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YORKVILLE — If frequent flyers miles were handed out to football teams that go to the air often, Canal Fulton Northwest could probably be spending time in Barbados this winter. Northwest returned a 1,500-yard rusher from last season and head coach Vic Whiting decided to turn him into a receiver. Of course, this season the Indians have turned everyone into a receiver. It will be a match-up of two teams with very diverse styles on offense when Buckeye Local hosts Canal Fulton Northwest in the first-ever playoff game on Panther soil Friday night in the first round of the Ohio Division III Regionals. Coach Ron Pobolishás Panthers, heading into the post-season playoffs for the second-straight year and seventh time since 1991, will be hosting a first-round game for the first time. That has the Buckeye Local people buzzing. Fresh off a very successful 8-2 regular season, Pobolishás charges will enter Fridayás tussle with the playoff-tested Indians with Buckeye 8 and OVAC Class AAAA titles in hand. More importantly, the Panthers enter the fray one year removed from a tough-to-swallow 37-6 loss at Newark Licking Valley in the first round of the playoffs. And Canal Fulton Northwest is no stranger to the Panther faithful. Buckeye rolled through a 10-0 regular season in 2003 under then-head coach Mike Groves only to draw the Indians in the first round. With Northwest as rude hosts, the Panthers made a quick exit as a result of a 53-0 loss to the Indians. This season, Buckeye comes in as the third seed in its region after posting an impressive 8-2 regular season mark. Northwest comes to town with a 7-3 record and an aerial show that makes the Fourth of July look like just another day. âThey throw the ball on almost every play,ã Pobolish, who announced before the season that this would be his last, said in referring to his Friday night opponent. âThey are very similar to the way that Union Local was a couple years ago with (Jordan) Barbina running the show. Of course, the difference is that with Barbina every now and then he was off to the races. This kid wants to throw it all the time.ã âThey had a kid that rushed for over 1,500 yards last season and this season they moved him to wide receiver,ã Pobolish pointed out. âThey are in a pretty tough league and most teams in that league run the spread (offense). So they run up against some very challenging defenses in that league.ã A great of the Indians ‘ strength is in their quarterback Bryan Jones, who has completed 159-of-275 passes for 2,093 yards and 24 touchdowns. He has thrown 12 interceptions, but keep in mind that the team has completed 212-of-361 passes for 2,872 yards, seven more scores and only one more INT. Evan Bach was a second team All-Ohio player last year while rushing for 1,597 yards on 196 carries. This season, he has just 337 rushing yards, but has caught 45 passes for 618 yards and seven scores. Five receivers have caught 25 or more passes this season including Tim May (26-339 yards), Joe Demaree (26-392), Cory Hoffman (28-347) and Ron Beers (25-217). Defensively, the Indians are led by 210-pound senior linebacker Bob Schilling who heads a swarming unit with 98 tackles. Northwest lost three times this season, dropping consecutively to Mogadore Field (8-2), Alliance Marlington (8-2) and Louisville (10-0) by a total of 25 points. In their season finale, the Indians defeated Alliance, 61-7, while completing 39-of-58 passes for 529 yards. Whiting is a seasoned veteran as well. Twice he coached Ohio state champions in 1997 and à98 and he has coached four regional champions. He has an overall 172-54 career coaching mark that includes 78-26 at Northwest. âOur coaches have been at the drawing board,ã Pobolish said. âWe played a couple teams this season that threw the ball. We ran into a bit of the spread this season. We think we are playing better defense now than we did earlier in the season and our staff knows how to prepare our players to perform on Friday night.ã âI know that most people are saying that Northwest is a heavy favorite. Our kids must weather the storm in the first quarter. If the kids see that they can compete with them and stay with them, then you will see a team that will get after it.ã âI guarantee you that the two games we lost, we would surely win if we played them again. All season, we worried about having the depth, but when you look back we won the Buckeye 8. We won the big school OVAC championship and we are hosting a playoff game for the first time.ã âWhen we play at home, we are a force to be reckoned with,ã Pobolish warned. Buckeye, a school that, historically, rarely losses at home, was unbeaten at World War II Memorial Stadium this season. And they too have some weapons. While Northwest may beat you in the air, Buckeye Local comes at you with one of the areaás most potent group attacks. Senior fullback Brandon Bartrug, a deceiving mix speed and power, leads the Panther ground game with 901 yards on 135 carries. Josten Dear, a powerful sophomore that can carry would-be tacklers, has scored 10 touchdowns while chalking up 816 yards on 115 carries. Bobby Spence, Ohioás reigning Division III Defensive Player of the Year, is the third leading rusher with 681 yards on just 84 carries and has scored 11 times. Spence, quite possibly the Ohio Valleyás most versatile player, also leads the Panthers with 36 catches for 597 yards and three scores and has returned kickoffs, punts and interceptions for scores this season. Defensively, Spence has recorded 54 tackles and nine interceptions to go with 11 last season. Quarterback Joe Rine, a 6 fooT-7 lefty, has completed 62-of-121 passes for 1,106 yards and 10 scores. He also leads the Panthers with 13 sacks from his defensive end spot. While Northwest has a swarming defense that concerns the Panther staff, Buckeyeás defense features three defenders with over 100 tackles apiece. Hard-nosed Rylan Pyciak leads the Panthers with 129 tackles, Jon Horton has 126 and seven sacks and Joe Stuart has recorded 101 tackles. âThey probably assume we will run the ball,ã Pobolish pointed. âBut our coaches will come up with something. We have shown that we are capable of throwing the ball as well. We have some pretty good receivers.ã Buckeye comes into the contest with a 3-6 playoff record. This marks the seventh appearance in the playoffs for Buckeye and only once have the Panthers moved beyond the first round. Buckeye advanced to the state finals in 1994, defeating Uniontown Lake, Columbus Watterson and Piqua before losing to Chardon, 17-6, in the championship game at Massillon. Other than à94, the playoffs have not bee kind to the Panthers. They lost to Steubenville (26-7) in à91, Beloit West Branch (48-7) in à92, Poland Seminary (51-0) in à99 before losing to Northwest and Licking Valley in their last two appearances. While Whiting, a Fort Frye grad, will be making his 12th playoff appearance and eighth since 2000, Buckeye is coming with a battled-tested team. âAbsolutely,ã Pobolish remarked in regard to his teamás experience level. âWith our kids, itás not a lot about the hoopla of getting in the playoffs. We want to win some games. We just want to be 1-0 after this week.ã Pobolish, who comes in with 144 career wins and a 74-42 mark at Buckeye, is counting on his seniors and his coaching staff. âI know I some good seniors and they play a little differently at home than they do on the road,ã he said adding. âWe have to come up with a good plan and we have to score.ã

 

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