NEW WASHINGTON — Both teams came off 40-plus point losses and looked to rebound here in Friday night’s Northern 10 Athletic Conference matchup.

But it was the line play in the second half that proved the difference, according to Seneca East head coach Ed Phillips, after his team’s 33-15 win over host Buckeye Central.

“Our defensive line played significantly better in the second half,” Phillips said. “Our offensive line played well overall and that was the difference.”

Seneca East improves to 4-2, 2-1 while Buckeye Central slips to 3-3, 0-3.

The Tigers wasted no time in getting on the scoreboard when Blake Foos connected with Caden Fritz on a 74-yard bomb down the right sideline on their initial possession. That followed a 9-play drive by the Bucks that stalled at the Tigers’ 44 yard-line.

“We made some big plays passing tonight. Blake did a nice job in the pocket. Usually, he does a lot of throws out of the pocket,” Phillips said.

“We had receivers going up and getting catches. Our passing game was significant.”

Foos, a junior, connected on 14-of-26 pass attempts for 269 yards. He has thrown 10 touchdowns and 4 interceptions for 856 yards this season.

BC responded when Manny Mullins plowed in from a yard out in the second quarter. Foos answered with a 1-yard run of his own two minutes later to give the Tigers a 14-7 halftime lead.

A 223-pound senior, Mullins was a workhorse, carrying the ball 34 times for 159 yards and a touchdown. Mullins and Paige Collene were chosen Homecoming King and Queen during pregame ceremonies.

Bucks coach Chad Jensen said his team was prepared.

“We had a great week of practice. I’m proud of our kids. We gave great effort and were focused.”

After intermission Seneca East began to control the ball and wear down Buckeye Central.

“Manny ran hard, like always. We adjusted really well, and we had a one-score game at halftime and a two-score game most of the way,” Jensen said.

“Foos is a great quarterback. We had opportunities. The officials missed two major spots, but that happens.

Foos threw for a touchdown (73 yards to Korbin Beamer) and ran for another (9 yards) in the third quarter to put the game out of reach.

“This was a good team win,” Phillips said. “I thought our offensive and defensive lines took over and we used a two tight-end set to finish things off.”

Dominic Dean and Bren Jones combined on a sack on third down to stop another Seneca East drive. Jonathan Stander, BC’s 318-pound defensive tackle, added a sack.

Derex Dean passed for 97 yards and ran for 62 more for the Bucks. On the season Dean has thrown for 775 yards with 9 TDs and 4 picks.

The Tigers visit Bucyrus and the Bucks host Wynford next Friday night.

“Bucyrus has really good skill players. They can make plays and it will be a very emotionally competitive game,” Phillips said. “It will be a big challenge.”

“We made some big stops on defense, and we played with preparation against a really good team,” Jensen said. “Now we have to take it to the next level.”

Box score

Score by quarters

Seneca East            7            7        12          7   — 33

Buckeye Central    0           7          0          8   — 15

Scoring summary

First quarter

SE — Caden Fritz 74 pass from Blake Foos (Luke Hicks kick), 6:26.

Second quarter

BC — Manny Mullins 2 run (Dominic Dean kick), 8:40.

SE — Foos 1 run (Hicks kick), 6:25.

Third quarter

SE — Korbin Beamer 73 pass from Foos (run failed), 7:38.

SE — Foos 9 run (pass failed), 3:57.

Fourth quarter

BC — Derex Dean 8 run (Trevor Kirgis pass from Dean), 5:37.

SE — Laine Dixon 11 run (Hicks kick), 1:42.

Individual statistics

Passing

Seneca East: Blake Foos 14-26-0 269; Buckeye Central: Derex Dean 7-18-0 97.

Rushing

Seneca East: Blake Foos 15-94, Blake Martin 2-24, Laine Dixon 5-20, Bryler Beamer 1-5, Korbin Beamer 1-4, Austin Perry 1-2; Buckeye Central: Manny Mullins 34-159, Derex Dean 16-62, Dominic Dean 1-3.

Receiving

Seneca East: Caden Fritz 2-75, Korbin Beamer 1-73, Coby Heibertshausen 2-37, Bryler Beamer 4-33, Austin Perry 3-29, Laine Dixon 2-22; Buckeye Central: Tyler Sanderson 2-44, Trevor Kirgis 4-40, Manny Mullins 1-13.

Team statistics

SE               BC

First downs                 19                19

Rushing                    27-113         51-224

Passes                        14-26-0       7-18-0

Yards passing            269                97

Total yards                 382              321

Fumbles-lost              0-0               0-0

Punts-Avg                 3-30.0        4-20.5

Penalties                     5-55           5-65