NEW WASHINGTON — In a defensive-oriented game, the teams that can capitalize on big plays usually are the teams that can win the game.
Friday night, that was the Crestline Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs (1-0) scored on the first play of the game, then took advantage of a fumbled punt in the third period to down Buckeye Central, 12-0, in the season-opener for both teams in New Washington.
Crestline coach Jonny King, in his debut as a head coach, said he was thrilled with the way his football responded in the fourth period.
“We found some things that were working and we preached at halftime and, not just halftime but this entire off-season, the message has been finishing and executing in the fourth quarter and I thought we had a good halftime, I thought we saw some things, the coaches up in the box and on the sideline, that we liked,” King said.
How good were the Bulldogs in the final frame? Over the final 12 minutes, Crestline rushed nine times for 91 yards, a sharp contrast to the first half, when the Bulldogs managed just 36 yards on the ground.
‘That’s the identity of this team,” King said. “We want to line up and play smashmouth football and then we have skill on the outside to compliment and get things out on the edge and let them make plays. We’re really happy with the way we went out and executed.”
The Bulldogs got out quickly, in fact, in the first play of the game, when quarterback Kaden Ronk fired a swing pass to wideout Calvin Reed, who broke four BC tackles and raced 59 yards for the first score of the game. Crestline led, 6-0.
The Bulldogs increased the lead to 12-0 when the Bucks fumbled a punt and Crestline recovered at the Buckeye Central 25 yard-line.
From there, Ronk hit Jaxson France to the Buckeye Central four, and Enyce Sewell scored on the next play.
Buckeye Central coach Chad Jensen said that, while his defense played very well, those two plays were the difference.
“Crestline has some weapons and the difference in the game was those two things,” Jensen said. “Otherwise, it was 0-0. Then it’s a crapshoot.”
The Crestline defense was also a difference in the final two periods. Buckeye Central gained 113 yards in the first half but managed just 40 yards in the final two frames. Crestline sacked Buckeye Central quarterback Brady Kerschner six times.
“I can’t say enough about them,” King said of his defense. “In scrimmages, we had seen the front seven play really well and I knew their potential. We had a susceptibility to the big play in both of our scrimmages so hats off to our secondary, making sure they were where they needed to be. Our safeties played great in run defense and being another extra player in the box. Anytime you get a shutout, things are going pretty well defensively.”
Jensen said that his defense was outstanding as well.
“Our defense played well, we moved the ball, but we couldn’t get a big play,” Jensen said. “Our kids played hard and that’s all we can ask.”
A.J. Watkins paced the Bulldogs with six rushes for 48 yards and Reed grabbed three passes for 75 yards.
Zach Seiler led BC with 53 yards on 11 carries and Kolin Rowlinson rushed for 36 yards before getting injured in the second quarter.
“Our offensive line played hard, I thought that is the strength of our offense,” Jensen said. “We ran the ball really well, but there were times we shot ourselves in the foot. We put ourselves in some long situations, but we’ll get better. We will continue to improve and get better each week.”
King said that his head coaching debut could not have gone much better.
“I’m just happy for the kids,” King said. “I told them down here, they did things I wasn’t sure they could do. It shown in the first two scrimmages and through practices, a physicality but also a tendency to be undisciplined. We have been shooting ourselves in the foot. We’ve really been harping and preaching on that. They came out tonight, it wasn’t flawless, but we stayed out of our own way.”
Box score
Score by quarters
Crestline 6 0 6 0 — 12
Buckeye Central 0 0 0 0 — 0
Scoring summary
First quarter
C — Calvin Reed 59 pass from Kaden Ronk (kick failed), 11:43.
Third quarter
C — Enyce Sewell 4 run (pass failed), 4:04.
Individual statistics
Passing
Crestline: Kaden Ronk 5-10-1 96.
Buckeye Central: Brady Kerschner 10-22-0 70.
Rushing
Crestline: A.J. Wadkins 6-48, Enyce Sewell 11-45..
Buckeye Central: Zach Seyler 11-56, Kolin Rowlinson 10-36.
Receiving
Crestline: Calvin Reed 3-75, Jaxson France 2-24.
Buckeye Central: Davey Williams 2-27, Jake Heefner 3-22, Aiden McDougal 4-9..
Team statistics
C BC
First downs 10 11
Rushing 25-118 32-83
Passes 5-10-1 10-22-0
Yards passing 96 70
Total yards 214 153
Fumbles-lost 1-0 1-1