Bucktail football falls to Cameron County in opener, 32-22
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The new-look Bucktail Bucks opened their season at Emporium on Friday night, and there's little doubt they won't be disappointed to see Raider Kamden Fragale graduate at the end of this school year. After rushing for over 1,100 yards last season, which included two big games against the Bucks, Fragale wasted no time in his efforts of looking for another massive season.
The young Bucks started the game with an impressive opening drive, driving the ball downfield on the Cameron County defense for over 40 yards and taking more than six minutes off of the clock.
The drive stalled on the Raider 33-yard line. Then, standing 73 yards away from the end zone, Fragale blitzed through the Bucktail defense barely touched as he took the first offensive snap of the season 73 yards for a touchdown.
Following another Cameron County defensive stop, Fragale picked up a 31 yard gain before taking his third touch of the game 31 yards for his second of what would be four touchdowns. He finished the night with 19 carries for 333 yards, leading his team to a 32-22 win.
Despite the prowess of the Raider senior, the Bucks got stronger on both sides of the ball throughout the game.
Bucktail trailed 14-0 when sophomore quarterback Corbin Pentz rolled out and found Teagan Stone, who juked off two defensive players on his way to a 45-yard touchdown catch. The two would hook up again for a 22-yard touchdown pass later in the game.
Senior Patrick Tarantella consistently broke off tacklers from the running back position, particularly early in the game when Bucktail sorely needed to keep possession of the football to keep the Fragale-led offense off the field.
As the game wore on, the Bucktail offense started to capitalize on Tarantella's slashing and dashing and opted heavily on counters and traps, as Steven Heiser bruised his way through the line for big gains. Heiser finished the night with 18 carries for 148 yards as he and the offensive line started to gain confidence throughout the game.
"It's been a long time that we have not had to wear kids down, play both ways. The ability to sub players in and out all game was what enabled us to be competitive last night," said Bucktail head coach Bruce Ransom who returned to the varsity level a few weeks ago. The Bucks started the season with 26 players, a third of the ninth through 12th grade male population at Bucktail.
"Dave Pentz called a great game (offensively). He stuck to the game plan no matter how big of plays Fragale was pulling off and we started to wear them down a bit," Ransom said.
"The amount of fans that travelled to Emporium was phenomenal," he continued. "You saw it all game, the kids feeding off of the fans and vice versa. When Levi Stevenson had the interception with two minutes left and us down two scores, our kids knew we had chance. Even though it was a small one, our kids were still very much involved in their teammates and the score. It was a good opening night to take away from a loss.”
The Bucks will kick off their home opener this Friday when they host Otto-Eldred, who lost their first game to Smethport, 72-29, and maybe most importantly for the Bucks, gave up over 300 yards rushing to the Hubbers.
Cameron County 32, Bucktail 22
Cameron C. 20 6 6 0
Bucktail 6 0 8 8
1st quarter
Fragale 73 yard run. Kick blocked 6-0. 8:48
Fragale 31 yard run. Conversion pass. 14-0 4:53
Pentz 45 yard pass to Stone. Pass failed. 14-6 2:03
Fragale 18 yard run. Pass failed. 20-6 0:52
2nd Quarter
Jacob Matteson 42 yard run. Run failed. 26-6 10:06
3rd Quarter
Fragale 77 yard run. Pass failed. 32-6 6:30.
Pentz 22 yard pass to Stone. Run conversion. 32-14 1:09.
4th Quarter
Patrick Tarantella 3 yard TD run. Run conversion. 32-22 2:10.
RUSHING: Bucktail, Steven Heiser 18-148 yards; Stevenson 6-39; Pentz 12-34 yards; Patrick Tarantella 14-33, TD; Stone- 2-22. Totals 53-283.
PASSING: Bucktail, Corbin Pentz 6-13-2 109 yards, TD.
RECEIVING: Bucktail, Teagan Stone 3-7, 82 yards, 2 TD; Angelo Tarantella 1-15 yards; Levi Stevenson 1-5 yards; Bransen Getz 1-7 yards.
DEFENSE: Bucktail, Patrick Tarantella 8 tackles, Teagan Stone 5 tackles, Levi Stevenson interception. Cameron County, Barrett Dixon 8 tackles.