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From the GAZETTE: By Jason P. Skoda, Staff Writer
YORK TWP. — Chris Medaglia won't do it, at least not until Buckeye's football season is over.
The last time the Bucks' first-year coach let his guard down and broke a smile, the team lost the following week.
So the 30-year-old isn't being rude; he's just being cautious.
"I told a few people that I'm not going to let up until the season is over," Medaglia said. "I will look back at everything we accomplished once the season is over. The last time I smiled was after we beat (Warren) JFK and we got beat the next week (by Triway).
"There is no way I am letting my guard down until we are done and then I can finally relax."
The Bucks (8-1, 3-1) can take one step toward a sigh of relief tonight as they host Black River (8-1, 4-0) at Steingass Field.
If Buckeye beats the Pirates, it grabs a share of the Mohican Area Conference title for the first time and assures the Bucks will make the playoffs for the first time.
If that happens, Medaglia is sure to let a smile creep into the team huddle afterward. It would be Buckeye's first league title since the
Bucks won the Inland Conference in 1987.
"Wins and all of that ...," Medaglia said. "I don't know how much I had to do with them. What I did was get the players to believe. I think they are proud to wear their jersey and say they play for Buckeye and that hasn't always been the case in the past."
Senior defensive tackle Travs Travers said there has been a difference in the program since Medaglia took over for Jeff Ladner.
"We are about being a team more than before," Travers said earlier in the season. "(Coach) Ladner talked about being a team, but (Medaglia) made it about the team. We are all in this together with one goal in mind."
Black River coach Al Young has noticed the difference as well.
"Their team speed is good and they are big," Young said. "I thought coming into the season they would be a very solid team, but Chris has done a super job and they believe in him."
York Township hasn't been the only place where a transformation has taken place. Just two years ago, Black River was 3-7 and winless in the MAC.
Young has the Pirates one win away from capturing their second outright title (they shared three others) since 1998, and a win assures Black River would host a Division IV first-round playoff game.
"We're still young, but experienced," said Young, whose Pirates were 6-4 last season. "I thought we'd continue to progress, we'd be at the top of the MAC and have a shot at the playoffs. I knew we'd have a good team and everything has fallen into place."
And that place led to a showdown with Buckeye.
"We can't get into a hole early," Young said. "We have to be error free. Their defense has scored a touchdown every game (actually four) I think. It sure makes you think before you pass the ball."
The Pirates, ranked fourth in D-IV, Region 13, run the ball (273.4 yards a game) and think "pass" second. That's different from in the past when Black River ran the ball and passed only when hard pressed, and still the Pirates usually ran.
"It's a new dimension," said Medaglia, whose Bucks are seventh in D-III, Region 10. "They still run the ball as hard as ever, but now they mix in the pass. It can be a very tough combination to stop."
The Pirates average 6.2 yards a carry, led by senior Brett Hastings (1,009 yards, 20 TD), and 23.7 yards a catch, led by senior Andrew Cortese (17 catches, 546 yards, 4 TD). Junior quarterback Kyle Clark is running the offense better than any time in his three years at the helm.
It will be Buckeye's biggest test. Led by Travers, linebacker Tyler Van Drei, and defensive back Darren Cereshko (9 interceptions), it yields only 83 yards rushing a game and has picked off 16 passes.
Life won't be easy for Black River's defense, either. Buckeye, led by Van Drei (531 yards, 12 TD) and Forest Mercer (672 yards, 4 TD), averages 231.7 yards on the ground.
The Pirates, led by Clark, linebacker Stefan Mullins and Cortese, give up 98.3 yards a game.
"This is what playing the game is about," Medaglia said. "We look at it as we have to win this game to make the playoffs. We have to beat our biggest rival to accomplish things no one thought we had a chance of doing.
"The only thing left is to play the game."
The Bucks want a share of the MAC Championship and a state playoff berth. Week 10 has the Pirates and the Bucks in a Medina County Showdown. Buckeye has won the last 2 meetings between the two by scores of 24-7 last year and 33-14 in the 2000 season.
The 2001 game saw neither team score in the opening period, but the Bucks made up for it later in the game. It was cold with snow flurries in Shreve that night, as Buckeye opened the scoring with 1:30 to go in the half on a 38 yard run by Forest Mercer. Dustan Dolata added the point to make it 7-0. Black River came right back on a Kyle Clark 6 yard pass to Stefan Mullins with 6 seconds left, and it was knotted at 7 for intermission.
The second half was all Buckeye as they pounded the Pirates with 17 unanswered points. Brandon Grim started it with a 30 yard run with a 1:30 in the 3rd to make it 14-7. Then Dolata added a 40 yard field goal with 9:39 in the 4th to give the Bucks a 17-7 edge.
Tim Maxworthy picked Clark off, the last of his 3 INTs, and went 30 yards for the final score with 8:40 left, and the Bucks were 24-7 winners.
The Bucks Offense managed 177 yards rushing, but on had 1 completion for 6 yards, and were intercepted 3 times. The Defense came up huge though, as they recovered 4 fumbles and picked off 4 passes. Black River had only 97 yards rushing to go with their 85 yards passing.
This week is the game Buckeye has been looking forward to. Strap it up tight guys, bring your 'A' game, and set the tone early.
You dictate the outcome and finish the season with a win! 
The Spirit Sweeties are selling Buckeye Camoflage Battle Rags at the school for $4.00, in addition to the homemade chocolate suckers that Mrs. Boutton makes for us. Get in style with ever popular Buckeye Camo!
