NEW WASHINGTON — Both teams entered the game desperate for a win. Only one could succeed.
In a battle of two evenly matched teams, Bucyrus outlasted Buckeye Central, 37-34, in a Northern 10 Athletic Conference game.
The Bucks came in on a five-game losing streak and the Redmen had lost seven in a row.
“Back and forth. Each team made some big plays, each team made some mistakes,” Bucyrus coach Tim Plumley said. “I feel for them. I’ve been on that side in close games like this.”
The game was tied at 7-7 and 14-14 and Bucyrus held a narrow 21-20 lead at halftime. As innocuous as it seemed at the time, the difference in the game came down to a 29-yard field goal by Ethan Huff that made the score 24-20 with 7:03 in the third quarter.
“We knew it was going to be this kind of game,” Buckeye Central coach Chad Jensen said. “We knew their kids would play hard. We knew our kids would play hard. It just comes down to a couple things here and there.”
Buckeye Central (3-6, 0-6 N10) got on the board first when quarterback Derex Dean scored on a 3-yard run on the Bucks’ first possession.
After the teams exchanged turnovers, Bucyrus (2-7, 1-5) tied the game on a 3-yard pass from Malachi Bayless to Kam Lewis. It set the tone for the night.
The Redmen grabbed the lead, 14-7, on a 29-yard run by Randy Banks in the second quarter. But the Bucks only needed three play to answer, the last on a 32-yard Dean-to-Stephen Sostakowski pass to tie it at 14-14.
“We did have a couple of drives where we moved the ball, but it’s typically big plays,” Plumley said. “Someone gets loose — Randy or Blayne (Barto) or we throw it to Joe (Rager) — we’re not a grind-it-out team. That’s just now really what we’re made of.”
“We knew that big plays on both sides would probably be a factor,” Jensen said. “And we knew turnovers would be a factor.”
The next score typified the coaches’ analyses. Barto ran between the tackles and raced 75 yards to give Bucyrus a 21-14 lead.
Again, Buckeye Central responded by punching in a score on a 4-yard run by Manny Mullins with just three seconds left in the half. A missed extra point left the lead with the Redmen at 21-20 at intermission.
Bucyrus led 24-20 heading into the fourth quarter, but the Bucks were poised to take the lead, which they did. Mullins ran in from two yards out to give BC a 27-24 edge.
“Manny had some big plays, but we did a pretty good job of containing Manny, because he’s a big dude,” Plumley said.
Mullins with 98 yards rushing and scored three touchdowns.
“Manny’s one of our seniors and one of our best players,” Jensen said. “He can run the ball, catch the ball. He does lots of things for us.”
The Redmen used a signature big play to regain the lead for good. Rager caught a Bayless pass over the middle and raced 70 yards for a score and a 30-27 lead.
Then, after forcing the Bucks to turn the ball over on downs at the Bucyrus 37, the Redmen drove 63 yards on 11 plays and appeared to seal the win when Barto capped the drive on a 2-yard run with 3:12 left to make it 37-27.
“I’m really proud of the defense — Coach K (Shane Kokensparger) — the kids played hard,” Plumley said. “We challenged them a little bit to tackle better because we’ve had some issues with that, and I feel like they did.”
Buckeye Central, however, made it interesting. A good kick return and a penalty gave the Bucks a shot field across midfield. They went 47 yards in less than a minute, with Mullins grabbing a 10-yard scoring pass from Dean to get back to 37-34 with 2:11 to go.
After the defense forced a Bucyrus punt, Buckeye Central had one last chance to tie or win. But a desperation pass with time running out was intercepted by Bayless to end the threat.
“I’m really proud of our kids,” Jensen said. “I’m really proud of our seniors. They gave us everything they have. They’ve given everything they have for this program for four years.”
Eight seniors played their last home game for BC, with one road game to go at Colonel Crawford in Week 10.
“I’ve coached a lot of these guys since elementary school in various sports,” Jensen said. “And I feel like they’re extra sons to me. I love these guys.”
Dean completed 17 of 38 passes for 200 yards and two touchdowns. Stephen Sostakowski caught four for 74 yards, Tyler Sanderson had four catches for 54 yards and Heath Jensen caught six balls for 54.
Barto rushed for 137 yards and two touchdowns. Bayless completed 13 of 24 passes for 197 yards and two scores. Rager caught four passes for 108 yards and a touchdown and Lewis caught five for 45 and a TD.
“It’s huge, it’s huge,” Plumley said of the significance of the win to his team. “You come off the Carey game, how that felt to have not much go right. You have to convince the kids that you need to work every day and stay positive. It’s a little easier when they think the matchup is closer.”
“Bucyrus has got a lot of athletes,” Jensen said. “They’re in the same position we are — we play in a tough, tough league.”
“I’m really proud of our kids,” Plumley said. “I feel good for our kids and our fans. It’s been a tough stretch going through the league. And a win heals a lot of wounds and makes you feel good about what you’re doing.”
Box score
Score by quarters
Bucyrus 7 14 3 13 — 37
Buckeye Central 7 13 0 14 — 34
Scoring summary
First quarter
BC — Derex Dean 3 run (Dominic Dean kick), 9:10.
B — Kam Lewis 3 pass from Malachi Bayless (Ethan Huff kick), 6:49.
Second quarter
B — Randy Banks 29 run (Huff kick), 11:12.
BC — Stephen Sostakowski 32 pass from Derex Dean (Dom Dean kick), 9:33.
B — Blayne Barto 75 run (Huff kick), 1:49.
BC — Manny Mullins 4 run (kick failed), :03.
Third quarter
B — Huff 29 field goal, 7:03.
Fourth quarter
BC — Mullins 2 run (Dom Dean kick), 10:32.
B — Joe Rager 70 pass from Bayless (kick failed), 9:42
B — Barto 2 run (Huff kick), 3:12.
BC — Mullins 10 pass from Derex Dean (Dom Dean kick), 2:11.
Individual statistics
Passing
Bucyrus: Malachi Bayless 13-24-2 197; Buckeye Central 17-38-2 200.
Rushing
Bucyrus: Blayne Barto 25-137, Randy Banks 7-33, Malachi Bayless 6-15; Buckeye Central: Manny Mullins 18-98, Derex Dean 3-10, Stephen Sostakowski 1-0.
Receiving
Bucyrus: Joe Rager 4-108, Kam Lewis 5-45, Blayne Barto 2-21, Randy Banks 1-13, Mason Gebhardt 1-10; Buckeye Central: Stephen Sostakowski 4-74, Tyler Sanderson 6-54, Heath Jensen 4-54, Manny Mullins 2-14, Trevor Kirgis 1-4.
Team statistics
B BC
First downs 11 10
Rushing 38-185 22-108
Passes 13-24-2 17-38-2
Yards passing 197 200
Total yards 382 308
Fumbles-lost 1-0 1-1
Punts-Avg 3-35.3 3-41.3
Penalties 8-68 3-30