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  • Knights Defense Pitches a Shutout, in Conference Win.

    The Crestview Knights football team runs through an inflatable player tunnel during the pregame festivities on Military Appreciation Night.

    It was Military Appreciation Night in Convoy, Ohio, on a warm, early fall evening.

    The Crestview Knights took the field, donning special uniforms, after pregame ceremonies thanking local community members, for their service to our great country.

    The Delphos Jefferson Wildcats made the short trip west on US-30, looking to pick up their first conference win of the season.

    On the first snap of the game, the Wildcats fumbled the football but managed to recover. After picking up a first down, they would get nothing. Jefferson converted a fake punt, but a delay of game penalty and another fumble for an eighteen-yard loss, would stall their opening drive.

    High school football game in Convoy, Ohio, featuring Crestview Knights in special uniforms and Delphos Jefferson Wildcats on the field with a scoreboard in the background.

    The Knights would not convert their own 4th and 4, on their first possession of the game. Knights TE/DE Liam Putman would get his 1st of 7 sacks (new school record) on second down, forcing the Wildcats into a 3rd and 16.

    Putman would have 3rd down catches of 11 and 8 yards on the ensuing possession for the Knights.

    Crestview would finally get on the board, with a 59-yard touchdown run by quarterback Huxley Grose, at the 1:17 mark of the game of the first quarter. That would be it for the quarter as well.

    Scoreboard showing Crestview Knights leading 7-0 against the Delphos Jefferson Wildcats with 1:17 left in the first quarter.

    The Wildcats would once again struggle with the snap. This time on a 4th and 3 punt. The high snap would force the punter into an incomplete pass, giving the Knights the football at the 27-yard line. Crestview wouldn’t do anything with the ball on this drive, and ended up missing a 45 yard field goal attempt.

    Another bad snap on 2nd down, making it a 3rd and 9. The Wildcats would convert on a big 48-yard pass, all the way down to the 38-yard line. After a false start penalty, Jefferson would call a timeout, with 8:12 left in the half.

    The theme continued, as the 2nd bad snap of the drive, made it 3rd and 35 for Jefferson. Pressure by the Knights defense forced a bad pass, and #0 Hayden Perrott would pick it off, and take the interception back 50 yards for a touchdown. Made it a 14-0 game with 7:00 minutes left.

    Crestview Knights football scoreboard showing Knights 14, Guest 0, with 7:00 minutes left in the second quarter.

    A Jefferson false start penalty on 2nd down and Crestview would get a sack by #66 OT/DE Will Sheets would end the drive.

    Knights #15 WR/DB Braxtyn Couts would get their 2nd interception of the game.

    #4 QB Huxley Grose would connect with #15 Braxtyn Couts for a 25-yard touchdown pass. PAT was good, and that would end the scoring for the first half, with the Knights leading 21-0.

    Scoreboard displaying Crestview Knights 21, Delphos Jefferson Wildcats 0 at halftime with 20 minutes remaining.

    Special shoutout to Crestview Knights #13 WR/DB Bowen Ayers, who returned my 50/50 tickets, that fell out of my pocket.

    The Knights would lose a yard on the first play of the half, then a holding call would push the ball back to the 17-yard line. They would be forced to punt from deep in their territory.

    The Knights would recover a fumble.

    #2 HB/DB Braxton Leeth would finally get his first good run of the game, going 13 yards. A Crestview false start would make it 1st and 15 on the 35.

    Leeth would pop off back-to-back 18 yard runs and score his first touchdown of the game. PAT good making it 28-0 with 7:55 left in the 3rd.

    Crestview Knights scoreboard showing a score of 28-0 against the guest team, with 7:55 remaining in the third quarter.

    DEs Liam Putman and Will Sheets would get a big 3rd down sack.

    HB Braxton Leeth would run for 9 yards on first down.

    QB Huxley Grose would lose 2 yards, making it 3rd and 3 from the 36.

    Leeth would run for 37 yards and his 2nd touchdown of the game.

    A football play in progress during a night game, with players in dark and light uniforms on the field, bright stadium lights illuminating the scene.

    The PAT was good, making it a 35-0 Crestview lead.

    That would be the final scoring play of the game.

    The scoreboard at a football game shows Crestview Knights leading 35-0 against the guest team, with 0:00 time remaining in the fourth quarter.

    QB Huxley Grose finished the game 12 of 21, for 102 yards, and 1 TD.

    HB Braxton Leeth had 17 carries, for 117 yards, with 2 TDs.

    TE Liam Putman had 4 catches, for 32 yards.

    Putman also led the team in tackles and sacks with 7, to become the 1st ever allsportsfan.com Player of the Game.

    A football player from the Crestview Knights stands on the sidelines after a game, wearing a camouflage jersey and holding a ticket while smiling for the camera.

    I spoke to Crestview Knights Head Coach Cole Harting on the sideline after the game.

    I asked him what were the positives in another conference win?

    “I thought our defense played lights out. Liam Putman had five, six, or seven sacks, and that was huge for us. Our defense has struggled at times this season, and to come out and with this type of dominate performance was just amazing to watch. We struggled on offense tonight and our defense picked us up.

    Football team huddled together on the field during a night game, surrounded by coaches and support staff.

    I asked him about Liam Putmans’ dominate game, especially his catches on 3rd down. If that was something they worked on in practice this week.

    “We always work on third downs, and we really work on our plays, and we really run and focus on those plays. We executed very well tonight on those plays.

    Crestview Knights football team poses together on the field after Military Appreciation Night, wearing special camouflage uniforms.

