NEW WASHINGTON — Entering Friday night’s game at Buckeye Central, the Crestline Bulldogs hadn’t won a football game since Nov. 1, 2020, a 42-14 win at Vanlue.
Crestline entered the game with a 29-game losing streak.
That streak is now history.
The Bulldogs gained 444 yards, as tailback Cian Glennon rushed for 222 yards on 25 carries and sophomore quarterback Kody Lawhorn passed for 194 yards and four scores as the Bulldogs dropped the Bucks, 44-27.
The win was in the debut of coach Hastings Robinette, who said that the team has bought in to what he and his coaching staff have been stressing.
“I really feel great for the kids,” Robinette said. “This was our goal from the time I was hired six months ago. This is for these guys. They put the work in, and it paid off. I can’t be more happy for them.
“Our staff started in the gym in February with the guys. Before we did any football,” Robinette added. “We got them to buy in before we ever got on a football field.”
The tenor of the game was different from the very beginning. BC moved the ball well, gaining 302 yards and scoring four times. But every time the Bucks scored, the Bulldogs responded. Crestline outscored Buckeye, 25-7, in the second half.
“This was definitely a big step,” Robinette said. “We were down a point at halftime and our guys could have shut down and been done with, but they didn’t. They came back and played hard.”
Buckeye Central coach Jordan Phillips was on the Buckeye Central staff when the Bucks lost 24 straight games before the program turned forward. He said he understood what the Crestline program was going through.
“You’re finally getting a taste of winning a football game, learning how to play winning football,” said Phillips, who was also making his head coaching debut. “And that was my experience in the locker room. We really kinda disliked the questions about will you break the streak. There’s a lot of stress involved with that.”
Glennon and Lawhorn led a Crestline attack that the Bucks were never really able to stop. Buckeye Central did cut the Crestline lead to 32-27 with 3:58 left in the game on a three-yard pass from Jack Phillips to Corbin Bloomfield, but the Bulldogs responded in a big way.
On the next possession, the Bulldogs scored on a 56-yard pass from Lawhorn to Parker Bowman, before getting a 40-yard run from Glennon to seal the game.
Glennon, who came to Crestline from Lexington to live with his mother, said that setting the tone was critical for his team.
“I just transferred to Crestline, and I love the experience,” Glennon said. “It’s a great team, a great coaching staff. Everything is amazing, I just love it.”
Glennon, like many players on both sides, battled the entire game with cramps.
“I got to make sure I am hydrated more but cramps definitely got the best of me,” Glennon said. “I tried to run hard and low and make the best of it.”
Buckeye got the first score of the game when Jack Phillips hit his brother Alec Phillips from 24-yards out. The PAT was missed, and BC led, 6-0.
The lead didn’t last long, however, as Lawhorn hit Bowman from 12 yards out and the Bulldogs held a 7-6 lead after one.
In the second quarter, Phillips put the Bucks back in the lead with a one-yard run, but Crestline tied the game at 13-13 on a Lawhorn 19-yard run.
Phillips hit former Crestline player Jaydin Jarvis from 26 yards out to give BC a 20-13 lead, but Lawhorn connected with Kieran Barnett for a five-yard score.
At the break, the Bucks held a 20-19 lead.
The Bulldogs dominated the second half. Glennon scored from 10 yards out and Crestline led, 25-20, going into the final frame.
Crestline took command in the fourth period as Lawhorn found Barnett from 10 yards out, increasing the lead to 32-20 and setting up the final four minutes of the game.
“We’re not satisfied, obviously, but this is the first win in almost three years,” Robinette said.
Phillips felt that his young team struggled to tackle.
Jack Phillips led the Bucks with 136 rushing yards on 13 carries and threw 147 more yards. He accounted for all four Bucks’ touchdowns.
“He was playing through a lot of pain,” Phillips said of his quarterback, who also suffered from cramps. “But he made a lot of plays. He was very dynamic running the ball, creating for other guys. I thought he had a pretty good day today.”
Box score
Score by quarters
Crestline 7 12 6 19 — 44
Buckeye Central 6 14 0 7 — 27
Scoring summary
First quarter
BC — Alec Phillips 24 pass from Jack Phillips (Jack Phillips kick), 7:27.
C — Parker Bowman 25 pass from Kody Lawhorn (Bowman kick), 4:19.
Second quarter
BC — Jack Phillips 1 run (Jack Phillips kick), 7:26.
C — Lawhorn 19 run (kick blocked), 5:23.
BC — Caydin Jarvis 5 pass from Jack Phillips (Jack Phillips kick), 1:09.
C — Kieran Barnett 5 pass from Lawhorn (kick failed).
Third quarter
C — Cian Glennon 10 run (kick failed), 5:42.
Fourth quarter
C — Barnett 10 pass from Lawhorn (Bowman kick), 11:09.
BC — Jarvis 3 pass from Jack Phillips (Jack Phillips kick), 3:58.
C — Bowman 56 pass from Lawhorn (kick failed), 2:59.
C — Glennon 40 run (kick failed), 1:49.
Individual statistics
Passing
Crestline: Kody Lawhorn 10-19-0 194; Buckeye Central: Jack Phillips 12-25-1 147.
Rushing
Crestline: Cian Glennon 25-222, Carter Giesige 3-15, Kody Lawhorn 13-10, Kolton Keller 1-3; Buckeye Central: Jack Phillips 13-136, Caydin Jarvis 9-15, Tye Craft 2-24, Austin Bogner 1-0.
Receiving
Crestline: Parker Bowman 3-130, Derek McCunn 6-54, Kieran Barnett 2-15; Buckeye Central: Caydin Jarvis 7-83, Hunter Caudill 2-30, Alec Phillips 1-24, Corbin Bloomfield 2-10.
Team statistics
C BC
First downs 14 11
Rushing 40-250 25-155
Passes 11-19-0 12-25-1
Yards passing 194 147
Total yards 444 302
Fumbles-lost 1-1 1-1
Penalties 3-40 2-26