by Friday Night Lights came a day early in week 8 of Ohio High School Football, as the 1-6 (0-4)
Normandy Invaders hit the road to take on the 7-0 (4-0) Buckeye Bucks on Thursday Night.
It was a slow and methodical opening drive for Normandy that saw the ball reach the Buckeye 40
yard line before a 4th down attempt was stuffed, handing the ball over to the Bucks.
The Bucks responded with their own long drive, lasting just around five minutes, where Kicker #27 Brayden Bonnett came up just short on a 48-yard field goal attempt. This would end the opening quarter in a 0-0 stalemate.
Each team’s second drive took a step in the wrong direction from their first, as a 15-yard sack for both teams saw their following drives expire.
The game-changing moment came midway through the second quarter, as Normandy’s RB #12 Jai Hebebrand coughed up the football to Buckeye’s LB #35 Ryan Wilhelm at the Normandy 12. A short field goal led to the opening touchdown from the same man who recovered the fumble, Wilhelm, this time at running back, to put the Bucks up 7-0 with five minutes to go in the second quarter.
After a quick and empty Normandy drive, Buckeye would pace their way down the field again to take a 14-0 lead at half on a 3-yard touchdown run from RB #23 Liam Phillips.
The second half moment was established on the opening play from scrimmage, as RB Liam Phillips could not be caught en route to a 63-yard rushing touchdown.
Normandy starting QB #10 Jakob Muniak, who ended the day with single-digit total yards, continued to be under pressure throughout the second half.
The Buckeyes would get TE #8 Derek Snyderburn going in the second half with two touchdowns of 25 and 12 yards from QB #16 Turner Dolata to end the third quarter 35-0.
The fourth quarter saw one more score with a running clock in effect, as RB #26 Brayden Sopko broke free for a 30-yard score to make the final: Normandy 0, Buckeye 42.
The 1-7 (0-5) Invaders look to bounce back next Friday night in Westlake. As for the 8-0 (5-0) Bucks, they will look to remain unbeaten next Friday night in Rocky River.
Players of the game:
Normandy: RB #3 Ray Brown: 75 total yards
Buckeye: RB #23 Liam Phillips: 209 total yards, 2 TDs
