Buckeye Gets A Huge Conference Victory Against Westlake, 49-7

It was business as usual Friday night as the Buckeye Bucks rolled past host Westlake in a Cleveland West Conference matchup, 49-7.

This is a 6-1 team that has won its games by an average score of 41-9, so the dominant victory over the 2-5 Demons was just more of the same. By halftime the score was 35-7, and after Buckeye scored on the opening drive of the second half, the game was played with a running clock the rest of the way.

“Our big focus tonight was that we didn’t want to take a step backward,” said coach Greg Dennison. “We’ve been on a good trajectory the last few weeks and we just wanted to continue that.”

Mission accomplished. The Bucks, who are 4-0 in conference play, rolled up 404 yards of offense, with 295 coming on the ground. In a little more than a half of action, Troy McCann rushed for 97 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries. The two touchdowns give him 54 for his career, which ties the school record.

“That was always a goal of mine from freshman year,” McCann said. “I’m glad we’re here, but we’ve got plenty more to go.”

The Bucks entered the week ranked third in the Division III, Region 10 computer rankings and they have a showdown coming up with 6-1 Rocky River on October 18. Most likely, the winner of that one will win the inaugural CWC title.

Buckeye is known for its running attack, and this game was no exception. The Bucks rushed for 295 yards on 32 attempts, averaging 9.2 yards per carry. But they also went against the grain a little bit in that they often scored with quick strike plays rather than grind out long drives.

In fact, Buckeye had two scoring drives that consisted of one play each—a 57-yard strike from Turner Dolata to a wide-open Trey Widenmeyer on the Bucks’ first play from scrimmage, and a 14-yard pass from Dolata to Widenmeyer following a fumble that was recovered for Buckeye by Roman Krettler. The Bucks also had scoring drives of three plays and of four plays.

“We wanted to take advantage of what they give us,” Dennison said. “They were really being concerned about our run game, as they should be. So, we knew if we had some good play action, we would have some kids open down the field, and we took advantage of that.”

Another factor in the short scoring drives is that Buckeye had excellent field position the entire night. Part of that was due to the aggressive style used by Westlake, which attempted six fourth down conversions and were successful on four of them. The Demons also attempted two onside kicks, neither of which was successful, and turned thr ball over three times. For the game, Buckeye had nine possessions, with six of them starting in Westlake territory.

“Our defense gave us some opportunities and our offense took advantage of them,” Dennison said. “That’s happened the last few weeks. The defense has been giving us good field position and our offense has taken advantage of it. It’s been kind of a good team effort from both sides.”

In addition to completing 5 of 8 passes for 109 yards and two scores, Dolata also scored on a 1-yard QB sneak in the first quarter. In addition, Ryan Wilhelm put on a show in the second half, gaining 95 yards on just four carries, including touchdowns runs of 59 and 19 yards.

The lone score for Westlake, now 0-4 in CWC play, came on a 25-yard pass from Sam Brucchieri to Dom Napoli early in the second quarter. The score cut the margin to 14-7, but Buckeye would answer with three touchdowns in the final 5:32 of the period, taking a 35-7 lead into the locker room.

Player of the Game (Buckeye): Trey Widenmeyer. In addition to having two touchdown receptions, the senior also excelled on defense, with multiple tackles for loss.

“He’s one of those guys you can always count on,” Dennison said. “He’s always going to do the right thing and he’s always going to do it at full speed. He’s made big plays for us when we need them, and that’s kind of the definition of a great player.”

Player of the Game (Westlake): Sam Brucchieri. The Westlake quarterback completed 15 of 26 passes for 111 yards and a touchdown. He also led the Demons in rushing with 81 yards on 13 carries.