by MEDINA, OH – Under the Friday Night Lights on this cool fall evening, the Buckeye Bucks delivered a performance worthy of the occasion, keeping their foot on the gas all night long, securing a hard-fought victory against the Amherst Comets 21-13.
The first half of the game was a close contest, entering halftime with a score of 14-7 in favor of Buckeye. Both teams showed some solid defense, but Buckeye’s dominant running backs found and exploited a hole in the Comets’ defensive line, applied the pressure, and kept running the ball. The Bucks’ standout player from the first half was junior Brayden Sopko, , who rushed for 55 yards and scored one of the Bucks’ two touchdowns. Senior quarterback Turner Dolata ran the ball 4 times for a 22-yard gain, including a 1-yard carry and touchdown for the Bucks.
Amherst scored only one first-half touchdown, but it was an impressive 91-yard rush from senior quarterback Cy Christensen, who was easily the Comets’ standout player! In the first half, Christensen threw 5 of 8, passing for a total of 62 yards. Amherst’s sophomore Jack Coleman, also had an impressive interception and 15-yard gain in the second quarter.
The Buckeyes came out with a strong drive to start the second half. They had three first downs and finished the drive with a 5-yard touchdown by Brayden Sopko. Sopko had a phenomenal game and was easily the Bucks’ star of the night with a grand total of 18 carries for 110 yards and two touchdowns! Tonight’s game was Sopko’s first career start, and it’s safe to say he stepped up in the absence of senior Roman Krettler, who unfortunately went down with an injury in their week one outing against Cloverleaf.
Buckeye sophomore running back Denis Shevchenko, also had an impressive outing, running the ball for a total of 31 yards, including a pivotal 10-yard carry to give the Bucks a first down.
Dolata finished with a solid game, throwing 8 of 14 for 103 yards, but thanks to the effort of Buckeye’s running backs, Dolata was able to rest his arm and keep the handoffs going to penetrate the Comet line.
On the second-to-last play of the game, Buckeye lineman junior Gaige Knowles, sacked the Comets’ quarterback, and the team proceeded to force a fumble on the next play to secure the win. It was a great all-around effort by Buckeye, who moves on to 2-0 on the season.
Though the Comets weren’t able to get it done, Cy Christensen showed off just how talented he is at reading the field and scrambling if he needs to. He rushed for a total of 120 yards and went 16 of 28 on passing and tacked on a second touchdown in the second half, completing a 25-yard pass to senior slot receiver David Dudziak. Dudziak played a great game, coming away with 4 catches for 80 yards.
Another standout Comet player was senior running back Michael Passerrello Jr, who didn’t come in until the second half (with the exception of the opening play), who rushed for 55 yards.
With a final score of 21-13, the Bucks showed up and defended their home stadium on Senior Night, which is always special for the fans and families. Buckeye will be looking for another win next week on their home field versus the Columbian Tornadoes. The Comets will be on the road again for week 3, hoping to bounce back and come home with a win against the North Olmsted Eagles.
Stay tuned for another fun week of Friday night lights next week!
