High school football playoffs: Roman Krettler helping Buckeye reach new levels of success

Roman Krettler's final season of high school football has had some zigs, some zags and some difficult times, but he's always been able to turn negatives into positives. Because he has overcome adversity, made adjustments and maintained a positive attitude, the 5-foot-9, 191-pound senior tailback/outside linebacker has remained an extremely important player for top-seeded Buckeye, which will put its 11-0 record on the line Friday when it hosts fifth-seeded Rocky River (10-2) in a Division III, Region 10 semifinal playoff game. The first team in the program's 73-year history to win 11 games, the Bucks will be attempting to also become the first Buckeye team to reach a regional championship game when they take on the Pirates, who lost to the Cleveland West Conference champion Bucks 35-27 in a Week 9 regular-season game. Some Buckeye players may want to win as much as Krettler, who lived in Lakewood, Parma and Brunswick before landing in Litchfield Township as a second-grader, but none want to win more. "From fifth grade when I started playing tackle (football), I found a home with my teammates," the 18-year-old said. "Those were the people that helped me through all the things I went through growing up. I found a home with the Buckeye team." Krettler, who lives with maternal grandmother Janet Krettler and also spends significant time with his mother Ashley Krettler, a Wadsworth resident, played youth football for Buckeye Orange. Many current teammates, including fullback/inside linebacker Ryan Wilhelm, also were on that team, while others played for Buckeye Brown. They all became teammates in junior high, but the current Bucks still talk about their youth football experiences. "Those were the dream days," said Krettler, the excitement obvious in his voice. "Starting football at a new place, it was the glory days for me. We played a lot of games and in tournaments in Sandusky. We were awesome." The bond current Buckeye varsity players developed back then, even when they were sometimes opponents, is even stronger now, which is extremely important to Krettler. "It's a big brotherhood," he said. "It's what I've always wanted and imagined it to be. It's gotten better and the bond has gotten closer. "Buckeye football has been a journey since my freshman year. It's been hard work and dedication. It's one of the reasons I do what I do. It's kept me on track and constantly fighting through each step. It's definitely been the stepping stone to the person I am and want to continue to be." Krettler's four-year journey with the Buckeye varsity has not been a straight climb up the mountain. There have been moments of great individual success — he earned All-Gazette honors as a junior after accumulating 450 yards rushing, 129 yards receiving and making 74 tackles, including 11½ for loss — but there also have been moments of frustration. As a freshman, Krettler carried the ball in one varsity game, against Normandy. Actually, he carried it 24 times and wound up with 103 yards and three touchdowns. As a sophomore, he played on both sides of the ball, rushing for 344 yards and two TDs while making 50 tackles, including 11½ for loss. After a great junior year — he averaged 9.3 yards per rush while playing behind star tailback Troy McCann and recorded four sacks and four fumble recoveries defensively — Krettler was in line to be the featured back in coach Greg Dennison's I-formation offense as a senior. It didn't turn out that way. On the last play of the first half of the season opener against Cloverleaf, Krettler ran a trail route, took a pass from quarterback Turner Dolata and tried to make a big play. "There was a whole wall of defenders," he said. "I juked out one or two, but those people fell and grabbed my ankle. One of them was going to the right and I fell going to the left, so my whole leg was being ripped in different directions. It hurt. It definitely hurt." While the physical pain that resulted from a high ankle sprain was bad, missing a Week 2 game against Amherst and a Week 3 contest against Tiffin Columbian was worse because Krettler couldn't be on the field with his teammates. "He was the guy in our plans to be that tailback, but he had that injury and it just lingered," Dennison said. "He was still battling and doing everything he could, and he was playing really well for us defensively. "He's done so much for our program over the years. That's just how he is. He's coachable, he works hard and he's always good to be around." Krettler, who carries a 3.2 grade-point average and wants to play football in college, where he plans to major in criminal just and then become a police officer before moving up the ranks, has been a mainstay in the Buckeye lineup since returning from injury in Week 4. With junior Liam Phillips (92 carries, 738 yards, 11 TDs, 8.0-yard average) having emerged as the primary tailback and Wilhelm (92, 657, 11, 7.1) at fullback, Krettler (42, 304, 7, 5.1) has seen mostly spot duty in the backfield, though he did have 18 carries for 176 yards and three TDs in a Week 10 win over Lakewood. Rather than sulk, Krettler got even more determined and devoted more energy to the defensive side of the ball despite aggravating his ankle injury on multiple occasions. "When it first happened and the doctor told me I'd be out three or four weeks, it was heartbreaking," he said. "I actually shed a tear in the doctor's office. Over time it got easier, but it's been very aggravating. Now it's more of a driving force. It's a fire to keep going and keep getting better." That's the approach Krettler's teammates know and love. "When he gets mad or gets angry, he doesn't take no for an answer," Wilhelm said. "When he's mad, especially on the field, it doesn't matter what the play is or where it's going, he will make the play. There's no doubt in my mind. "He's aggressive, he's smart on the field and he's fast. He's got it all." Krettler showed that last week in an impressive 26-0 regional quarterfinal victory over eighth-seeded St. Marys Memorial, finishing with 1½ sacks and an interception. A 17-yard sack and the interception helped put an end to two potential Roughriders scoring drives. "He's had some really good games for us defensively, but that might have been his best," Dennison said. "What a time to do it when so much was on the line. He always plays well, but he just took it to another level." For his career, Krettler has 1,201 yards and 14 TDs on the ground and 150 tackles, 29½ tackles for loss, 8½ sacks and seven fumble recoveries. Though he once dreamed of a 1,400-yard, 20-TD rushing season as a senior tailback, extending his high school career is now all that matters. "Everything happens for a reason," Krettler said. "The injury was definitely a learning point and a lesson for me. I learned patience and even more resilience, like I have in the past from football. I knew that eventually I would get the playing time I wanted, I deserved and I need, and it's not completely over yet." Right now, the Bucks are totally focused on being able to say the same thing at this time next week. To do so, they must beat Rocky River for a second time. "It would mean another week," Krettler said. "It would mean greatness. It would mean our dream is slowly coming true. That's what we all want. We want another week to keep playing. "It's one of the best feelings. You have all this motivation, all these people cheering for you. It's a feeling you only get once a week playing football. Knowing we can make more history ignites a different fire in me. It makes me want to keep going and keep dominating." Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4046 or rnoland@medina-gazette.com. Follow him @RickNoland on X.