The Spirit Sweeties have been busy! We accompanied the Mom's Club in the Homecoming parade. They prepared treats for the team and painted posters after school on Thursday, (we do this every Thurs.) They sold baked goods and hot cider at the Loudonville football game.
This week they are gearing up for a road trip to Clear Fork to help cheer the team on to VICTORY against the Colts!
From the GAZETTE: By Jason P. Skoda, Staff Writer
YORK TWP. — From the start of the football season, there has been something different with the Buckeye program.
Whether it was missing the playoffs by a fraction of a point last season or the infusion of positive thinking brought by first-year coach Chris Medaglia, the Bucks are being driven to do things not seen in a long time at the school.
Friday night's 36-0 thumping of Loudonville in Mohican Area Conference play was another indication Buckeye is on to something in 2002.
The Bucks (7-1, 2-1) have been led by junior Darren Cereshko's big-play ability on both sides of the ball all season, but the junior wide receiver/defensive back bruised his right knee on the second series of the game and never returned.
In seasons past it could have been the first circle in the road down the drain for Buckeye.
Instead, senior Mike Kruse stepped into Cereshko's role and helped Buckeye pound the Redbirds (4-4, 0-3).
"Mike Kruse was huge," Medaglia said. "Everyone on this team knows he has a role. They follow it, and when someone goes down the rest just step up.
"That never would have happened before. It would have been a reason to have a negative reaction."
This year, all it meant was Kruse and Tyler Van Drei took over the offensive load.
Van Drei, who had 151 total yards and two touchdowns, started the scoring with a 44-yard run with 3:57 left in the first and closed it with a 37-yard reception with 10:36 left in the game.
Kruse put the Bucks up 17-0 by hauling in a 17-yard strike from Dan Cereshko with 5:05 left in the second quarter.
"I haven't had many chances to do anything this year," said Kruse, who finished with three catches for 32 yards and added an interception. "It felt good to step in and makes some plays.
"When (Cereshko) went out we knew we had to look to someone else for big plays."
Dan Cereshko (9-of-14, 140 yards, 2 TDs) replaced his twin brother's penchant for returning interceptions for touchdowns.
He picked off Loudonville's Richard Beans and took it back 47 yards for the score 19 seconds before halftime to give the Bucks a 23-0 lead.
It was Dan's first defensive TD of the season and left him two short of Darren's three defensive TDs.
"We came in trying to do some uncharacteristic things on offense," Loudonville coach John Lance said. "We came in wanting to pass because we knew we were going to struggle running the ball.
"When (Cereshko) went out we thought it played right into our game plan."
In years past that might have been the case, but the Buckeye defense held the Redbirds to 131 total yards and allowed Loudonville to cross the 50 just once.
"We weren't going to let up," said senior defensive end Jason Seeley, who had a fumble recovery. "There is too much on the line.
"It's a great feeling this year. We've never been in this position and we aren't going to stop until the end of the year."
From the GAZETTE: By Jason P. Skoda, Staff Writer
Just like team, there is no "I" in Travs.
In that regard, Travs Travers is much like the rest of the Buckeye football team.
"We don't worry about anything other than doing our job," Travers said. "We have team goals, but there are no individuals on this team."
That said, Travers, a 5-foot-11, 255-pound senior defensive tackle, does stand out. And, it's not just because of his unique first name.
"Travs is a driving force on this team," first-year coach Chris Medaglia said. "He was in the weight room at 6 a.m. four, five times a week pushing everyone around him."
Travers, who also rotates on the offensive line as a guard, had two incidents that pushed him all offseason.
The first had to do with the playing field, as the Bucks just missed their first playoff appearance last season.
Buckeye finished 10th in the Division III, Region 10 computer rankings with 15.1500 points, which was .2384 behind the eighth and final spot.
"That's one extra rep, one 10-pound plate, one extra set," Travers said. "We were that close to making it and it really pushed us. It was a rallying point all offseason. We weren't going to let it happen again."
This season, the Bucks (6-1 overall, 1-1 in the Mohican Area Conference) have a hold of the eighth spot with three weeks to go.
The other impetus to Travers' season is more a matter of the heart.
His mother, Dale Andale, died around the Christmas holidays because of an allergic reaction to an antibiotic given to her for pneumonia.
"I told her I would make it to college," said Travers, who lives with his aunt, Sara Andale. "I don't have the greatest grades in the world, but I'm looking to play at any level.
"I do little things before each game to get myself ready and she is a big part of it."
That desire has led to Travers becoming a disruptive force to opposing offenses.
In the Bucks' 49-0 win over West Holmes last week, Travers destroyed a trap play, forcing a fumble that eventually led to a score.
"He studies so much tape that he knows what a team does out of certain formations," Medaglia said. "He absolutely destroyed that (West Holmes) kid.
"I told him I wouldn't want to be a running back playing against him because he'd be in your face all day."
Travers, whose bench press jumped from 270 pounds to 340, said his dedication in the film room is another reason he has become a better player.
"You can pick up so many things," said Travers, whose sophomore brother, B.J., is the starting linebacker for Westlake. "My key is the guard. He tells me where the play is going.
"I want to be a coach someday and watching tape is a way I can prepare for it."
Before Travers segues into coaching, the Bucks have a few more things to take care of this season.
"We haven't proven anything yet," he said. "If we beat Triway (a 27-23 defeat two weeks ago), maybe we could be getting more respect.
"That won't happen until we win (the MAC) and make the playoffs. Then we'll be known as a good team."
