High school football: Wild finish as Buckeye stuns Cloverleaf with late score, conversion

YORK TWP. — Quarterback Casey Murray had dreamed of this moment his entire football life: leading a two-minute, game-winning drive like Tom Brady. Fullback Gage Nagy was so scared when his number was called he "wanted to cry." Together they created arguably the greatest finish in Buckeye football history. With 7.4 seconds remaining, the Bucks trailing Cloverleaf by seven points and without a timeout, Murray threw a 2-yard touchdown to Zach Onorati. Coach Greg Dennison didn't hesitate before electing to go for two, and Nagy snuck into the right flat for a wide-open conversion reception that sent the home crowd into hysteria. Career win No. 200 for Dennison was about as good as it could get: Buckeye 29, Cloverleaf 28 in an epic non-league classic that neither team deserved to lose. "These are emotions I've never had before in my life," Murray said as the band blared the fight song. "It couldn't have gone better — well, it could have gone better — but it was the right outcome: game-winning drive with 1:43 left. I've never been more happy in my life. "Growing up I'd watch NFL superstars, nothing better than 'Sunday Night Football,' two minutes left, down four points and Tom Brady coming on the field and scoring a touchdown. It was my chance, and I wanted to do that." The sequence that began with 1:43 remaining capped a back-and-forth thriller that saw the teams answer each other in 11 seconds, 1:02, 1:40 and 2:07. After plodding through a 7-6 first half in which nothing exciting happened after opening scoring drives, the teams combined for 44 points and 516 yards total offense over the final 24 minutes behind lines that dominated more thoroughly as the hot night progressed. Murray completed only four of his first 10 pass attempts but over the final 7:37 was 7-for-9 for 92 yards and two TDs to Onorati. Sophomore Troy McCann (19 carries, 149 yards) went 65 yards untouched thanks to a massive hole created by All-Gazette linemen Todd Allen and Ben Midea on the Bucks' first play from scrimmage, while Nagy (6 carries, 51 yards, TD, all in second half) earned redemption for fumbling at the Cloverleaf 4-yard line with 11:38 left. The Colts received a brilliant first career start from speedy quarterback Oakley Kemp, who had a 59-yard touchdown among 18 rushing attempts for 188 yards. Connor Hitchcock (22 carries, 105 yards, 3 TDs) ran 12 times for 105 yards and two TDs in the second half — almost all behind right guard Timmy Shores, right tackle Caleb Goode and tight end Lakota Hagenbaugh — while Landon Campbell added eight attempts for 67 yards. "We're going to figure out what type of team we're going to be this year," Colts coach Justin Vorhies said. "Is this going to be our story — a one-point loss — or are we going to fix those things that we didn't take advantage of? If we correct those things, we'll have a great year. "It was constant back and forth, back and forth. Neither team gave up." Buckeye tied the score at 21 after Murray found Onorati on a 45-yard post route on third-and-18 with 7:37 to play. The Colts answered with a 16-play, 70-yard drive that featured a heavy dose of counter trey right and an 11-yard pop pass from backup QB Austin Brooks — Kemp was out with cramps — to Hagenbaugh one play after Brooks fumbled a shotgun snap, setting up Hitchcock's 2-yard TD over right tackle with 1:43 remaining. Boosted by the gorgeous bomb to Onorati on the previous possession, Murray went to work on his own 38 with three timeouts in his pocket. A 21-yard pass to Ranger Metter moved the Bucks near the red zone, and Murray found tight end Treytan Widenmeyer (5 catches, 40 yards) for a 7-yard connection on third-and-6. A few plays later, Murray again found Widenmeyer, this time on a 7-yarder to the 2 with 7.4 seconds on the clock. Buckeye called its last timeout, and Dennison didn't overthink by