Buckeye quarterback Turner Dolata did enough throwing and running to keep the Bucks offense on schedule for three touchdown drives. (Press Pros Feature Photos By Thomas Henderson)
After missing the season opener, Brayden Sopko got to carry the football 21 times to lead Buckeye to a 2-0 start. And he hopes he proved to the coaches that he’s ready for more opportunities like Friday night’s 110-yard effort.
By Dan Gilles for Press Pros
York Township, OH – Last week’s Buckeye standout Roman Krettler was a scratch Friday night due to an ankle sprain. No worries.
Junior Brayden Sopko, who missed last week’s 41-0 win over Cloverleaf, returned to the football field Friday night against Division II Amherst Steele. And Sopko delivered.
He finished with a team-best 110 yards on 21 carries and two touchdowns, leading the Division III Bucks to a mild upset, a 21-13 victory at Steingass Field at Buckeye Alumni Stadium.
Sopko was part of a four-headed attack that ground up the Comets (1-1) for 216 yards and three touchdowns. They led three time-burning drives in the second and third quarters that turned the game in the Bucks (2-0) favor.
“I’m proud of how hard our kids played and we knew coming in it was going to be a tough game,” Buckeye coach Greg Dennison said. “Amherst is a really, really good team and well coached. They have so many weapons. They were the only team that beat us (in the regular season) last year, so we knew it wasn’t going to be easy.
“But our kids battled, they kept competing. They made plays when we needed them. That was the difference when we were able to establish the run and control the line of scrimmage.”
Leading 14-7 at the half, Buckeye got the ball to start the third quarter. Keyed by a 30-yard kickoff return by Shane Metter, the Bucks drove the remaining 60 yards in 11 plays. They only attempted one pass – a 10-yard completion to Sopko on a screen – and gave Sopko seven carries for 33 yards, capped by his second touchdown of the night from five yards out. The score put Buckeye ahead, 21-7, with 6:40 remaining in the third quarter.
Buckeye took to the air enough, this time to Jacob Snyderburn, to keep the ball moving.
“All week, we practiced knowing that we all had to step up tonight,” Sopko said. “My time was right now, and I had to show them what I had. I’ve never been in the spotlight before, so I had to show everybody I was ready for it.
“Hopefully, I showed enough tonight to get more opportunities to carry the ball. Every time I had the ball, I knew I had to show them. I had to get that extra yard.”
Buckeye had a couple of first-quarter drives fizzle. But, taking over with 11:52 left in the second quarter, the Bucks’ offense finally got going.
A third-and-1 conversion by Denis Shevchenko to the 30 started it. Then a 14-yard run by Nick Prouza, a 12-yard completion from Turner Dolata to Ryan Wilhelm and a 10-yard run by Sopko put the ball at the Amherst 28. Sopko ran 20 yards to the 1, and Dolata did the honors himself on the ensuing play. The 11-play, 80-yard drive melted over four minutes off the clock to the score at 7 with 7:29 remaining in the half.
Buckeye kept its momentum on its ensuing possession. Taking over at their own 27, the Bucks drove 77 yards in eight plays. The big play was a 44-yard completion from Dolata to Derek Synderburn down to the 1. Two plays later, Sopko burrowed in from the 2 for a 14-7 lead with 2:05 left in the half.
The Bucks almost added a third score just before halftime, driving from the Buckeye 43 to the Amherst 24. However, Dolata was intercepted at the 10 by Jack Coleman with 6.5 seconds remaining.
Shevchenko added 28 yards on eight carries, while Dolata added 25 on five carries and Wilhelm added 37 on seven carries. Dolata finished with 83 yards passing on 7-of-15.
“We were able to move the ball, we were able to keep the offense on the field and the defense off it, and we were just playing physically,” Dennison said. “This was (Sopko’s) first game back from injury, so he’s got a ton of ability.
“We didn’t have to change our plan with him and with Denis Shevchenko, who’s only a sophomore but has lot of ability. We were confident they would give us what we needed tonight.”
Dennison said Krettler is day-to-day.
The Amherst offense struggled in the first half. But all it needed was one big play early in the first quarter to take the early 7-0 lead.
Senior quarterback Cy Christensen, on third-and-21 from the Comet 9, took a shotgun snap, rolled to his right, then cut back across the field. Nobody touched Christiansen as he ran 91 yards for the game’s first with 7:35 left in the first quarter.
Buckeye outgained Amherst, 211-154, in the first half. Removing Christiansen’s TD run, Amherst was held to 65 yards.
The Comets had three nice drives in the second half, but only scored once.
Early in the fourth, Amherst drove to the Buckeye 2 and looked poised to score. However, a false start penalty on third-and-goal pushed them back to the 6, and an errant snap on the next play turned into a 25-yard loss.
Amherst Steele’s offense relied mostly on the right arm of quarterback Cy Christensen.
Amherst capitalized on its next possession, driving 58 yards on six plays. Christensen found David Dudziak for a 25-yard touchdown on first down with 4:57 remaining. However, the extra point try was wide left, keeping the score 21-13.
The Comets forced a three-and-out and took over on their own 6 with 3:38. Christensen kept the drive alive, first with a fourth-down run, then a 17-yard pass to Dudziak to the 45, and a 13-yard pass to Cael Charles to the Buckeye 25. However, Christensen took back-to-back sacks on the game’s final two plays, touching off a big celebration from the home side.
“We knew it was a big game, especially coming out of halftime and it was close,” said senior two-way lineman Cam Landes, who had one of those big sacks to end it. “We had to stop their momentum, and we came up big. Our pass rush was amazing, the secondary gave us time to get there. We just all came together in the end.
“We’ve had (Amherst) marked for about a year now. It feels awesome to get that win back.”
Christensen finished with 116 yards on 19 carries and went 16-for-32 for 235 yards and one touchdown.
“I was able to make a big play early on, but we just couldn’t get the momentum after that,” Christensen said. “We were slow in the second and to start the third. We fought back, but we came up short. They have a great defense, they dropped back their guys and made it tough for me to find open receivers. We knew it was going to be a physical game. Buckeye is a big country school, and they have big kids, so we expected it. We just couldn’t get it done.”