by MEDINA, Ohio – The Buckeye Bucks were sure to assert their dominance tonight, defending home field for their Homecoming game against the visiting Westlake Demons, 52-16.
The Bucks set the tone early on the opening drive with an impressive kick return, putting them all the way at the Demons’ six-yard line. They scored their first of many touchdowns on the night after two more plays, coming off a three-yard carry by Ryan Wilhelm.
At the 11:16 mark of the first quarter, Turner Dolata forced a fumble on the Demons. The Bucks regained possession with excellent field position. After a decent drive down the field, Brayden Bonnett converted a field goal and brought the score to 10-0 in favor of Buckeye.
On the very next drive, Westlake fired back with three first downs. Though they couldn’t get all the way into the endzone, the Demons got on the board, kicking a field goal, making the score 10-3.
The Bucks shocked the Demons on the next drive as running back Liam Phillips caught the kickoff and returned it 75 yards for the Bucks’ second touchdown of the contest! The Bucks started to pull away, increasing their lead to 17-3.
At the 2:35 mark in the first quarter, the Bucks scored again off a 16-yard laser by Turner Dolata, which was caught by Nick Prouza, making the score 24-3.
Buckeye’s next touchdown of the contest came at the 1:05 mark in the first quarter. After a pair of first downs and a four-yard carry by Liam Phillips, the scoreboard now read 31-3.
After a Phillips’ touchdown, Buckeye kicker Brayden Bonnett made history, setting a school record for most career converted extra points! The senior has made 152 extra points in his four years at Buckeye. With the season far from over, he has plenty of time to increase that number even more!
On Westlake’s first drive of the second quarter, the Bucks forced a fumble and capitalized on the momentum with another Buckeye touchdown by Liam Phillips.
As Westlake retained possession and looked to get something going, Shevchenko intercepted Sullivan’s pass and ran the ball right into the endzone for a 38-yard pick six! The score was up to 45-3 in favor of the Bucks.
Buckeye’s final touchdown of the night came after another pair of first downs and a 23-yard carry by Shevchenko.
On the last possession of the half, Westlake capped off a good drive, with quarterback Cooper Sullivan throwing a nice seven-yard pass to receiver Wes Urich. The Demons failed their two-point conversion attempt, making the halftime score 52-9 still in favor of Buckeye.
The Demons’ player of the first half was quarterback Cooper Sullivan, who completed 13 of his 24 passes with one interception and a seven-yard touchdown on the final play of the half to wide receiver Wes Ulrich.
The Bucks’ player of the first half was Liam Phillips, who had three touchdowns, one of which was a 75-yard kick return and score. Denis Shevchenko also had a great first half, adding on a touchdown and a pick-six.
The second half of the game was fairly uneventful. The only touchdown came from the Demons, where Sullivan launched a great pass to Ali Assad, which was good for a 32-yard catch and breakaway run.
The Bucks played an amazing game all around, but the standout player of the game had to be Liam Phillips, who had 23 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns. Philips also had an outstanding 75-yard kick return and touchdown in the first quarter.
Denis Shevchenko continues what has been a great season. He also had a pair of touchdowns.
Nick Prouza caught for 28 yards, including a 16-yard touchdown.
And last but not least, quarterback Turner Dolata had a quiet (but efficient) game, completing four of his five passes, good for 41 yards and including a 16-yard touchdown pass.
The Demons’ player of the game was their sophomore quarterback, Cooper Sullivan. Though he’s typically their second-string quarterback, he got called up for the game today and showed that he has a lot of promise in the next two seasons to come! He completed 27 of his 39 passes, good for 265 yards, with one interception and two touchdowns.
Senior Stephen Trowbridge had a nice game as well, coming away with 108 total receiving yards.
The Buckeye Bucks continue their strong season thus far, racking up their 7th win and remaining undefeated. Westlake and the Demons look to bounce back next week against Rocky River and the Pirates.
