by Amherst — The Amherst Comets are now 2-0 on the season following a statement win over the Buckeye Bucks by a score of 38-21.
The Amherst Comets benefited from a muffed punt by Buckeye early in the game. Junior Jack Coleman, who seemingly did anything and everything for the Comets, ran the ball in from seven yards out and added the point-after attempt to give the Comets a 7-0 lead.
Buckeye got the ball back and turned to its three-headed monster in the backfield of junior Denis Shevchenko, senior Liam Philips, and senior Brayden Sopko. The trio combined to run the ball nine times for 52 yards to get the Bucks deep inside Amherst territory. Sophomore Chase Geyer then looked to complete his first pass. However, that pass found the arms of Amherst senior Anthony Lintz, who took the ball 80 yards back to the end zone to extend the Amherst lead to 14-0.
Buckeye, despite being down early, was not deterred. The Bucks turned back to their three-headed monster and continued to run effectively. The trio accounted for all but 24 yards on their first scoring drive of the game, which was capped off when Shevchenko ran the ball in from 15 yards out to trim the Comets’ lead to 14-7.
Buckeye marched the ball down the field yet again on its next drive, getting deep into Amherst territory. On fourth down, Buckeye turned to Philips to throw a pass, but unfortunately for him and his team, the pass was intercepted by Amherst’s Sam Tollet.
The interception gave the Comets the longest field any team had all night. That would be no problem, however, as on the first play of the drive, the Comets ran a sweep to junior Christian Vorhees, who ran the ball 90 yards to more than flip field position for the Comets. On the next play, Coleman ran the ball in from three yards out to extend the Amherst lead back to 14 points at 21-7.
The Buckeye offense, however, wasn’t deterred. The Bucks turned to the trio yet again and found success. They put together an eight-play drive consisting entirely of runs that led to a one-yard touchdown run from Philips to cut the Amherst lead to 21-13.
With not much time left in the half, Amherst turned to sophomore quarterback Anthony Passerrello and the passing game. Passerrello threw five of his 13 passes in the game on this possession, completing four of them, with the final one going 27 yards to Coleman for a touchdown to extend the Amherst lead to 28-13, which the Comets took into halftime.
In the second half, the Amherst offense continued to move the ball downfield. Sophomore running back Ethan Layne had half of his 10 carries on the night on this possession, including a 22-yard carry. The Bucks’ defense, however, forced the Comets to kick a field goal. Coleman obliged and extended the lead to 31-13.
Amherst’s third interception of the game, this one by junior Jaxon Vedda, set up the Comets with their best field position of the night. Layne ran the ball in from 10 yards out to extend the lead to 38-13.
To the Bucks’ credit, they were still not deterred and continued to run the ball hard. Shevchenko capped off the drive with his second rushing touchdown, and with the addition of a two-point conversion from Philips, made the score 38-21, which finished as the game’s final score.
With the win, the Amherst Comets improve to 2-0 on the season. They will look to continue their strong start next week when they host the Lorain Titans.
With the loss, the Buckeye Bucks fall to 0-2 on the season. They will look to get their first win of the season next week when they travel to LaGrange to take on the Keystone Wildcats.
Player of the Game — Amherst’s Jack Coleman
The junior seemed to do just about everything for the Comets, scoring 26 of Amherst’s 38 points. He scored three total touchdowns—two rushing and one receiving—kicked all five of Amherst’s point-after attempts, and added a 25-yard field goal.
It is safe to say the Comets have a Jack of all trades in this junior.
