Canton South football holds off upset-minded Buchtel in thrilling OHSAA playoff game
CANTON TWP. — Cheers exploded from the stands as fireworks lit up the night sky. It was a fitting end to an incredible Division IV, Region 13 playoff game that saw No. 1-seeded Canton South hold off No. 9 Buchtel 27-26 on Friday.
"That was playoff football," Canton South head coach Matt Denison said. "This game was a battle of wills. Both teams played hard. It was going to come down to who made one more play and fortunately for us."
The Wildcats (12-0) are usually lauded for their explosive offense but it was the defense that helped finish off the win over Buchtel (6-6). South forced Buchtel to go four-and-out from its own 28-yard line while nursing the 1-point lead with just 1:22 to play. That ultimately allowed the Wildcats to kneel the ball and run out the clock.
"Those guys stepped up and made some great stops," Dennison said. "There was a time where maybe that unit wouldn't have had the maturity to get those stops but they showed how far they have come this year tonight."
South senior quarterback Jack "Poochie" Snyder also continued on his path to rewriting the area record book. Snyder tossed touchdown passes to Tyler Pugh and Tavon Castle to tie Sandy Valley's Cameron Blair for the county record with 116 career touchdown passes. Snyder also ran for another score for South.
"Poochie is getting that record next week," Castle said. "That's all I have to say about that. We want to make that happen for him."
Snyder was 15-of-26 passing for 189 yards with no interceptions. He also ran for 121 yards on 16 carries.
It was Castle who provided the defining sequence of the night for South. He intercepted a Buchtel pass at the Wildcat 49-yard line with the game tied 20-20. He went on to catch the go-ahead, and ultimately deciding, touchdown on an 8-yard pass from Snyder moments later with 10:18 to play in the fourth quarter.
"He's just a playmaker," Dennison said. "We told him that we were going to have him play some defense in big games and in typical fashion he made a huge play and then he followed that up with a touchdown catch. It's typical of the kind of performance we see out of him. It's just T being T."
Castle was just happy to contribute to a victory.
"This just feels amazing," Castle said. "We got to 12-0 tonight and we had to earn it. It's a special feeling after that kind of game to get to celebrate on the field with the community. They mean everything to us."
The loss was heartbreaking for Buchtel and will have the Griffins lamenting such a narrow setback. Buchtel seemingly was on its way to tying the game after Stevie "Sticks" Diamond threw a touchdown to Dakota Taylor with 6:58 to play, but the extra point was blocked. That ended up being the difference in the game.
"I told the kids in the locker room that life is not fair," Bryan Williams said. "Part of growing and becoming an adult is learning to deal with adversity. Even when you try your best and fight your hardest, there are times you are unfortunately going to come up short. That unfortunately is going to happen in life. I just stressed to the kids that they did a lot of good things and to not let this one game define this season for them."
Diamond threw two TD passes despite playing on essentially one leg. The gutsy Diamond limped heavily throughout the night and was clearly in pain by the end of the evening. Diamond was 10-of-21 passing for 135 yards with one interception.
"He's the ultimate warrior," Williams said. "He was out there on one leg. We weren't sure if he was going to play and he came and it told us to tape it up and that he wanted to play. You can't coach that kind of heart. He's a special young man on and off the field, and you want a kid like that in your program."
Justin Hill added a rushing touchdown for Buchtel. Hill ran for 156 yards on 27 carries.
South advances to play West Branch in a regional semifinal at a site to be announced Sunday.
"This is one of those games where it's a shame somebody had to lose," Dennison said. "We are glad we found a way to advance. We are looking forward to next week. When you start talking about playing football at a neutral site it's a sure sign that you've had a damn good year."
Reach Cliff at cliff.hickman@cantonrep.com
On Twitter: @chickmanREP
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Canton South football holds off Buchtel in OHSAA playoff thriller
