High school football: Buckeye, Rocky River bring differing styles to de facto CWC title game

YORK TWP. — There will be no secrets tonight in the de facto Cleveland West Conference championship football game. Buckeye is going to pound the rock, while Rocky River is going to sling it all over the FieldTurf at Rocky River Stadium.These are the moments high school players dream of, and the Bucks (8-0, 5-0) are confident they can take down the high-flying Pirates (7-1, 5-0) to defend their title. No one should expect another 55-0 beatdown, however, because that one had a major asterisk attached after Rocky River star quarterback Ryan Taylor exited in the first quarter with an ankle injury. To Buckeye's credit, it expects a nip-and-tuck slobberknocker tonight. "I mean, it's great. It's astonishing being in this spot," All-Gazette linebacker Roman Krettler said of playing a Week 9 game with high stakes. "I've always wanted to be in this spot, especially from my elementary school years. We've all wanted to be in this spot, so it's definitely a dream come true. We're all ready for the challenge."The game will revolve around a clear contrast in styles, as the Bucks will try to shorten the clock and keep Taylor and Co. (42.8 ppg, 375.6 ypg) off the field. Buckeye knows it must get at least a couple stops, though, and Taylor presents a challenge the Bucks haven't seen since facing Amherst's Cy Christensen and Tiffin Columbian's Logan Gooding early in the season.With all due respect to Christensen and Gooding, Taylor is on a different level due to his elite scrambling ability. The 5-foot-10, 180-pound senior, who began his career at St. Vincent-St. Mary, has rushed 53 times for 380 yards and eight touchdowns while also completing 80-of-110 passes (.727) for 1,419 yards and 15 scores despite missing seven quarters in wins over Valley Forge and Lakewood due to injury, when sophomore Carter Atwater (576 passing yards, 10 TDs) stepped in admirably.Taylor isn't even the top college prospect, however, as St. Ignatius transfer Tristin Hughes is committed to Syracuse. The 6-1, 190-pounder has 1,097 all-purpose yards and 17 touchdowns that include 29 carries for 226 yards and 36 catches for 749 yards, but Nos. 2 and 3 receivers Danny Berg (22 catches, 509 yards, 5 TDs) and Rowan Kennedy (22, 523, 7) have made plays as well.Buckeye spent a large chunk of last season's matchup blitzing from a variety of angles out of its 3-4 scheme. The Bucks are led by backers Denis Shevchenko (59 tackles, 4½ for loss) Ryan Wilhelm (59, 8½, 4½ sacks), Derek Snyderburn (32, 4½, 3 INTs) Jacob Snyderburn (29, 6½) and Krettler (17, 3) but rank sixth out of seven Medina County schools in passing yards allowed per game at 168.4."It's going to take everybody on defense and everybody doing their job, because if one guy goes to the wrong gap and one guy makes a mistake in coverage, they take advantage of it," coach Greg Dennison said. "They're that explosive that they can do that. It's going to take a full team effort effort to contain (Taylor) and No. 1 (Hughes). They're both pretty special."The Buckeye offense is built around 1990s-style ball control that sets up calculated deep shots off play-action. Liam Phillips (74 carries, 561 yards, 9 TDs), Brayden Sopko (53, 278, 5), Shevchenko (24, 148, 2) and Krettler (15, 76, 3) have all seen first-string action at tailback, quarterback Turner Dolata (53-for-92, 883 yards, 11 TDs) and fullback Wilhelm (53 carries, 335 yards, 5 TDs) have been constants and tight end Derek Snyderburn (11 catches, 266 yards, 6 TDs) and receivers Nick Prouza (12, 210, 3) and Jacob Snyderburn (8, 162, 2) have had their moments in the spotlight as well.The line of Ryan Lino (6-0, 286), Preston Ware (5-10, 207), Kyle Landes (6-0, 193), Cam Landes (6-0, 196) and Ben Lazar (6-1, 246), left to right, has been solid all season and is hungry to replicate the 2024 effort against Rocky River in which the Bucks rushed for 275 yards and six touchdowns. The Pirates haven't been overwhelming in the box with 39 tackles for loss (14 sacks) but have forced 16 turnovers."We plan to hold onto the ball, score and do what we do," Krettler said. "We're going to play Buckeye ball, whether it's running or throwing. It's however we get down there (to the end zone), really."Contact Albert Grindle at (330) 721-4043 or agrindle@medina-gazette.com.