SYCAMORE — It was once again a story of missed opportunities for Bucyrus — a familiar refrain for the Redmen.

Trailing just 6-0 at halftime, Bucyrus could not get traction on offense in the second half and watched as Mohawk pulled away to a 26-7 Northern 10 Athletic Conference win.

It was the season finale for both teams. The Warriors entered the night with a slim mathematical chance of making the postseason but did not get quite the help they needed and finished 17th in Division VII, Region 26.

“We made some plays, but we never put anything successfully together,” a disappointed Bucyrus coach Tim Plumley said. “We ran the ball a little bit at first. We came out in a different formation. But they adjusted to it, and we struggled to run it.”

The defenses dominated the first half. The only score came when quarterback Ben Bogner ran 33 yards up the middle for a score midway through the second quarter. Mohawk (4-6, 4-3 N10) took that 6-0 lead to the halftime break.

“We told the kids at halftime we’re not changing anything schematically,” Mohawk coach Eric Daniel said. “We were not firing off the ball, we were not dominating the line of scrimmage at all. It’s a credit to (Bucyrus). They were playing really hard.”

A short punt by the Redmen on their second possession of the second half set the Warriors up at their own 49. It took just five plays to go 51 yards. Zaiden Fry took it in from 10 yards out to give Mohawk a 12-0 advantage after three quarters.

“It’s kind of been the story for us as far running the ball,” Plumley said. “When you’ve got to throw the ball all the time — we weren’t as sharp tonight as we have been. There are a lot of factors. It’s a pretty windy night and there’s a lot of pressure.”

The Redmen mustered 92 yards on the ground. Quarterback Malachi Bayless came in as the third leading passer in the N10 with 1658 yards but hit just 9 of 37 throws for 132 yards.

Mohawk expanded the lead early in the fourth quarter when Jace Margraf broke off a 51-yard run to make it 18-0.

“Offensively, we just started teeing off in the second half,” Daniel said. “We’re not changing anything. Just come off the ball and we started doing it. The results speak for themselves.”

Trevor Johnson scored on a 7-yard run to make it 26-0 Warriors before Bucyrus (2-8, 1-6) got its only score on a 4-yard run by Randy Banks with 1:49 left in the game.

Blayne Barto had 52 yards rushing to lead the Redmen and Bayless added 38. Joe Rager had three catches for 55 yards, Kam Lewis caught three for 34 yards and Banks grabbed two for 33 yards.

“Mohawk always plays good defense,” Plumley said. “They’re tough kids and they’re coached up.”

Bogner rushed for 97 yards on 11 carries and a score. He threw for only 43 yards, all in the first half. Fry had 77 yards on nine tries for a score and Johnson finished with 67 yards on six carries and a touchdown. Brayden Chester had two catches for 26 yards.

“(Bucyrus has) some really good players,” Daniel said. “But defensively, I’m really proud of our kids, our DBs. We were able to send a lot of pressure, get home, and get (Bayless) off his spots and get him throwing the ball on the run. He’s a really good athlete and they’ve got some good athletes on the perimeter. So, to hold them to seven points and score with a minute left or whatever — let’s go. That was huge.”

“The defense played well for most of the night,” Plumley said. “If the offense does anything as far as scoring, this is a different game.”

“This was a true team win,” Daniel said. “I’m proud of our guys, our seniors. If we had to end it and this was it, then it’s good to end it on a ‘W’ and it leaves a better taste in our mouth.”

“There were some big plays to be had,” Plumley said. “I would say six to seven and most times, we connect on two or three of those and we just didn’t.”

Box score

Score by quarters

Bucyrus        0        0          0         7   — 7

Mohawk       0        6          6       14   — 26

Scoring summary

Second quarter

M — Ben Bogner 33 run (run failed), 7:54.

Third quarter

M — Zaiden Fry 10 run (pass failed), 1:33.

Fourth quarter

M — Jace Margraf 51 run (pass failed), 10:09.

M — Trevor Johnson 7 run (Margraf run), 5:29.

B — Randy Banks 4 run (Ethan Huff kick), 1:49.

Individual statistics

Passing

Bucyrus: Malachi Bayless 9-37-0 132, Randy Banks 0-1-0 0; Mohawk Ben Bogner 4-12-0 43.

Rushing

Bucyrus: Blayne Barto 13-52, Malachi Bayless 6-38, Randy Banks 4-3, Mason Gebhardt 2-(-1); Mohawk: Ben Bogner 11-97, Zaiden Fry 9-77, Trevor Johnson 6-67, Jace Margraf 8-34, Brayden Chester 5-24.

Receiving

Bucyrus: Joe Rager 3-55, Kam Lewis 3-34, Randy Banks 2-33, Mason Gebhardt 1-10; Mohawk: Brayden Chester 2-26, Zaiden Fry 1-12, Nicholas Golling 1-5.

Team statistics

B                 M

First downs                  17               12

Rushing                    25-92         39-299

Passes                        9-38-0         4-12-0

Yards passing             132               43

Total yards                 224              342

Fumbles-lost              0-0              2-0

Punts-Avg               6-34.3        5-43.8

Penalties                    6-45           7-67