calling for a run when the odds of getting off potentially two passes were high. Murray took the shotgun snap, looked left and found two receivers running closely together in the left flat guarded by one Cloverleaf player. He floated the ball just enough to clear the defender and into the arms of Onorati with 3.3 seconds to play. Cloverleaf called timeout as Buckeye lined up for the two-point conversion, but it didn't matter. Murray faked an isolation to McCann on the right to suck in the defense, rolled slightly and lofted the ball to Nagy, who was so wide open he had time to square his shoulders, plant his feet and pray he'd catch the ball. "Knowing the play call, I thought we should have ran power (to McCann), but when I heard it, I'm like, 'I'm going to be in this play. I've got to step up right now,"' Nagy said. "I was scared a little bit to drop it. I was not ready for that (to be so wide open). I was so scared I wanted to cry. It was scary." No one could have predicted an offensive explosion after a snoozefest following touchdowns on the opening possessions. Cloverleaf began with a 14-play, 70-yard drive that ate 7:05 — Hitchcock scored from the 1 — while Buckeye answered with McCann's 65-yarder. Something clicked up front, however, and the second half got wild in a hurry. Buckeye caught a big break when Nolan Martin returned a Kemp fumble 46 yards to the Cloverleaf 9, setting up a Nagy 9-yard TD run in which he spun out of a tackle. The Colts needed just 1:02 to respond, with Kemp taking a counter trey left, bursting through a huge hole and scurrying 59 yards to paydirt with 5:50 left in the third quarter. Cloverleaf led 21-14 after a two-point conversion pass to Griffin Petrocci, then caught a break when linebacker Clay Combs stole the ball from Nagy on the Colts 4 with 11:38 remaining. The ensuing drive was a display in O-line dominance, as Cloverleaf ran counter trey concepts to the right six times to cover 96 yards in 1:54. Campbell gave the Colts breathing room with a 47-yard run and Kemp and Hitchock each ripped off double-digit carries before Hitchock scored from 21 yards with 9:44 to play. That set up the finish that no one will forget anytime soon. "It's very special," said Dennison, who has won 11 games at Norton, 148 at Wadsworth and 41 at Buckeye. "We had so many reasons to pack it in at times. We'd have things going then we'd fumble or give up a big play, but our kids kept battling. That will take you a long way." Contact Albert Grindle at (330) 721-4043 or agrindle@medina-gazette.com. Buckeye 29, Cloverleaf 28 CLOVERLEAF &emsp;&emsp;6 0 8 14 — 28 BUCKEYE &emsp;&emsp;7 0 7 15 — 29 First C — Connor Hitchcock 1 run (kick failed), 4:55. B — Troy McCann 65 run (Brayden Bonnett kick), 4:44. Third B — Gage Nagy 6 run (Bonnett kick), 6:52. C — Oakley Kemp 59 run (Griffin Petrocci pass from Kemp), 5:50. Fourth C — Connor Hitchcock 21 run (Bonnett kick), 9:44. B — Zach Onorati 45 pass from Casey Murray (Bonnett kick), 7:37. C — Hitchcock 2 run (Landon Campbell run), 1:43. B — Onorati 2 pass from Murray (Nagy pass from Murray), 0:03.3. &emsp;&emsp;C &emsp;&emsp;B First downs &emsp;&emsp;20 &emsp;&emsp;16 Rushing &emsp;&emsp;49/358 35/217 Rushing average &emsp;&emsp;7.3 &emsp;&emsp;6.2 Passing &emsp;&emsp;7/14&emsp;&emsp;11/19 Passing yards &emsp;&emsp;48 &emsp;&emsp;132 Total offense &emsp;&emsp;63/406 54/349 Punting &emsp;&emsp;3/35.7 2/41.0 Penalties &emsp;&emsp;4/20 &emsp;&emsp;3/30 Fumbles &emsp;&emsp;4/1 &emsp;&emsp;4/3 RUSHING: Cloverleaf — Kemp 18-188, Hitchock 22-105, Landon Campbell 8-67, Austin Brooks 1-(-2). Buckeye — McCann 19-149, Nagy 6-51, Murray 7-6, Onorati 2-6, Brandon Hayner 1-5. PASSING: Cloverleaf — Kemp 6-13-37-0, Austin Brooks 1-1-11-0. Buckeye — Murray 11-19-132-0. RECEIVING: Cloverleaf — Campbell 3-15, Will Jerome 2-12, Lakota Hagenbaugh 1-11, Griffin Petrocci 1-10. Buckeye — Onorati 3-51, Treytan Widenmeyer 5-40, Ranger Metter 2-32, Hayner 1-9.