WELLSVILLE — Buckeye Central dominated the line of scrimmage throughout, then hung on late to upset Wellsville 32-29 on Friday night in a Division VII, Region 25 playoff shootout.
Kolin Rowlinson ran for 129 yards and two touchdowns, Mason Brown added 112 yards and a score, while Brady Kerschner fired a pair of TD passes to Eli Smith to fuel the Bucks’ offense.
Wellsville drew first blood, when Isaiah Greathouse tossed a 19-yard scoring pass to Valen Krzyston for a 7-0 lead less than 90 seconds into the game.
But 19th-seeded B.C. (2-5) responded on Mason Brown’s 2-yard TD plunge with 5:29 remaining in the first period to close the gap to 7-6. Rowlinson’s 14-yard touchdown dash, and ensuing conversion run, made it 14-7 with 5:41 showing in the half. Buckeye Central took a 20-7 advanteage into intermission when Kerschner and Smith connected on an 18-yard scoring strike.
The 14th-seeded Tigers (3-4) got back in the game when Logan Cunningham returned a fumble for a touchdown to make it 20-14 at the 1:36 mark of the third quarter. Yet Rowlinson answered again, this time with a 13-yard touchdown bolt to push the cushion back to 26-14 entering the final 12 minutes.
Wellsville’s Valen Krzyston snagged a 28-yard TD pass to slice the deficit to 26-21 with 11:05 showing. Krzyston caught eight passes for 127 yards on the night.
However, Kerschner and Smith struck again, this time from 16 yards out, to give the Bucks a 32-21 margin with 7:25 to play.
The Tigers had a final salvo left, Isaiah Greathouse snagged a 7-yard touchdown pass. The two-point conversion made it 32-29 with 5:11 remaining. But neither team scored again.
The Bucks flexed their muscle on both sides of the ball, racking up an incredible rushing advantage of 368 yards to minus-9 for Wellsville. B.C. compiled 413 yards of total offense to 236 for the hosts. Buckeye Central also dominated time of possession, 30:41 to 17:19.
Both teams suffered three turnovers apiece in a wild affair. Kerschner, Damian Dean and Kenny Utz each picked off a pass for the B.C. defense.
Buckeye Central returns to action next Friday at third-seeded Leetonia.
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