Regardless, onething remained clear: The Bucks (7-2, 6-0) are yet again Patriot Athletic Conference Stars Division football champi­ons.



“It feels awesome to beat our rival,” said Buckeye’s Zach Maxworthy after playing the game of his life at inside line­backer. “We played some really good defense, too. It was awe­some.”



Black River penetrated inside Buckeye’s 40 eight times, its 20 five times, ran 72 plays to the Bucks’ 38 and had a 19­3 edge in first downs.



However, Buckeye responded by forcing the Pirates (5-4, 4-1) into three lost fumbles, two punts and two failed fourth­down conversions inside the Bucks’ territory. Black River’s misery finally ended on the Bucks’ 10-yard line as time expired.





Shawn Cordes (9 carries, 86 yards) had Buckeye’s other TD on a 75-yard run in the first half. The jet sweep resulted in the Bucks’ only first down in the first 31:56 of the game.

“We made some adjustments at halftime,” Kelly said. “We saw what they were doing and we called plays that would work against them.” Meanwhile, Pirates coach Al Young could only look down at the fieldhouse’s concrete floor afterward.



Not only did his team make five trips inside the red zone, it also lost fumbles at the Buckeye 15 and 1. Black River outgained Buckeye 345­ to 117 when the long runs by Kelly and Cordes were taken out of the equation. Neil Jones led the Pirates with 125 yards rushing on 19 attempts, while Matt Joppeck added 103 on 24.



“It’s real tough. I feel horrible for our kids,” said Young, whose team fumbled seven times and lost four. “I thought we played a great game.



“We didn’t do anything in the red zone. You can’t have turnovers in a championship game.” Despite all the wild, wacky and unthinkable numbers, Buckeye deserved to win. Next week, the Bucks will host Keystone with a chance to clinch the outright Stars title and a Division III playoff berth.