis with a 27-7 win over Bellefontaine. Its season ended when the Flashes were upended 24-22 by Sunbury Big Walnut.
The Bucks say they are ready to face-off against the Flashes. The winner gets a chance to play the winner of top-seeded Akron Buchtel
(10-0) and No. 8 Napoleon (9-1) next Saturday.
Buckeye and Willard both have one conference loss during the season. The Bucks lost to Triway (7-3), while Willard fell to Northern Ohio League champ and D-II playoff-bound Tiffin Columbian (9-1).
"They're really similar to us in a lot of ways," Buckeye running back/defensive back Forest Mercer said. "They've got a lot of skilled players and some skilled kids. They run a lot of similar things that we do."
Hawkins thinks the strength of his team — which returned 14 starters, including eight on offense — is its diversity.
While the Flashes' stats imply they are a passing team, Hawkins said their running game is also effective.
"We're not a run-and-shoot (offense like) Kenton," said Hawkins, referring to the Wildcats' quarterback Ben Mauk who broke the national high school record for career passing yards this season.
"We'll throw the ball 25 to 30 times, or 10 times if they shutdown our passing. If they have nine people in the box, we'll pass."
Added Columbian coach Steve Gilbert, "They're as balanced of a team as you'll find. They're a senior-dominated team with a lot of kids who played as sophomores."
A main staple to Willard's success is three-year starting quarterback Nick Stance. The 6-foot-2, 180-pound senior has connected on 130-of-219 attempts for 104 yards with 24 touchdowns.
"He's really similar to the guy who quarterbacked them in 1999," Gilbert said. "They just slipped him right in and he grew with that team."
His main targets are three seniors — J.J. Ditz (55 catches for 734 yards, 5 TDs), Nick Dials (26, 594, 6 TDs) and Nate Williams (20, 419, 9 TDs).
If Buckeye shutdowns Stance's passing, Willard will likely count on Williams to carry the ball.
While coaches who played the Flashes this season said Williams has not been utilized in every game, he has 581 rushing yards and 10 TDs this season.
"They put the ball in the air about 70 percent of the time," Medaglia said. "We'll have to make sure to mix up our defensive coverage."
Buckeye's offense can make it easy on the defense if it can sustain long drives.
It won't come easy against the Flashes with a player like defensive lineman/tight end Gabe Sanders, a four-year starter, in the lineup. The 6-3, 240-pounder has 78 tackles and five sacks this season.
Sanders gets plenty of help on the defensive front. Sophomore Danny Hammond (5-11, 195) led the NOL in sacks with 12. Junior Hiram Smith (5-11, 170 pound) has 118 tackles.
"We have good kids and great athletes," Hawkins said. "The fans are knowledgeable and yell at me when I make stupid plays, so it will be a tough place to play. There will be crimson, black and white all over the place."
From The GAZETTE: By Lisa Gayle Grayson, Staff Writer
YORK TWP. — He first heard a pee wee football coach chant it, then the catch phrase carried through his prep career.
Forest "Run, Forrest, Run" Mercer had not seen the 1994 movie "Forrest Gump" until three years ago, but it has become a motto for him.
"I had a (pee wee) coach who said it every time," said Mercer, a senior running back/defensive back for Buckeye. "It really doesn't bother me. It's a long movie but it's a good one."
Like the lengthy film, Mercer's final season with the Bucks has had its share of drama with twists he did not expect.
Mercer headed into the fall with several individual goals, two of which will not be met.
He needed 48 more points to crack into Buckeye's top 10 all-time scoring leaders. Instead, he has 26 points to rank 14th overall.
He wanted to rush for 1,000 yards to surpass the 2,000-yard mark in his three-year Buckeye career. He stands at 720 yards.
"It was a little hard at first, and at certain points, you get a little irritated," the 5-foot-11, 175-pound Mercer said. "But that's the way things needed to be to get where we are."
The Bucks (9-1) are in the playoffs preparing for a Division III regional game at 7 p.m. Saturday against host Willard (9-1).
It is the Bucks' first Ohio High School Athletic Association playoff appearance.
"Those were two goals that were important to me," Mercer said. "I let them go to help the team, which is more important."
First-year Buckeye coach Chris Medaglia is impressed with the adaptability Mercer has displayed this season.
"This kid is so valuable," Medaglia said. "We can put him in three offensive positions, have him play corner, linebacker or safety. His versatility is his strongest point."
Mercer's willingness to be flexible has helped him embrace the team concept and to mature as an athlete.
The most evident lesson came Sept. 27 during what statistically was the best game of Mercer's season. Playing at home in Week 6 against Triway, Mercer rushed for 203 of the Bucks' 321 yards. Buckeye, however, suffered its only loss of the year 27-23.
