MOUNT BLANCHARD (Crawford County Now) — What a difference a week makes.
After experiencing the low of a disappointing loss to North Baltimore in Week 1, Bucyrus coach Jon Butchko was on top of the world as he broke the postgame huddle at Riverdale.
“We didn’t think we played our best ball last week. We left a lot to be desired after a pretty good start,” Butchko said. “We thought we could play four quarters. We haven’t done that in quite a while, maybe never in my tenure here. But I think we played four tonight.”
The impetus was sophomore quarterback Isaac Makeever, who had a monster offensive night.
“Isaac — what do you say about what Isaac did all night?” Butchko effused. “I don’t know what the stats look like, but I’m sure they were pretty.”
Makeever rushed 41 times for 245 yards and passed for another 216 — 461 total yards — with three passing and a rushing touchdown, a Rembrandt of a stat sheet for Butchko.
“I’ve said it since he was a freshman: Our team goes as that guy goes. He’s the emotional thermostat of this team.”
The signal caller wasted no time accumulating the eye-popping yardage by hitting brother Wyatt Makeever with a 73-yard scoring strike on the third play from scrimmage for a 6-0 lead less than two minutes into the game.
Riverdale (1-1) took its only lead of the night on the ensuing possession. A 3-yard run from freshman Taevin Sheets capped a nine-play drive and the two-point conversion made it 8-6 Falcons.
The Redmen responded with two more scores in the first half. The first was a five-yard run by Isaac Makeever. Da’Shawn Cosey caught a 30-yard jump ball on fourth-and-18 for a score to give Bucyrus (1-1) a 20-8 halftime lead.
“We got great contributions from Da’Shawn Cosey tonight. We got great contributions from the guys up front,” Butchko said. “We started Kaden Blankenship and he played his tail off for a freshman. Ben Atwood with a big defensive play after putting one on the ground and fumbling one.”
Defense was key in the second half when, despite the big numbers offensively, scoring went dormant. The Falcons were thus able to chip away at their deficit.
Quarterback Kydin Reed connected with Trent Locke on a 66-yard bomb to make it 20-14 and Reed found Trenton Brown on a 9-yard scoring pass to tie it at 20-20 after 3.
“That’s growing pains. That’s where we are,” Butchko said of the scoring drought. “Wyatt was in diminished capacity tonight (shoulder) but played like a man.”
The fourth quarter was contested mainly between the 20s until the final minute, when arguably the most dramatic play determined the outcome.
Bucyrus drove from its own 25 to the Riverdale 26, leaving less than a minute on the clock.
On second-and nine, Isaac Makeever connected with senior wideout Paten Deskins for the deciding score — Deskins’ first varsity touchdown — with 31.4 seconds left. Cooper Kalb’s third conversion kick set the final score.
Atwood’s interception sealed the win for the Redmen, one of three Bucyrus takeaways.
“I don’t know when the last time we’ve been plus (in turnovers) after two games,” Butchko said. “But I think we’re plus right now. That makes life a lot easier.
“Defensively, we’re finding our way. Landry Amstutz does a great job with what we’re doing, as well as the rest of the staff.”
Wyatt Makeever had five catches for 119 yards. Deskins added three receptions for 48 yards for the Redmen.
Reed threw for 209 yards and two scores for the Falcons, though he was dinged for three interceptions. Brown was his favorite target with six catches for 77 yards. Locke had the 66-yard TD catch and Sheets had five grabs for 47 yards.
Butchko had high praise for Riverdale coach Tyson Speyer.
“He’s a very good football coach,” Butchko said. “Their staff does a great job. They’ve got good kids coming. We might be just one rung up the ladder ahead of where they are. But they’re coming. This team’s improving.”
The coach’s feeling was polar opposite from the first game.
“I felt bad getting in (the film room) on Saturday last week,” Butchko said. “I thought we might be taking 10 steps backwards. Then you watched the film and you felt a little better. Then you see the resilience of young people. They came ready to work Saturday. They came ready to work all week. They never panicked.”
The team proved the coach’s assessment on Friday.
“Our guys bent down and fought hard and acted like they cared about one another,” Butchko said. “I’m so (darned) proud of these boys. I don’t know what else to say.”
The Redmen begin Northern 10 Athletic Conference play on the road next week at Willard.
Box score
Score by quarters
Bucyrus 13 7 0 7 — 27
Riverdale 8 0 12 0 — 20
Scoring summary
First quarter
B — Wyatt Makeever 73 pass from Isaac Makeever (kick blocked), 10:48.
R — Taevin Sheets 3 run (Trenton brown pass from Kydin Reed), 6:36.
B — Isaac Makeever 5 run (Cooper Kalb kick), 4:55.
Second quarter
B — Da’Shawn Cosey 30 pass from Isaac Makeever (Kalb kick), 6:00.
Third quarter
R — Trent Locke 66 pass from Kydin Reed (run failed), 6:03.
R — Brown 9 pass from Kydin Reed (kick failed), 3:00.
Fourth quarter
B — Paten Deskins 26 pass from Isaac Makeever (Kalb kick), :31.
Individual statistics
Passing
Bucyrus: Isaac Makeever 11-25-0 216; Riverdale: Kydin Reed 14-33-3 209.
Rushing
Bucyrus: Isaac Makeever 41-245, Wyatt Makeever 1-13, Ben Atwood 1-8, Cooper Kalb 1-(-14); Riverdale: Taevin Sheets 10-38, Kydin Reed 9-35, Dominic Benitez 2-13.
Receiving
Bucyrus: Wyatt Makeever 5-119, Paten Deskins 3-48, Da’Shawn Cosey 1-30, Cooper Kalb 1-10, Ben Atwood 1-14; Riverdale: Trenton Brown 6-77, Trent Locke 1-66, Taevin Sheets 5-47, Cale Young 2-19.
Team statistics
B R
First downs 17 13
Rushing 44-252 21-86
Passes 11-25-0 14-33-3
Yards passing 216 209
Total yards 468 295
Fumbles-lost 0-0 2-1
Punts-Avg 1-27.0 2-23.5
Penalties 18-115 8-75