Bucktail searching for legitimacy against Cameron County Friday night
By Bees O’Brien
FARWELL, PA- Alas the Bucktail Bucks football team will finally return to Dwyer Memorial Field on Friday evening and host Route 120 rival Cameron County. It’s been a bumpy three-game road swing for the Bucks that has seen them drop a pair of contests to Elk County Catholic (30-16) and Otto-Eldred (52-32). The Bucks finished out the road swing with a long and windy road to Sheffield on Saturday afternoon that saw Bucktail battle to a 42-22 victory, their second win of 2022 over the Wolverines. There lies the problem with this year’s Bucktail squad. Now 2-2 on the season and they need to prove that they can beat somebody other than Sheffield. They’ll get their chance at that on Friday night against a very solid, but winless Red Raiders squad.
Cameron County’s 2022 season isn’t going exactly how they have hoped. Last season the Red Raiders owned two victories over Bucktail, finished 5-4 and qualified for the District 9 1A playoffs. Their loss to Coudersport on Friday night eliminated the Red Raiders from post season play and was the second straight game they have been shut out. Their schedule has been brutal with 1A playoff contenders Union/AC Valley, Port Allegany and Coudersport knocking them off. They’ve also been upended by less than stellar Smethport and Moniteau.
Let’s take a closer look at this Route 120 rivalry game.
Cameron County (0-5, 0-1) At Bucktail (2-2, 1-2)
Last Week- Bucktail went on the road and defeated Sheffield 42-22. It was the Bucks’ second victory over the District 9 League’s worst team. Bucktail racked up 513 yards of total offense but gave up five turnovers and was penalized 10 times for 75 yards. Two areas Bucktail must clean up coming to this Region 3 matchup. Cameron County lost their first Region 3 game of the season on Friday night. Coudersport downed them 22-0 on their own field. Cameron County gave up three second half rushing touchdowns to Coudy’s Xander Brown in the second half. The final two came with just 3:44 left in the game. His last was an 84-yard dash that sank the Red Raiders for good.
Last Year- Cameron County downed Bucktail in Week 2 by a 22-20 margin in Emporium and earned a wet, muddy win in the rain in Week 10 in Farwell.
Players to watch- Braylon Fantaski, Brody Pentz, Tanner Pettingill and Brett Mason have been the offensive stars for Bucktail up until this point. Those four will be relied on heavily Friday night, but on the opposite side of the ball. Their defensive play is what will give Bucktail a legitimate shot at sending the Red Raiders 45 miles west, up 120 with a loss. The Bucks will once again be without standout linebacker Kyler Friese. It’s a huge hole that head coach Frank Sutliff has acknowledged on his defensive side and on his offensive front line. Offensively Bucktail busted out an air attack Saturday at Sheffield. Brody Pentz scorched Sheffield for 214 yards and two touchdown strikes. The big story was Braylon Fantaski. He exploded for 172 yards receiving, 123 yards rushing and 35 yards passing. Fantaski also scored five touchdowns in the win. Cameron County has a balanced offensive attack that is led by quarterback Maddox Baughman. He’s put up big numbers through the air this season and last season. When Cameron goes to the ground Baughman or Lathan Reed see a lot of carries. Graduation has also hurt the Red Raiders, but this is a much better team than Sheffield.
Outlook- Bucktail cannot afford turnovers and penalties like they faced Saturday, or this could be a long one for them. This is a top notch, quality team despite their record and don’t be surprised if the Red Raiders come out on fire, or perhaps overconfident against Bucktail. They’ve already been eliminated from playoffs and have absolutely nothing to lose. Bucktail’s pass coverage and their ability to pressure Baughman will be key.
