High school football: Buckeye finishes first year in new conference as champs

LAKEWOOD — The undisputed king of the Cleveland West Conference was crowned Friday night. The Buckeye football team completed its rampage through the inaugural season of the new but very similar conference with yet another dominating performance, smashing Lakewood 51-14. With the win, Buckeye (9-1, 7-0) locked up the No. 2 seed in the Division III, Region 10 playoffs. According to JoeEitel.com, the Bucks will host Norwalk (2-8) in the first round, but official pairings won't be announced until Sunday. The win also ensured the Bucks will remain on the opposite side of the bracket from regional favorite and defending D-III state champion Toledo Central Catholic (9-1) until the regional final. "We're just looking to go on a deep playoff run," Buckeye running back Troy McCann said. "(We want to) get further than we did last year and make history." The Bucks were challenged much in conference play, outscoring CWC members 318-54 for an average score of 45-7 while picking up a pair of shutouts. Buckeye's 429 points now rank third in school history and the 42.9 average ranks is first with a minimum one game to play. All but one of the conference games — the 28-7 CWC-opening win over North Olmsted — featured a running clock at some point. The matchup with the Rangers (4-6, 2-5) wasn't any different. "We had to put the work in," Buckeye fullback/linebacker Ryan Wilhelm said. "We have to be ready to play all four quarters all throughout the playoffs and try to make it far." Buckeye, which previously played in the very similar Great Lakes Conference, was the epitome of a balanced offense in the victory, rushing for 190 yards and passing for 190 while averaging exactly 10 yards per play. The offense was so efficient that it only faced third down twice, both coming on the first drive of the game. That march ended with a Brayden Bonnett 36-yard field goal when McCann was tackled for a 1-yard loss on third-and-2, Buckeye's only negative play other than a kneel-down to end the game. It was the only time the first-team offense didn't reach the end zone in eight drives. McCann finished with 140 yards and four touchdowns on 18 carries, giving the senior 1,611 yards rushing and 28 TDs for the season. "Our goal coming in was to try to prepare ourselves for the upcoming games," McCann said. When the ground game needed a break, Turner Dolata (7-of-9 passing, 190 yards, 2 TDs) hit big plays to Trey Widenmeyer (2 catches, 60 yards, TD), Jacob Snyderburn (1, 43), Roman Krettler (2, 63) and Nolan Klingbeil (1, 23, TD). "We have a really strong bond," Widenmeyer said. "We work really hard in the offseason and in season. It's just going to get tougher, but we just have to stick together and work hard." Buckeye built a 44-0 lead before the starters went to the sideline early in the third quarter. Jameson Bricker made it 51-0 before Rangers starters finished a pair of drives against Buckeye backups. Bricker's touchdown was set up by a spectacular interception by Bucks linebacker Derek Snyderburn. It was that kind of night for the Buckeye defense, which also got an interception from Brayden Sopko, sacks from Landon Porec, Travis Avallone and Curtis Gunkleman and six other tackles for loss. "We just had to keep focus," Wilhelm said. "Even if they got into the red zone, we had to keep that focus." Contact Chad Grant at sports@medina-gazette.com. Buckeye 51, Lakewood 14 BUCKEYE &emsp;&emsp;10 27 14 0 — 51 LAKEWOOD 0 0 0 14 — 14 First B — Brayden Bonnett 36 field goal, 5:59. B — Troy McCann 5 run (Bonnett kick), 3:38. Second B — McCann 1 run (Bonnett kick), 10:00. B — Trey Widenmeyer 19 pass from Turner Dolata (Bonnett kick), 3:38. B — McCann 5 run (kick failed), 3:13. B — Nolan Klingbeil 23 pass from Dolata (Bonnett kick), 0:18. Third B — McCann 4 run (Bonnett kick), 8:40. B — Jameson Bricker 2 run (Bonnett kick), 3:00. Fourth L — Manny Serrano 5 run (Avery Holt kick), 7:30. L — Jaylen Chappell 7 pass from Holt (Holt kick), 2:00. &emsp;&emsp;B &emsp;&emsp;L First downs &emsp;&emsp;15 &emsp;&emsp;16 Rushing &emsp;&emsp;29/190&emsp;&emsp;29/66 Rushing average &emsp;&emsp;6.6 &emsp;&emsp;2.3 Passing &emsp;&emsp;7/9&emsp;&emsp;14/22 Passing yards &emsp;&emsp;190 &emsp;&emsp;180 Total offense &emsp;&emsp;38/380 51/246 Punting &emsp;&emsp;0/0.0 2/39.5 Penalties &emsp;&emsp;1/10 &emsp;&emsp;4/20 Fumbles &emsp;&emsp;&emsp;&emsp;2/1 &emsp;&emsp;0/0 RUSHING: Buckeye — McCann 18-140, Roman Krettler 2-15, Bricker 2-13, Ryan Wilhelm 2-12, Shane Metter 1-6, Liam Phillips 1-5, Dolata 1-0, Team 1-(-1). Lakewood — Braedon Greenfield 6-30, Holt 12-17, Serrano 9-16, Anthony Smith 2-3. PASSING: Buckeye — Dolata 7-9-190-0. Lakewood — Holt 14-22-180-2. RECEIVING: Buckeye — Krettler 2-63, Widenmeyer 2-60, Jacob Snyderburn 1-43, Klingbeil 1-23, Dalen Martin 1-1. Lakewood — Chappell 7-96, Nick Thomas 2-28, Isaiah Caraballo 1-21, Tye Taylor 2-15, Jacob Stoll 1-15, Riley Verderber 1-5.