Bucyrus halts seven-game skid at Buckeye Central, nabs first Northern 10 win
NEW WASHINGTON — Bucyrus coach Tim Plumley had a smile on his face Friday night after beating county rival Buckeye Central 37-34 in a 10-touchdown thriller.
It was Bucyrus' first Northern 10 win of the season and first win since beating Mississinawa Valley 48-20 in Week 1.
"It's huge because you come off the Carey game and how that felt to not have much go right," Plumley said. "You have to convince the kids to work every day and stay positive — it's a little easier when they feel like the matchup is closer — but it's a huge win.
"(It was) back and forth, each team made some big plays and each team made some mistakes. I feel for them. I've been on that side in a close game like this. But I'm so proud of our kids and our fans, this has been a tough stretch. A win heals a lot of wounds and makes you feel good about what you're doing."
Big plays made the difference
Four of the 10 touchdowns scored by the teams were on plays of 29 yards or more, including two of 70-plus by Bucyrus.
"We had a couple drives where we moved the ball, but it's typically the big plays," Plumley said. "Someone gets loose, Randy (Banks) or Blayne (Barto), or we throw it to Joe (Rager). We're not a grind-it-out team; that's not really what we're made of. We're a big-play team, so we have to get the ball out in space and try to find them."
Bucyrus (2-7, 1-5) had three of those four lengthy scores with Banks rushing one in from 29 yards out to put his team up 14-7, Barto ripped off a 75-yard run to make it 21-14 and Malachi Bayless found Rager on a short completion he took 70 yards to the end zone for a 30-27 lead.
"People say why don't we get the ball more to this kid or that kid. I have a lot of faith in all the guys we send out there to run, catch and throw the ball," Plumley said. "I really don't want to get it to Randy every play or Joe every play because the other kids practice so hard and they're good. You're harder to defend if you have more guys involved."
Kam Lewis caught a 4-yard touchdown from Bayless, Ethan Huff drilled a 29-yard field goal and Barto punched another one in from 3 yards out to give Bucyrus six different players contributing points in the game.
Bayless finished 13-of-24 passing for 197 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Barto rushed for 137 yards and two scores on 25 carries, while Rager had four catches for 108 yards and a score, Lewis five receptions for 45 yards and a score, and Banks one catch for 15 yards and seven carries for 33 and a score. Kavin Combs and Bayless each contributed an interception — with Bayless' pick icing the game late in the fourth.
"Randy is one heck of an athlete and probably the fastest one on the field," Buckeye Central coach Chad Jensen said. "He posed a challenge to us and we did the best we could to take him away later in the game. Bucyrus has a lot of athletes, and they're in the same situation we are. We play in a tough, tough league."
Left it all on the field in their home finale
Buckeye Central's loss certainly wasn't due to a lack of effort. It was without a doubt one of the best performances the Bucks have had in N10 play this season.
"I'm really proud of our kids and really proud of our seniors. They gave everything they had and they've given everything they've had to this program for the last four years," Jensen said. "I've coached a lot of these guys since elementary school in various sports. I feel like they're extra sons to me.
"At the end of the game I didn't know what to say because our kids gave it their all."
The Bucks opened the scoring on a Derex Dean 3-yard rush and from there the teams traded points until Bucyrus took a two-score advantage late in the fourth. Dean hit Stephen Sostakowski for a 33-yard strike in the second quarter, Manny Mullins rushed in from 4 and 2 yards out and then caught a 10-yard touchdown pass from Dean for the team's final score with just over two minutes to go.
"We knew it would be this kind of game," Jensen said. "We knew big plays would be a factor and we knew turnovers would be a factor. Our kids just gave everything they had and that's all we ask of them — give everything you've got, every play, leave it on the field."
Dean finished 17-of-38 passing for 200 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions, while Sostakowski had four catches for 74 yards, Tyler Sanderson six receptions for 54 yards and Heath Jensen four catches for 54 yards. Manny Mullins did it all phases of the game, logging 18 carries for 98 yards, making two catches for 14, scoring three total touchdowns, intercepting Bayless twice and averaging 42.7 yards on three punts.
"Manny is one of our best players who can run the ball and catch the ball," Jensen said. "He does a lot of things for us. I'm proud of him, and he did the best he could."
And even with Mullins' trio of scores and 100-plus yards of total offense, Plumley was happy with how his team contained Buckeye Central's dynamic playmaker.
"I was proud of the defense and coach (Shane Kokensperger) — we challenged the kids to tackle better," he said. "We feel like they did, but give Buckeye Central credit for beating us deep a couple times.
"Derex is a great player. I told my dad after watching film, 'Derex is pretty good. Sostakowski is a great player and Mullins is a tough dude.' I was really happy with our front. Manny had some big plays, but I felt like we did a pretty good job containing him."
419-617-6018
Twitter: @Zachary_Holden
This article originally appeared on Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum: Bucyrus wins thriller over Buckeye Central, halts seven-game skid
