BUCYRUS — Both teams were desperate for a win after lopsided 0-2 starts to the season.

That they were evenly matched is evident from the way the game played out.

Cardington had a narrow 21-20 lead at halftime. The Pirates scored with just over a minute left to break a 28-28 tie, then held on for a 36-28 victory over host Bucyrus.

First-year Redmen coach Jon Butchko, while pleased with the progress his young team made over the first two weeks, was disappointed that they let victory slip from their grasp.

“It’s heartbreaking,” Butchko said. “I think it’s a sign of where we are. We struggled at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.”

Butchko pointed to a series late in the fourth quarter that ended on downs at the Cardington 42 as the turning point.

“We had three cracks at what was probably 18 inches, and we don’t convert,” Butchko said. “And I think the strategy became very clear. We were trying to make that the last possession of the game.”

Had the Redmen made the first down, they may have reversed the outcome, or at least sent the game to overtime, having gotten the clock to under three minutes on a drive that started at their own 23.

The Pirates’ stand set up what proved to be the game-winning, 58-yard drive.

“The last two weeks, we’ve shot ourselves in the foot, playing really good football teams in Elgin (30-0) and Columbus Academy (33-8),” Cardington coach Ryan Goetzman said. “We had six turnovers in both games, and we didn’t score three times in the red zone.

“Even tonight, we didn’t take care of the football (five fumbles, two lost). We were sloppy at times,” Goetzman said. “But I told my kids I was proud as all get out of them, because they were resilient enough to finish a game and find a way to win even when it was difficult.”

Cardington (1-2) used seven plays to score the game-winner. Big plays were huge for the Pirates and the final score was no different. Quarterback Journey Williamson connected with tight end Merek McClure on a 16-yard strike with 1:11 left in the game. The score was set up on a 38-yard run by Wyatt Denney, who had a monster night on the ground. Denney was the backbone of the offense, rushing 24 times for 223 yards and a touchdown.

“They did a good job for what they do,” Butchko said. “We couldn’t get them off their game plan. They wanted to plod to the ball on both sides and we wanted to speed them up.”

Ironically, Denney almost didn’t play.

“We didn’t know if he was going to play tonight,” Goetzman said. “He was a game-time decision.”

To their credit, the Redmen moved the ball from their own 40 to the Cardington 18 and had four throws into the end zone. But the Pirate defense denied them.

“You’re throwing the ball into the end zone with a chance to tie the game — I guess you take it with where we’ve been in the first two weeks,” Butchko said. “I’m happy, I’m excited with how we played, with how we competed. Of course, I’m not pleased with the outcome.

“You don’t ever really deserve things in sports, but man, it felt like we sure earned one tonight,” Butchko added. “We were right there.”

Cardington opened the scoring on a 25-yard run by Denney for a 7-0 lead, but Bucyrus (0-3) answered quickly when Kavan Combs took the ensuing kickoff 75 yards to the house, with the 2-point conversion giving the Redmen an 8-7 lead.

Kalin Briggs’ 11-yard run put the Pirates back up. The Redmen got two quick scores in the second period. Blayne Barto went in on a 15-yard pass from Brayden Campbell. On the next series, defensive lineman Jarron Brown returned a fumble 27 yards for a score.

A 34-yard Journey-to-Denton Garrison pass gave the Pirates a slim 21-20 advantage at halftime.

The storyline for the Redmen was Campbell, who was making his first varsity start at quarterback.

“I think that kid did a great job for what he was throw into,” Goetzman said. “Tip your hat to (Campbell). He’s a sophomore. He stepped in a did a whale of a job.”

Campbell completed 20 of 31 passes for 192 yards and two touchdowns. More importantly,  he committed no turnovers.

“We’re clunky and inefficient sometimes offensively, but getting near 66 percent completions, that’s always a goal in this system,” Butchko said. “Every snap, he gets better. He competes like crazy. He’s a great athlete. We’re going to be just fine with him behind center.”

Barto caught 10 passes for 72 yards and two scores and rushed for 39 yards. Tyrcus Cosey grabbed three balls for 53 yards and Kam Lewis added three catches for 36 yards.

“Boy, what a threat he’s developed into as a pass catcher,” Butchko said of Barto. “He’s an asset to what we do in our system. He might be the perfect tailback for what we do.”

Williamson completed eight of 20 passes for 153 yards and three touchdowns to complement Denney’s rushing dominance. Garrison caught two passes for 63 yards and two TDs. McClure had two receptions for 48 yards and a score and Greg Donaldson grabbed three for 33 yards.

“A win’s huge for us,” Goetzman said. “It gives our kids the confidence they may have been lacking in Week 1 and 2.”

“I saw some positive things,” Butchko said. “It felt like we were playing offense a little bit more efficiently, getting tricky through the air and catching them off guard on some switches in the flat.

“We start a lot of underclassmen. That’s not an excuse, that’s just a fact,” Butchko added. “We’re gathering information as we move forward, on a snap-by-snap basis. We’d almost have to try to not be improving.”

Box score

Score by quarters

Cardington         13         8          7          8   — 36

Bucyrus                8        12          8          0   — 28

Scoring summary

First quarter

C — Wyatt Denney 25 run (Austin Vails kick), 3:10.

B — Kavan Combs 75 kickoff return (Christian Neal pass from Brayden Campbell), 2:58.

C — Kalin Briggs 11 run (kick failed), :03.

Second quarter

B — Blayne Barto 15 pass from Campbell (pass failed), 7:39.

B — Jarron Brown 27 fumble return (pass failed), 6:47.

C — Denton Garrison 34 pass from Journey Williamson (Denney run), 5:50.

Third quarter

C — Garrison 29 pass from Williamson (Vails kick). 9:30.

B — Barto 4 pass from Campbell (Neal pass from Campbell), 1:48.

Fourth quarter

C — Merek McClure 16 pass from Williamson (pass complete), 1:11.

Individual statistics

Passing

Cardington: Journey Williamson 8-20-0 153; Bucyrus: Brayden Campbell 20-31-0 192.

Rushing

Cardington: Wyatt Denney 24-223, Kalin Briggs 7-35, Journey Williamson 7-9, Christopher Kinsey 1-2; Bucyrus: Blayne Barto 20-39, Brayden Campbell 9-(-22).

Receiving

Cardington: Denton Garrison 2-63, Merek McClure 2-48, Greg Donaldson 3-33, Wyatt Denney 1-9; Bucyrus: Blayne Barto 10-72, Tyrcus Cosey 4-53, Kam Lewis 3-36, Kavan Combs 1-16, Christian Neal 1-10, Damarius Munn-Page 1-5.

Team statistics

C                  B

First downs                14                 14

Rushing                   34-269          29-17

Passes                       8-20-0         20-31-0

Yards passing            153               192

Total yards                 422              209

Fumbles-lost             5-2              3-1

Punts-Avg               0-00.0        3-33.7

Penalties                   9-75           10-82