Hess, Vikings rush past Buchanan

BERRIEN SPRINGS — Niles football coach Scot Shaw said he talked "ad nauseam" all week to his team about putting points on the board versus Buchanan.

The Vikings, specifically Paul Hess, must have been listening.

Hess ran for 170 yards and three touchdowns to pace Niles past Buchanan 28-18 Thursday night in Sylvester Stadium. The game was moved to Berrien Springs as the Niles field continues to undergo renovations.

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Niles, which beat Buchanan 26-0 a year ago, improves to 1-1. The Bucks fall to 1-1.

Niles, which lost 15-0 to Sturgis in week one, ran for 288 yards behind an offensive line with no seniors and a pair of freshmen starters.

Sophomore Hess was the star on this night. The tough 6-0, 200 pounder set the tone on the second play of the night. After the Vikings were called for false start, Hess broke free for a 76-yard touchdown run to give his team the momentum from the start. Hess capped the night with a 38-yard touchdown scamper to ice the win.

"Our line was great all night," praised Hess following the win. "It felt nice to do this. We worked hard and it paid off. Last week was hard, but we had a good week of practice and knew what we had to do tonight to beat Buchanan."

The Vikings, who finished 5-4 in Shaw's first season in 2021, led 20-0 at halftime. Niles controlled both lines of scrimmage as Buchanan had just 36 yards of offense in the opening half, including one yard rushing. Hess scored twice in the opening half and quarterback Talon Brawley added a TD run.

Buchanan, which beat Saugatuck 46-20 in its opener, turned to a ground attack in the second half. The Bucks, who threw for 304 yards in their opener, ran the ball nine straight times to open the final half. Buchanan got a 16-yard touchdown pass from Connor Legault to Dillon Oatsvall to make it 20-6. The Bucks, after a Niles fumble, cut the deficit to 20-12 with 7:11 to play on a touchdown run by Leland Payne.

The Niles defense came up with a huge stop after the Bucks recovered another fumble. Alex Cole tackled Legault for a five-yard loss on a fourth and three play to give the Vikings the ball back. Hess then raced in from 38 yards out with 2:41 to play to make it 28-12. Buchanan scored a final touchdown with just 24 seconds left.

"We talked all week about putting points on the board," said Hall of Famer Shaw, now in his 33rd season as a head coach including a stint at Elkhart Memorial. "We got off to a good start. Paul ran it well, read his holes well and made some nice cuts. He's a tough kid.

"We got a good push tonight. The turnovers hurt us in the second half with the fumbles. Really, we stopped ourselves."

Shaw, a Mishawaka High School graduate who won a state title at Three Rivers, directed the Vikings to just the program's second winning season in the last two decades in 2021. Shaw has won over 200 high school games while coaching in Michigan.

The Niles offensive line did a masterful job, especially in the opening half. The junior duo of Carson Clanton and Jim Gaya, sophomore Riley Cowan and freshmen Chase Brawley and Brandon Hamilton set the tone up front with a superb performance.

Buchanan coach Mark Frey saw his passing game struggle. The Bucks were just 12-of-35 through the air for 123 yards. Thomas Van Overberghe led Buchanan with five receptions for 57 yards. The talented senior had seven receptions for 255 yards, including TD catches of 71, 84 and 55 yards in the week one win.

"We just couldn't connect in that first half on some pass plays," said Frey, whose team returned 17 starters from its 3-6 squad in 2021. "We challenged our line at halftime and decided enough was enough and ran the ball in the second half. We just ran out of time.

"You just can't spot a team a 20-0 lead like we did in that first half. It's just too hard. We just needed to clean up some things in that first half."

Niles plays at Edwardsburg and Buchanan travels to Dowagiac next Friday night.

N: Paul Hess 76 run (Talon Brawley run)

N: Brawley 8 run (run failed)

N: Hess 15 run (pass failed)

B: Dillon Oatsvall 20 pass from Connor Legault (pass failed)

B: Leland Payne 8 run (pass failed)

N: Hess 38 run (Sam Rucker pass from Brawley)

B: Jack Ruth 6 run (run failed)

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Niles tops Buchanan in Michigan high school football action Thursday night