Wynford holds off Bucyrus final drive to win 20-14, keep Copper Kettle

With the clock winding down, the Bucyrus had its eyes on a come-from-behind win at home, but it was not to be.

Wynford held on to win the battle, 20-14, for their first victory of the year. Both teams are now 1-5.

First-year Wynford coach Cyle Skidmore was pleased his crew could take the Copper Kettle for the 25th straight year. The last time Bucyrus beat Wynford was in 1997.

"That was the goal tonight: don't let that Copper Kettle go back," Skidmore said. "The goal is to always keep that thing."

Across the field, Bucyrus coach Tim Plumley tipped his hat after a hard-fought battle. He also thought it was one that slipped away.

"It was very winnable," Plumley said. "We had our opportunities, but they controlled the pace of the game."

Bucyrus takes early lead at home

In the first two minutes of the game, though, it looked like Bucyrus might make easy work of their rivals from two miles away.

An aggressive Bucyrus offense marched downfield with ease, setting up a first down on the 11-yard line. Bucyrus junior quarterback Malachi Bayless then stepped back and riffled a dart to senior receiver Randy Banks to give the home team a quick 6-0 lead. The extra point went wide of the uprights.

That play came as no surprise to the visiting team.

"I knew coming into this game they've got a good quarterback, they've got good receivers, and they get the ball to their athletes," Skidmore said. "They played good. Both sides played good tonight."

The next drive of the game took five minutes and ended with Wynford tying the score at 6-6 on a 3-yard keeper by junior quarterback Ashton Warren. After a good kick, Wynford led 7-6.

Bucyrus nearly scores, but instead turns it over

The lead was precarious as Bucyrus again charged down the field, getting within a yard of the end zone.

Bayless rolled to his left, then dashed for the left pylon. But just in front of the goal line, he was knocked backward by the combination of junior linemen Kalen Skidmore and Evan Wright, and the ball was jarred loose. It rolled into the end zone, then out of bounds for a touchback, giving Wynford the ball on the 20-yard line.

"That was huge," Skidmore said. "That put us in a great position to be successful tonight, and obviously we were. We were successful tonight. It was awesome."

Had Bucyrus been able to score there, the outcome could have been very different.

"I told the kids that's a play that everyone is going to look at," Plumley said. "The play before, there was stuff that happened. This was a one-play game ... all these one plays could have been the difference in the game."

Bucyrus intercepts the ball, then ties game

The defenses duked it out for the next 10 minutes. After a handful of turnovers on both sides of the ball, Wynford sat in its red zone with 6:23 to play in the second quarter.

Warren took the snap and handed the ball to sophomore running back Anthony Evans, who dodged his way seven yards through the Bucyrus defense for a touchdown. After a made extra point, the Royals had a 14-6 lead.

"The running backs ran hard," Skidmore said. "Those kids should be proud."

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That lead remained through halftime, but Bucyrus came back ready to prove this wa its year.

Just three minutes into the second half, junior defensive back Kavin Combs reached up to pick off an errant Wynford pass, giving his team the ball near midfield.

"Our defense played hard," Plumley said. "Our kids played really hard."

Fifty seconds later, senior receiver Joe Rager flew downfield and Bayless hit him in stride for a 48-yard touchdown that made the home crowd roar. The cheers turned to groans quickly, though, when the team was hit with a taunting penalty while celebrating the touchdown.

The extra yardage didn't keep Bucyrus from trying for two points, though. Bayless bought his team a couple of seconds with his feet, then launched a pass to the back right of the end zone to senior receiver Mason Gebhardt to knot the score at 14-14 with 8:03 to play in the third quarter.

Senior RB Keith scores game-winning touchdown

The next seven minutes were a Royals rushing clinic by Evans and senior running back Kohan Keith.

"Our goal is to always control the clock and wear that time down and hopefully punch one in, too," Skidmore said. "Limit the game time."

A tiring Bucyrus defense tried its best to make a goal-line stand, but the 6-foot, 195-pound Keith finally blasted through for a 3-yard touchdown to give his team a 20-14 lead, which remained the score after a failed extra point.

"All the seniors should be happy," Skidmore said. "I'm super happy for those seniors. They deserve this win."

Two passes in hopes of a win

The game nearly had a different ending.

Bucyrus got the ball with 8:03 to play, then marched across midfield with stellar plays by Bayless and a few extra yards from a penalty.

That drive stalled, and the home team turned it over on downs with 5:30 to go. But the defense held, and Rager was soon carrying a punt return to midfield with nearly four minutes left on the clock.

"We were there," Plumley said. "We had some opportunities. I felt like our kids battled hard."

Bayless had more than enough time for a game winning drive. He made a quick pass to junior receiver Kam Lewis, then another to Gebhardt.

After a couple busted plays, Bucyrus found itself 37 yards from the goal line staring at a third-and-12 with two minutes to play.

Rather than try for a new set of downs, the home team went for the game. Bayless scrambled and found Banks open to the right side of the end zone, but the ball scooted through and onto the grass.

"Sometimes a little patience is maybe dictated," Plumley said afterward. "I tend to be pretty aggressive, and when it works, it's great."

The team took a timeout with 1:59 to play, still on the 37, now fourth-and-12.

Bayless took the snap again, scanned downfield, then unleashed a rocket toward the end zone that fell short of Gebhardt and into the hands of Wynford's Warren.

"Our kids like to play," Plumley said. "They're passionate. We're learning self control and things like that. But our kids do like to play. They play really hard. I rarely ever have a problem with our efforts on Friday night."

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This article originally appeared on Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum: Wynford holds off Bucyrus final drive to win 20-14, keep Copper Kettle