EAST PALESTINE –Coming into the playoffs East Palestine had closed the regular season with two disappointing Eastern Ohio Athletic Conference losses.

Let’s just say that in the playoffs, the ball bounced differently.

Keyed by two important fumble recoveries late in the game, the Bulldogs extended their season with a 36-35 win over Western Reserve in a first round Div. VII playoff game on Friday. It was the Bulldogs second ever playoff win and first since 2002.

No. 6 seed East Palestine moved to 8-3 and will be at No. 3 seed Mogadore next Friday for a second round game.

With Western Reserve holding a 35-28 lead with under three minutes left in the game, East Palestine’s Braydon Plum had a 15-yard run down to the Blue Devil 1 when he fumbled the ball. A mad scramble at the goal line followed and Bulldog Ethan Reed recovered the ball to save the drive and the season.

“I had no clue what happened,” East Palestine lineman Ayvre Klingensmith said. “I’m blocking, I turn around and I see my big man (Ethan Reed) with the football in his hand. I said to myself ‘That could have been really bad’.”

East Palestine sophomore quarterback Clark Rutledge followed that play up with a 1-yard touchdown run with 2:30 to go. Bulldog coach Michael Demster decided to go for two and Rutledge also added the two-point conversion to give the Bulldogs the slight edge.

“As soon as we got the ball and we started driving and I told them when we score we are going for two,” Demster said. “I don’t know if we had to go for two, but when you have that momentum at home it just felt like the right call.”

With the Bulldog defense having been gashed for 257 yards in the second half, there was no guarantee East Palestine would be able to slow the Blue Devils enough to sneak out a win. Someone had to step up.

The Devils (4-7) went fast on the final drive, utilizing running back Timmy Serensky, who had 19 carries for 153 yards and two touchdowns including a 70-yard kick return, to try to get into field goal position. On the Bulldog 32 with just over a minute remaining and with two timeouts left, Serensky fumbled the ball into the hands of Klingensmith.

“I was like ‘holy crap, we just won the game’,” Klingensmith said. “I saw the ball and dove straight on it. There was so much pressure. They had broke a couple, so we needed it.”

Klingensmith was one of many heroes for the Bulldogs. Rutledge, who had two interceptions all season coming into the game, threw two in the first half in an uncharacteristic performance. He ended the game going 17 of 31 for 272 yards with three touchdown passes and two rushing touchdowns.

“As great as Clark is, he can’t do it without his supporting cast,” Demster said. “Everybody stepped up tonight and made a big play when we needed it.”

Junior wide out R.J. May was one of those doing the heavy lifting as he had 10 catches for 157 yards and touchdowns of 6, 45 and 22 yards. He had missed several games earlier due to an early knee injury suffered against Shadyside and for other undisclosed reasons according to Demster.

“Now that he’s back he’s such a dynamic playmaker,” Demster said. “What he brings is he demands so much attention that he gives our other guys an opportunity to make plays too.”

Western Reserve had seven point leads at 21-14, 28-21 and 35-28 in the second half. Speedster Nate Alexander had nine carries for 188 yards and touchdowns of 64 and 61 yards for the Blue Devils, but his try for a third touchdown was halted by a bizarre injury.

With 5:50 to go, Alexander took off from the Blue Devil 20 and appeared to be gone 25 yards down field before he crumbled to the ground untouched.

“He had a little bit of a hip pop,” Western Reserve coach John Armeni said. “He was able to go back on defense.”

Armeni said the game had been symbolic of a lot of bad luck Blue Devil results this season.

“That seems to be the motto of our year,” Armeni said. “We’ve had a lot of close calls and we never got a break. We lost 11 coin tosses this year. I don’t even know what the probability of that is. That has been the kind of year had but I am proud of the resolve our young men played with.”

Game notes

¯ East Palestine’s only other game against Mogadore was a 39-20 playoff loss in 2017.

¯ Mogadore, who had a younger team last season, eliminated United 27-13 in a 2024 Div. VI first round game.

¯ The odds of losing 11 coin tosses in a row are 1 in 2,048.

¯ The 50/50 prize was $187.

W: 0-7-14-14–35

E: 7-0- 7-22–36

SCORING

EP–RJ May 6 pass from Clark Rutledge (Nathaniel Mead kick)

WR–Nate Alexander 61 run (Timmy Serensky kick)

EP–May 45 pass from Rutledge (Mead kick)

WR–Serensky 70 kickoff return (Alton Ramsey kick)

WR–Alexander 64 run (Serensky kick)

EP–May 22 pass from Rutledge (Mead kick)

WR –Brady Baclawski 46 pss from Dominic Krut (Serensky kick)

EP–Rutledge 9 run (Mead kick)

WR–Serensky 55 run (Ramsey kick)

EP–Rutledge 1 run (Rutledge run)

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W E

First downs 10 17

Total Yards 400 429

Rushes-yards 32-348 34-157

Passing 52 272

Comp-Att-Int 2-5-1 17-31-2

Punts 2-30 2-36

Fumbles-Lost 2-2 1-0

Penalties-Yards 4-35 2-15

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INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

RUSHING–Western Reserve, Timmy Serensky 19-153, Nate Alexander 9-188 ; East Palestine, Zach Schnelle 19-83, Clark Rutledge 11-44, Braydon Plum 3-26.

PASSING–Western Reserve Dominic Krut 2-5-52-1; East Palestine, Clark Rutledge 17-31-272-2

RECEIVING–Western Reserve Brady Baclawski 1-46; East Palestine, R.J. May 10-157, Tanner Morrow 4-45, Braydon Plum 2-48, Zach Schnelle 1-22.

INTERCEPTIONS–Western Reserve, Nate Alexander, Shane Ashburn; East Palestine, Tanner Morrow .

FUMBLE RECOVERIES–East Palestine, Schnelle, Ayvre Klingensmith.