High school football: Liam Phillips, Buckeye bounce back from turnover to clinch win against Bay

BAY VILLAGE — Liam Phillips had played too great of a game to let his one mistake ruin it for him and his Buckeye football teammates. So he didn't. Phillips bounced back from a fumble that helped Bay get back in the game by playing crucial pass defense and scoring his third rushing touchdown of the night as the banged-up Bucks downed the Rockets 34-28 Friday in an exciting Cleveland West Conference matchup. After Buckeye (5-0, 2-0) took over at its own 22-yard line up 24-14, Phillips, who also threw a 68-yard halfback option for a touchdown, lost a fumble on the first play. Four plays later, the Rockets (3-2, 1-1) threw the third of their four TD passes to make it 24-21. Undeterred, Phillips scored from 1 yard on the Bucks' next possession to make it 31-21. After Bay got back to 31-28 with 8:01 to play in the game, he then shut down slot receiver Charlie Rodgers, who already had torched the Bucks for 96 yards and a pair of scores on six catches. "Man, when that happens and you're having a great game, it can really get in your head," Phillips said of his fumble. "You've got to find a way to come back strong when that happens. You have to move on. That's what I did." The 5-foot-10, 171-pound Phillips, who is getting a lot more opportunities to run the ball because Roman Krettler isn't 100% and Brayden Sopko was in uniform for emergency purposes only, finished with 23 carries for 134 yards and the three scores while running behind bruising fullback Ryan Wilhelm (15 carries, 89 yards) and his dominating offensive line. "I'm not worried about where I'm put in and what I'm doing," the junior said. "I just want to help this team out and get the win." After the Rockets went 80 yards in 11 plays on their second possession to go up 7-0, Phillips tied the game with a 1-yard run on the second play of the second quarter. That started a stretch where there were three TDs on three plays from scrimmage, all in a span of 34 seconds. Bay running back Rocco Ereditario (12 carries, 38 yards; 3 catches, 66 yards) scored next on a perfectly schemed play from the Rockets 35. Bay lined up a receiver wide right and had him run a slant, with Ereditario circling out of the backfield to the right. When Ereditario caught a swing pass from Patrick Cleary (17-for-34, 241 yards, 4 TDs, 3 INTs), no Bucks defender was within 20 yards of him, so he took off down the sideline, broke one arm tackle and raced into the end zone to give Bay its last lead at 14-7. On Buckeye's first play from scrimmage, Phillips took a pitch right from quarterback Turner Dolata (3-for-8, 31 yards) and hit Nick Prouza down the right sideline for a 68-yard score. Brayden Bonnett then hit a 30-yard field goal and Phillips scored from 2 yards to make it 24-14 at the half, with the Bucks having scored 17 unanswered points. "I don't work on throwing, but I've gotta do what I've gotta do," Phillips said of his TD pass. "I was happy to make a play. I was super excited to see it work out." After an exchange of touchdowns left Buckeye up 31-21 with 11:26 to go in the game, Bay gave itself a chance when Cleary hit Michael Forsman for an 8-yard score with 8:01 left. Behind Wilhelm's quick runs up the middle, the Bucks had first-and-goal at the Rockets 7, but Dolata was sacked for a 15-yard loss on third down from the 5. Bonnett, who also played wide receiver and defensive back, made a 37-yard field goal to put Buckeye up six with 2:16 to play but cramped badly as the kick sailed through the uprights. The Bucks' Logan Letner appeared to have his fourth interception in two weeks, this one on third-and-10, but officials ruled the ball hit the ground. It ended up not mattering, as Cleary's fourth-and-10 pass completion gained just 7 yards, giving Buckeye possession at the Bay 44 with 1:45 remaining. The Rockets used their two remaining timeouts and got the ball back on their own 35 with 44 seconds to go — Bonnett tried to punt but cramped again and got the ball just 7 yards downfield before it sailed out of bounds — but Cleary was picked off by outside linebacker Jacob Snyderburn on the first play. "A win always feels great," said twin brother and fellow outside linebacker Derek Snyderburn, who had an interception and a sack among his two tackles for loss. "We've got a lot of people stepping up." The Bucks again struggled in pass coverage at times but did intercept Cleary three times, with Bonnett getting the other. Once Phillips put the clamps on Rodgers, Bay struggled to move the ball. Buckeye also got a sack from Denis Shevchenko and two tackles for loss from Wilhelm while holding the Rockets to 59 yards on 22 carries. "My coaches thought I could step up in a big moment," Phillips said. "When they put me out there (on defense), I was just trying to match his speed and lock him up." Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4046 or rnoland@medina-gazette.com. Follow him @RickNoland on X. Buckeye 34, Bay 28 BUCKEYE 0 24 0 10 — 34 BAY 7 7 7 7 — 28 First Bay — Charlie Rodgers 11 pass from Patrick Cleary (Griffin Rupps kick), 2:59. Second Bu — Liam Phillips 1 run (Brayden Bonnett kick), 11:25. Bay — Rocco Ereditario 65 pass from Cleary (Rupps kick), 11:05. Bu — Nick Prouza 68 pass from Phillips (Bonnett kick), 10:51. Bu — Bonnett 30 field goal, 7:27. Bu — Phillips 2 run (Bonnett kick), 2:28. Third Bay — Rodgers 8 pass from Cleary (Rupps kick), 4:42. Fourth Bu — Phillips 1 run (Bonnett kick), 11:26. Bay — Michael Forsman 7 pass from Cleary (Rupps kick), 8:01. Bu — Bonnett 37 field goal, 2:16. Bu Bay First downs &emsp;&emsp;18 15 Rushing &emsp;&emsp;46/216 22/59 Rushing average 4.7 2.7 Passing &emsp;&emsp;4/9 17/34 Passing yards &emsp;&emsp;99 241 Total offense 55/315 56/300 Punting &emsp;&emsp;4/26.0 3/26.7 Penalties &emsp;&emsp;5/36 10/74 Fumbles &emsp;&emsp;2/1 3/0 Individual statistics RUSHING: Buckeye — Phillips 23-134, Ryan Wilhelm 15-89, Roman Krettler 2-7, Prouza 3-7, Team 1-(-4), Turner Dolata 2-(-17). Bay — Evan Taubs 3-39, Ereditario 12-38, Rodgers 3-3, Cleary 3-(-10), Team 1-(-11). PASSING: Buckeye — Phillips 1-1-68-0, Dolata 3-8-31-0. Bay — Cleary 17-34-241-3. RECEIVING: Buckeye — Prouz 1-68, Jacob Snyderburn 1-27, Bonnett 1-3, Wilhelm 1-1. Bay — Rodgers 6-96, Ereditario 3-66, Brody Boggs 4-45, Forsman 3-27, Ethan George 1-7.