"I ran the best game I've ever run, then we lost," Mercer said. "That probably would have been the highlight of the season so far."
To deal with some of the letdown, Mercer reminds himself that he is getting ready to play the 11th game of his final season.
"Playing 11 weeks instead of 10 is already great, but to go 12, 13, 14 would be awesome," he said. "Last year we looked back (after the season) and knew there were a lot of things we could have done that we didn't do.
"Now all I and the other seniors can do, is get as far as we can."
And hope this storyline has a happy ending.
From The GAZETTE: By Lisa Gayle Grayson, Staff Writer
YORK TWP. — To Jamison Van Drei, his Uncle Tyler is what football is all about.
The 2-year-old wears a No. 44 jersey with pride because to him, Buckeye running back/linebacker Tyler Van Drei is a celebrity.
"He thinks he's a stud," said Don Van Drei, Jamison's father and brother of the Buckeye junior.
Don Van Drei also admires what his little brother and the 9-1 Bucks have accomplished this season. The two-time All-Gazette quarterback led Buckeye to 5-5 and 7-3 finishes in 1990 and '91, respectively, but never sniffed the playoffs.
This year's team will be making its first postseason appearance Saturday at 7 p.m. when it travels to Willard for a Division III regional playoff game.
"Their team is not a bunch of stars," Don Van Drei, 28, said. "That's the difference from when I played. We had just a couple of stars."
The 6-foot-1, 205-pound Tyler Van Drei appreciates Buckeye's balanced approach although it took him a while to embrace the idea.
When he started playing football at the age of 9, he tried playing quarterback like his brother, but learned quickly that he needed to find his own niche.
"I wasn't that good," Tyler Van Drei said. "I couldn't throw the ball. I threw an interception every time I passed the ball.
"I'd rather run the ball. I figured I'd just stick to running back."
This season, he has proven what he can do when given the ball. He is tied for third in Medina County with 12 touchdowns. His 75 points tie him for 25th place in Buckeye history.
His 169 receiving yards on 10 catches are second on the Bucks, while he is third on the squad in rushing with 522 yards on 85 carries.
Last season, Van Drei had one touchdown and rushed for just 18 yards on four attempts.
Despite his success on offense, Tyler Van Drei said he is partial to playing defense.
"I like defense a lot more," he said. "I'd rather give the hits than take the hits. But I'd rather go both ways than just play one way and have to go stand on the sidelines. I don't like that at all."
Buckeye first-year coach Chris Medaglia agrees that if he had the luxury of not having to play Tyler Van Drei both ways, he would have him focus on defense.
"As an outside linebacker, nobody protects the field better than him," Medaglia said. "I can't explain it but to get outside of Tyler is almost impossible. He has the ability to read plays."
Van Drei is enjoying the season and what the program has accomplished but takes his own accomplishments in stride. He knows the importance of the team concept.
"I'm not any different than any of (my teammates)," he said. "They're blocking for me, I'm running behind them. I'm making the tackles, they're making the tackle with me. That's team."
He remains humble when talking about his team, but don't think Tyler Van Drei isn't eating up the attention he receives at home and being able to one-up his big brother.
"(My brother and I) were talking about it earlier this week about how he'd love to be in the playoffs," Tyler Van Drei said. "He'd love to get another chance at it. I just kept laughing, ‘I get the chance and you don't.' I was kind of rubbing it in.
"Everybody likes glory."
From The GAZETTE: By Jason P. Skoda, Staff Writer
YORK TWP. — For the first time in school history the Buckeye football program has more than 10 dominoes to worry about.
Of course, the concept of 10 dominoes equaling 10 regular-season games never entered the picture until first-year coach Chris Medaglia brought it up in the preseason.
After Ryan Hoover's 29-yard field with 2:12 left lifted the Bucks to a 10-9 win over Black River on Friday night in what was basically a Mohican Area Conference title game, Medaglia can set up five more and see how far Buckeye can go in the first playoff appearance in school history.
"I've talked about it all year," Medaglia said. "Knock one down and move on to the other. I brought it up again on Monday.
"We didn't worry about the MAC or the playoffs. All we cared about was beating Black River."
In doing so, Buckeye (9-1, 4-1) wrapped up a share of the MAC title with Black River (8-2, 4-1), while Triway finished third after a loss to West Holmes.
"This is unbelievable," senior running back Forest Mercer said. "We've worked so hard, but we feel we have more to do."
That additional work was made possible by Hoover's kick, two Buckeye goal-line stands, Darren Cereshko's nose for the ball and the Pirates' inability to hang on to it.
