High school football: Buckeye wins, gets help for GLC East share

YORK TWP. — The Buckeye football got back to its winning ways Friday night by dominating Normandy in just about every way in a 48-12 Great Lakes Conference East Division game. That win, paired with Holy Name defeating Valley Forge 30-16, earned the Bucks a three-way share of the GLC East championship with the Green Wave and Patriots. Buckeye (8-2, 3-1) opened itself up to needing help from Holy Name (4-6, 3-1) after losing 28-17 to Valley Forge (4-6, 3-1) in Week 8, the team's first loss of the season. "Always being a champion feels good," quarterback Casey Murray said. "We know we dropped one to Valley Forge we probably shouldn't have. Still, being a champion is a hard thing to do and it feels good." The win also helps the Bucks build some necessary momentum headed into their first-round playoff matchup against a to be determined opponent by ending a two-game losing streak that included a 48-34 loss to Gilmour Academy last week. "The last two games we ended with a loss and it was very disappointing," tight end Trey Widenmeyer said. "Coming off this big win, I think we have a lot of momentum. Hopefully we can go in with a lot of steam and keep winning." Widenmeyer caught two passes for 27 yards, with both balls going for touchdowns from Murray. The signal caller was 6-for-6 passing for 90 yards and two scores. On the first play of the second quarter Murray found fullback Gage Nagy (3 catches, 51 yards) for a 30-yard gain to make him the Buckeye career leader in passing. He now has 2,992 yards, with all his passes Friday coming in the second quarter. "Casey can do it all," Widenmeyer said. "He can run and pass. He has the mental ability to read defenses and make stuff happen for our team." Murray, who also had four runs for 25 yards and a touchdown, was far more concerned with what is to come. "Fifteen years from now, hopefully, I can tell my kids I'm a school-record holder," he said. "Right now we have to focus on the playoffs. "I do want to thank ... everyone that has a reception. The offensive line blocked very well, so I just want to thank them. I want to thank my coaches, too." On a wet and muddy night, Buckeye tailback Troy McCann led a bruising ground attack that tallied 356 yards on 53 carries (6.7 average) behind left tackle Ben Midea and Co. McCann had 175 yards on 26 carries and the Bucks' first touchdown of the game. In addition to serving as lead blocker for McCann for most of the night, Nagy had 13 carries for 94 yards and a 26-yard touchdown on his final touch. He totaled 145 yards from scrimmage. "It definitely helps when we have Ben Midea on the line and Gage Nagy in front of me," McCann said. "I think we ran great and controlled the game. I think that definitely won us the game." Roman Krettler relieved McCann in the second half and tallied 50 yards and a 1-yard score on nine carries. Defensively, Buckeye rebounded from two tough games in which it allowed 76 points and 900 yards of offense. The Bucks limited the Invaders (1-8, 1-3) to 231 yards of offense, including 160 over the first three quarters. Normandy picked up 85 of those yards when quarterback Elijah Gray hit receiver Austin Stash for a touchdown on third down. Stash caught three passes for 127 yards and Gray was 5-for-20 passing for 103 yards while running for 75 yards on 10 carries. Outside of that drive, Buckeye forced three punts, two turnovers on downs and an interception by Nick Balaban. Contact John Urchek at jurchek@medina-gazette.com. Buckeye 48, Normandy 12 NORMANDY 6 0 0 6 — 12 BUCKEYE 7 20 14 7 — 48 First B — Troy McCann 1 run (Brayden Bonnett kick), 3:21. N — Austin Stash 85 pass from Elijah Gray (run failed), 1:56. Second B — Casey Murray 1 run (Bonnett kick), 11:18. B — Trey Widenmeyer 4 pass from Murray (Bonnett kick), 5:56. B — Widenmeyer 23 pass from Murray (kick failed), 2:45. Third B — Roman Krettler 4 run (Bonnett kick), 7:46. B — Gage Nagy 26 run (Bonnett kick), 4:52. Fourth B — Turner Dolata 12 run (Bonnett kick), 7:43. N — Kairo Dillard 1 run (run failed), 0:31. &emsp;&emsp;N B First downs&emsp;&emsp;8 19 Rushing 23/84 53/356 Rushing average 3.7 6.7 Passing&emsp;&emsp;6/21 6/7 Passing yards 147 90 Total offense 44/231 60/446 Punting 3/32.7 0/0 Penalties 5/31 14/102 Fumbles &emsp;&emsp;2/1 3/2 Individual statistics RUSHING: Normandy — Gray 10-75, Dillard 5-9, Andre Jenkins 6-2, Gator Hartson 1-1, Cainan Riley 1-(-3). Buckeye — McCann 26-175, Nagy 13-94, Krettler 9-50, Murray 4-25, Dolata 1-12. PASSING: Normandy — Gray 5-20-103-1, Hartson 1-1-44-0. Buckeye — Murray 6-6-90-0, Dolata 0-1-0-0. RECEIVING: Normandy — Stash 3-127, Dillard 3-20. Buckeye — Nagy 3-51, Widenmeyer 2-27, Dalen Martin 1-12.