High school football: Troy McCann sets school rushing mark in Buckeye win over North Olmsted

When his team needed him the most, Buckeye running back Troy McCann delivered the best performance of his already stellar season. McCann rushed 31 times for a school-record 307 yards and three touchdowns, including the game's final two scores, to lead the Bucks to a 28-7 Cleveland West Conference victory over North Olmsted on Friday night. After Eagles quarterback Tommy Horsfall plowed in for a 3-yard touchdown to make the score 14-7, McCann took over for an offense that had scuffled for most of the first three quarters. The 5-foot-9, 201-pound senior closed the game with eight carries for 139 yards and two scores, including a 73-yard touchdown on his final tote, on which he went untouched into the end zone. McCann finished the previous drive with a 3-yard score and now has an unofficial 955 yards and 12 TDs on the season. While McCann was the hammer at the end of the game, a stout defensive effort kept the Bucks (3-1, 1-0) ahead of North Olmsted (0-4, 0-1). After three quick punts to begin the game, the Eagles started to build some momentum in the second quarter until Liam Phillips picked off Horsfall in the end zone to protect a 6-0 lead. Horsfall's next pass attempt, coming on the first drive of the third quarter, was intercepted by Ryan Wilhelm, this time on the Eagles 25-yard line. Brayden Sopko also picked off Horsfall in the fourth quarter to set up McCann's final touchdown. On fourth-and-10 from the 25 in the third quarter, Bucks tight end Trey Widenmeyer made a fantastic one-handed catch from quarterback Turner Dolata and ran into the end zone. McCann then converted the two-point try for a 14-0 advantage. Dolata went 4-for-7 for 76 yards, with Roman Krettler catching three of his passes for 51 yards. Krettler also rushed six times for 27 yards. Ryan Wilhelm was the Bucks' second-leading rusher with 30 yards on five carries to help the team run for 376 yards on 48 attempts (7.8 average). Before the flurry at the finish, Buckeye was largely struggling. After McCann took in a 42-yard carry for his first score of the game and a 6-0 lead, the Eagles forced two big stops. The first came at the North Olmsted 40-yard line on fourth-and-1 when the Bucks elected to pass and Dolata was sacked for a 10-yard loss. On the next possession, Buckeye drove 79 yards, but the final yard proved elusive. On fourth-and-1, Dolata's pass into the end zone fell incomplete just before halftime. The Buckeye defense held the Eagles to just 91 yards rushing on 29 carries (3.1 average). North Olmsted was led on the ground by running back Michael Passafiume (9 carries, 33 yards). In addition to the three interceptions, Buckeye also forced five punts and didn't allow North Olmsted across midfield in the second half until the drive where Sopko intercepted Horsfall. Horsfall went 12-for-19 for 164 yards and the three interceptions. Passafiume caught five passes for 35 yards, while Lawrence Stanley had two catches for 77 yards, including a 42-yard grab that set up Horsfall's touchdown. Contact John Urchek at jurchek@medina-gazette.com. Buckeye 28,North Olmsted 7BUCKEYE &emsp;&emsp;0 6 8 14 — 28NORTH OLMSTED &emsp;&emsp;0 0 0 7 — 7SecondB — Troy McCann 42 run (kick failed).ThirdB — Trey Widenmeyer 25 pass from Turner Dolata (McCann run).FourthN — Tommy Horsfall 3 run (Brennan Graf kick).B — McCann 3 run (Scott DiMarco kick).B — McCann 73 run (DiMarco kick).&emsp;&emsp;B&emsp;&emsp;NFirst downs&emsp;&emsp;15&emsp;&emsp;11Rushing &emsp;&emsp;48/376&emsp;&emsp;29/91Rushing average&emsp;&emsp;7.8&emsp;&emsp;3.1Passing&emsp;&emsp;4/7&emsp;&emsp;12/19Passing yards&emsp;&emsp;76&emsp;&emsp;164Total offense&emsp;&emsp;55/452&emsp;&emsp;48/255Punting&emsp;&emsp;4/39.5&emsp;&emsp;5/35.2Penalties&emsp;&emsp;8/60&emsp;&emsp;5/40Fumbles&emsp;&emsp;&emsp;&emsp;0/0&emsp;&emsp;1/0RUSHING: Buckeye — McCann 31-307, Ryan Wilhelm 5-30, Roman Krettler 6-27, Dolata 3-6, Liam Phillips 3-6. North Olmsted — Horsfall 9-42, Michael Passafiume 9-33, James Oatman 2-15, Matthew Chalkwater 4-10, Mitchell Kurtz 1-0, Naim Mahmoud 3-(-4), Team 1-(-5).PASSING: Buckeye — Dolata 4-7-76-0. North Olmsted — Horsfall 12-19-164-3.RECEIVING: Buckeye — Krettler 3-51, Widenmeyer 1-25. North Olmsted — Lawrence Stanley 2-74, Dean Cullup 3-40, Passafiume 5-35, D.J. Jefferies 1-9, Luis Bautista 1-6.