Nursing a 9-7 lead with just over four minutes to go, the Pirates got the ball on their 5-yard line after a 65-yard punt by Carl Waller.
The Pirates picked up one first down but fumbled twice — one by quarterback Kyle Clark and the other by running back Brian Ensign — without being hit on third-and-4 from the 22.
Buckeye's Cereshko, who had three interceptions, recovered at the Pirates 16 to set up Hoover's game-winner.
"(Quarterback) Dan (Cereshko) said, ‘Put it through,'" said Hoover. "Everything went silent. I concentrated on squaring up and getting lift on it.
"All I can say is we are going to the playoffs, baby."
It might not have been the case if the Pirates, who lost three of their seven fumbles, had been able to hang on to the ball.
"The conditions were wet, but, my gosh, this is the 10th week of the season," Black River coach Al Young said. "We have to be able to hang on to the ball. We gave up the ball too much."
The Pirates, who are in danger of having to travel for the first round of the Division IV playoffs, took the lead with 11:16 left on a 2-yard sweep by Ensign. The vital extra point was blocked by a host of Bucks.
The drive was typical Black River, as senior Brett Hastings (29 carries, 143 yards), Clark and Ensign moved the sticks on the 13-play, 72-yard march.
It was the only drive the Pirates were able to finish all game. Twice they had first-and-goal and couldn't find the end zone.
On their third drive of the game, which was set up by Darren Cereshko's fumble of a punt, Black River got down to the Buckeye 3, but two fumbled snaps forced the Pirates to settle for a 21-yard field goal by Clark.
On Black River's first possession of the second half —Mercer fumbled the kickoff — the Pirates got inside the Buckeye 10. They couldn't score on three tries from the 3, however, as Hastings was stopped on fourth-and-1 by seniors Travs Travers and Brian Vasel.
"We had plenty of opportunities," Young said. "We should have scored down there, both times. We didn't and that was the difference."
After getting only 43 yards rushing in the first half, Buckeye come out throwing the ball in the third period.
On the Bucks' second possession, Dan Cereshko warmed up, completing 4-of-6 to drive Buckeye down the field. He finished the drive with a 16-yard pass to Tyler Van Drei to give Buckeye its first score of the game with 4:29 left in the third quarter.
Right about then, that 10th domino began to tilt in the Bucks' favor.
From the GAZETTE: By Rick Noland, Asst. Sports Editor
Buckeye's Darren Cereshko bruised his back early, but he came back to break Black River's late.
As a result, the Bucks rallied for a thrilling 10-9 win over the Pirates on Friday, meaning the two county teams will share the Mohican Area Conference championship.
"Darren is unbelievable," Buckeye coach Chris Medaglia said. "If he's not a first-team Division III all-state cornerback, I don't know who is."
I don't, either. Cereshko isn't the biggest or fastest or strongest player in the county, but only Wadsworth's Paul Macko, who has scored touchdowns five different ways, comes close to matching the 5-foot-11, 170-pounder in the big-play department.
What makes Cereshko's ability to heavily influence the outcome of games more remarkable is he plays wide receiver on offense in addition to cornerback, not the two easiest spots to dominate a game, especially in high school.
Yet there he was against Black River recovering a fumble, intercepting three passes and catching another (a 54-yard TD reception was called back due to a penalty).
The fumble recovery, which occurred at the Black River 16 with 3:38 to play and set up Ryan Hoover's game-winning field goal, might have been the biggest play in a game filled with big plays.
It didn't require an exceptional effort on the part of Cereshko, who dove on the loose pigskin after Black River fumbled it twice, but the kid simply has a knack for being in the right place at the right time.
"A lot of people say they'd rather be lucky than good," Medaglia said. "I'd rather be good. If I'm good, I'm going to perform. Darren is good."
Good might be an understatement given that Cereshko now has 12 interceptions this season, bringing him within four of what many thought was an untouchable Buckeye record — Scott Farren's 16 picks in the 1987 season.
Nothing against Farren, who was exceptional at reading a quarterback and coming down with the ball, but Cereshko is a much more complete player.
Of course, the humble and softspoken junior would never say that.
"I can't explain it," he said of his big-play ability. "I'm just always there."
That was the case once again late in the game against the Pirates, as Cereshko preserved the win by getting his final interception with 1:27 to play.
That helped atone — one last time — for an early Cereshko fumble on a punt return, on which he hurt his back and went to the sideline for a few plays.
"For some reason, I knew we'd pull it off," Cereshko said. "It was just a gut feeling."
It was more than a gut feeling. Cereshko, as always, had his team's back. And on this night, he broke Black River's.
