CAREY — Carey couldn’t have asked for more — a chance to likely tie or possibly win the contest after trailing by as many as 14 points at the end
of the third quarter.

But that’s when Bucyrus offensive/defensive lineman Bryant Pfeifer recovered a fumble for the first time in his high school football career.

After the Redmen failed to score with 3:42 remaining in the contest, the Blue Devils, trailing by seven, began a 12-play, 56-yard drive from their
own 44-yard line.

Several plays later, on first-and-5 from the 18-yard line, Carey quarterback Ethan Beringer’s pass was intercepted in the end zone but pass interference and unsportsmanlike conduct penalties gave the Blue Devils a first and goal at the 3-yard line with 1:43 remaining. The Redmen were penalized 12 times for 116 yards on the night.

But on the first play, Beringer handed the ball to Brady Curlis. Curlis, while looking to get into the end zone after getting hit twice, fumbled into
the end zone, where it was recovered by Pfeifer. In victory formation, Bucyrus quarterback Ben Seibert took a knee and secured the Redmen¹s 16-9
victory over the Blue Devils on Friday at Wentling Field in Carey.

“I saw two of our Redmen guys hit the guy, the ball flew up and I saw the ball hit the ground,” Pfeifer said. “I instantly went for it and dove on it.”
It was one of three Carey drives on the night that ended with a fumble, as the Blue Devils fumbled twice in the first half.

“We’re going to keep working and keep working and plugging away and figuring out a way to be more productive in the first half, all of our production’s coming in the second half,” Carey coach Jonathon Mershman said. “We’re wearing teams down, which is great, but I like to wear some teams down and score points in the first half.

“I think we moved the ball in the first half, we just, every time we got down there, we had some sort of mistake, and we got to believe and find a way to overcome and not make those mistakes.”

After not scoring any points offensively in the first three quarters — the Blue Devils’ only points were via a safety when Spencer Baldridge tackled
Bucyrus quarterback Ben Seibert in the end zone for a safety with 2:49 remaining in the first quarter — the Blue Devils engineered their only
scoring drive of the night.

With 6:44 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Blue Devils scored on an eight-play, 78-yard drive that concluded when Beringer, who had completed
six consecutive passes despite briefly leaving the field hurt, completed his
seventh straight pass on first-and-10 from the 22-yard line.

Beringer dropped back and fired a pass to the middle of the end zone, where it was caught by Ian Yeater. Anthony Bell’s extra point brought the Blue Devils
within seven at 16-9. Beringer connected on 16 of 25 passes for 126 yards and one touchdown.

The Redmen appeared to be in prime position to answer the score, as Seibert, on first-and-15 from the 20-yard line, broke a few tackles and dashed 80
yards for a score, but the touchdown was called back due to a block in the back penalty.

On first and 10 from the 13-yard line, Seibert scored on another keeper, but it also was called back due to a block in the back. The drive ended with Tyler Bishop¹s missed field goal, giving the Blue Devils a chance to drive down the field to try to tie or win the game.

Leading 2-0 in the second quarter, the Blue Devils faced a fourth-and-5 from their own 43-yard line and opted to punt, but a high snap sailed over Bell’s
head, and Bell, after recovering the ball, was tackled at the 16-yard line, giving the Redmen a first-and-10 inside the Carey red zone.

Five plays later, Bishop split the uprights on a 28-yard field goal, giving the Redmen a 3-2 halftime lead.

“We have a pretty solid defense,” Bucyrus coach Matt Makeever said. “We’re pretty proud of what we got. We’re working on our offense. We know it’s
capable of more, and we’re going to get there.”

The Blue Devils, however, held the Redmen to 25 total yards of offense in the first half and 190 total yards of offense on the night. Seibert
completed only 3 of 14 passes for 80 yards, but rushed 13 times for 82 yards for two touchdowns, scoring on two 1-yard rushes in the third quarter, the
first of which on a five-play, 62-yard drive which gave the Redmen a 9-2 lead with 9:42 remaining in the third quarter.

Two Carey possessions later, on fourth-and-8 from the Carey 25-yard line, another bad snap on a punt gave the Redmen a first-and goal at the 10-yard
line. Four plays later, Seibert scored on another 1-yard run.

The Blue Devils finished with 325 yards of total offense, including 199 on the ground. Curlis rushed for 59 yards and Beringer rushed 12 times for 57
yards. Bryce Conti rushed six times for 44 yards.