BUCYRUS — In a game that had more twists and turns than a plot from a mystery novel, Friday night’s Crestline-Bucyrus contest came down to one play late in the game.

Trailing 28-27 with 5:25 left in the game, Crestline coach Jonny King rolled the dice.

King, playing without starting quarterback Trevor Shade, who was knocked out of the game in the first quarter with “concussion-like symptoms,” went with his star, Calvin Reed, to get the two-point conversion.

Reed rolled two his right, found his road to the end zone blocked and tried to complete a pass, but the pass was intercepted.

Bucyrus went on to win the game, 28-27, getting its first win of the season. The Redmen are now 1-6 on the season, while the Bulldogs fell to 0-7.

King said that injuries played his hand when it came to the decision on the two-point conversion.

“We were at a place where we had some injuries,” King said. “There were no other kids to put on the field, literally. There were no other kids in certain positions. Extending the game and taking it into overtime, the odds get less and less in our favor.

“We’ve had some success in two-point conversions and that’s the mentality of our guys,” King added. “We’re going to take our shots when we have the opportunities.”

Bucyrus coach Tim Plumley said that, on the play, the Redmen felt the Bulldogs would go to Reed to win the game.

“We were in an under front where we had one of our backers up and we played man,” Plumley said. “We were just expecting 11 (Reed) on the edge. He’s really good at that. Even if it’s not on the edge, as you can see, he’s going to take it there. We struggled containing him.”

The play was a culmination of a game where both teams grabbed the momentum in certain points in the game.

The Bulldogs opened the game big when Brock Noblit took the opening kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown.

The Redmen came right back on the arm of freshman quarterback Malachi Bayless, who hit wideout Braxton Lewis from 49-yards out for a score.

With just 1:07 gone in the game, Crestline held a 7-6 lead.

With all that scoring early, neither team scored again in the first half.

Bucyrus went to their star running back Eddie Dagher in the second half and it immediately paid dividends. Dagher, who rushed for 129 yards in 19 carries, dashed 30 yards for a score and a 13-7 Bucyrus lead.

Dagher missed the previous two games with injury, but Plumley said he was glad to have the junior back.

“Eddie was back this week. This is the first he’s played since the fourth week and he was a big lift for us. He sees the holes well and makes cuts a little better than some of the other guys,” Plumley said.

But then Reed took over. Reed, who was pressed into the quarterback spot when Shade went down, scored on a seven-yard run with eight minutes left in the frame, then added a 79-yard scoring run four minutes later, as the Bulldogs grabbed a 21-13 lead.

Reed finished the night with 185 yards on the ground in 24 carries and completed 19 of 26 passes for 181 yards.

“Calvin had a great game, he’s doing everything he possibly can, but all the guys are working,” King said. “It’s not a lack of effort, we just need some more kids to give us some depth.”

Plumley was impressed with the effort the Bulldogs gave.

“You have to give it to those Crestline kids,” Plumley said.  “(Reed) he’s a good player. They’re short-handed and they play their tails off.”

Bucyrus tied the game late in the third period when Bayless found senior Lane Carter from 62 yards out, then hit Carter for the two-point conversion.

Early in the fourth period, the Redmen took a 28-21 lead on Dagher’s 13-yard run.

Crestline responded with Reed’s four-yard run late in the game but missed the two-point conversion.

“I wanted to run the ball a little more, early,” Plumley said.  “But they kicked to that 50 front and we struggled. Finally, we hit a couple of passes in the second half and that opened it up. We did have a decent night rushing, but it was those passes that kind of broke things open.”

Bayless finished hitting nine of 15 passes for 208 yards.

“He’s up and down,” Plumley said of his freshman QB. “He did do a heck of a job and then there were a couple of plays where, at critical moments, he played like a freshman. He’s up and down and that’s what you get when you play a freshman.”

The Redmen travel to Upper Sandusky next week. The Bulldogs are scheduled to host Buckeye Central next week,  but the Bucks won their playoff game Friday night and won’t be able to play Crestline.

Box score    

Score by quarters

Crestline       7          0        14          6   — 27

Bucyrus         6          0       15          7   —  28

Scoring summary

First quarter

C — Brock Noblit 85 kickoff return (Noblit kick), 11:45.

B — Braxton Lewis 49 pass from Malachi Bayless (kick blocked), 10:53.

Third quarter

B — Eddie Dagher 30 run (Ethan Huff kick), 11:38.

C — Calvin Reed 7 run (Noblit kick), 8:00.

C — Reed 79 run (Noblit kick), 4:01.

B — Lane Carter 62 pass from Bayless (Carter pass from Bayless), 2:43.

Fourth quarter

B — Dagher 13 run (Huff kick), 11:11.

C — Reed 4 run (pass failed), 5:25.

Individual statistics

Passing

Crestline: Trevor Shade 2-4-0 (-1), Calvin Reed 19-26-0 181. Bucyrus: Malachi Bayless 9-15-1 208.

Rushing

Crestline: Reed 24-185, Brock Noblit 10-50, Trevor Shade 1-(-4).  Bucyrus: Eddie Dagher 19-129, Mason Gebhardt 1-5, Dillon Downing 2-5, Bayless 5-(-12).

Receiving

Crestline: Austin Silverwood 5-54, Noblit 6-54, Connor Lusk 4-47, Brandon Hiles 3-17, Owen Snyder 1-9, Reed 1-3. Bucyrus: Lane Carter 6-125, Braxton Lewis 3-83.

Team statistics

C                 B

First downs                16               10

Rushing                 35-231         27-127

Passes                     21-30-0        9-15-1

Yards passing           180             208

Total yards               411               335

Fumbles-lost            N/A            N/A

Punts-Avg               1-29.0        4-30.3

Penalties                    6-58           8-64