    The Knights were unstoppable off the edge in the game. Getting pressure on Jefferson all game long and forcing scrambles and not letting him get comfortable. I asked him about the defensive performance off the edge.

    “Our guys up front played phenomenal tonight. They made it tough for their quarterback. We didn’t give him time and that led to a couple of interceptions which is pretty awesome.”

    The Knights are now 5-1 overall, and 3-0 in the Northwest Conference. They travel to Bluffton next Friday Night to play the Pirates. Game starts at 7:00 PM (EST).

    – by Sean McKenzie

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    Stats courtesy of…..Chris Lutz.

  • Knights Take on Lancers, in a Cross County Rivalry Match.

    Players from the Crestview Knights and Lincolnview Lancers shake hands at the net after a volleyball match, showcasing sportsmanship in a gym filled with spectators.

    Nothing like a good rivalry game, on a warm Tuesday afternoon, to get the blood flowing.

    That’s exactly what we saw in as the Lincolnview Lancers made the trip across Van Wert County, to take on the Crestview Knights.

    The Lancers were coming off back-to-back losses, and the Knights had won two straight matches.

    Lincolnview opened the scoring, before going down 13-8 and calling a timeout. The Lancers then won a long rally to make it a 15-13 game. The Lancers and Knights traded timeouts at 16-15, and 20-18. The girls would trade points and rallies back and forth, before the Knights finally put them away, winning a hard fought first set, 28-26.

    A packed gymnasium filled with fans watching a volleyball match, with a player preparing to serve in the foreground.

    Knights #7 Emily Lichtle opened the 2nd set with an ace. Crestview would force a timeout by Lincolnview up 3-0.

    There would be a long discussion at the net by two officials and players from each team, as nobody saw which side of the net, the ball fell, on what was supposed to be the 7th point of match. They finally decided to simply replay the point, and eventually the Knights won. (The two officials would not answer when I asked about it after the game).

    They would once again go back and forth, with ties at 7-7, and again at 13-13. Crestview would go on a 4-point streak and force another timeout at 18-14. The Knights would call a timeout at 21-19.

    The Knights would win the second set, the same way they started. Another ace by #7 Emily Lichtle iced it, 25-20.

    She had a big game, going 17/17 on serves, with 2 aces, and a whooping 20 sets.

    A volleyball match in progress, featuring players from Crestview and Lincolnview in a gymnasium filled with spectators.

    The Lancers would get the 1st point of the third set, before the Knights would answer with 4 straight. There would be great saves by Knights players #5 Lydia Grace and #3 Kaci Gregory, to get the ball back in play. Crestview would end up winning the point and going up 8-7. The Lancers didn’t go down easy, forcing a Knights timeout, with the Lancers up 11-9.

    They would trade leads, before getting to a 15-15 tie. There was a miscommunication between Grace and Gregory on play, and the Lancers got the point to go up 16-15. Crestview would take the lead back at 17-16, and #20 Nora Perkins would get a big ace at 19-16. Forcing a Lancers timeout at 21-18. Perkins would finish going 16/16 on serves, with 1 ace, and 13 sets.

    The Lancers had one last fight in them, tying it at 22-22, before the Lady Knights would win the 3rd and final set of the match, in straight sets (28-26, 25-20, 25-22).

    #21 Haley McCoy led the team with 12 kills and 4 blocks. Kaci Gregory and Lydia Grace each had 19 digs for the Knights. Grace also went 9/10 on serves with an ace, as well.

    Players and coaches gathered in a gymnasium before a volleyball match between Crestview and Lincolnview, with the scoreboard showing 0-0.

    I spoke with Crestview Knights girls volleyball head coach Tammy Gregory after the game.

    I asked her how she and the team were feeling after getting a big conference win.

    “I’m just so proud of the girls. You know, we put it together. We made some changes down the stretch, and they just trust each other. They’re becoming more confident every game. Winning the conference is a goal of ours. They had a game last night, and the girls stepped up and did what they had to do.”

    It was a game of long rallies, with both teams going on long runs of 5 and 6 straight points. I asked how she kept the girls focused when momentum changes like that.

    Crestview Knights girls volleyball team huddled around their coach, discussing strategy during a match.

    “We talk about that because your right. You know, our goal is to never let somebody score more than two points, but you know, that stuff happens. You have to stop it. Whether that’s a timeout, or changing something on the court, so that it looks different to the serving team. Once you get the momentum, you have to keep it going.”

    The Knights are coming up on a stretch of 5 games in 9 days. I asked about that upcoming calendar.

    “We’ve got another conference game on Thursday, and the girls know that we cannot overlook any team, at any given night. Some things are going well for us, some things aren’t, but we’re going to continue to gel and believe in one another.”

    A crowded gymnasium filled with spectators watching a volleyball match, featuring bleachers on both sides and a volleyball net in the foreground.

    The Knights are now 6-3 overall, and 2-0 in the Northwest Conference.

    The Lady Knights will host the Allen East Mustangs (3-8 overall, and 0-2 in conference play), on Thursday afternoon. JV starts at 5:30 PM (EST).

    Knights JV girls volleyball team was also victorious, winning 2-1.

    – by Sean McKenzie

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    Stats courtesy of…..Knights Head Coach Tammy Gregory.

  • Knights Take on Raiders, in County Rivalry Game.

    A group of four high school girls dressed in patriotic attire, smiling and posing together at a football game. They are wearing colorful hats and accessories, celebrating military appreciation night.

    Nothing says small town Americana like a high school, Friday Night football game, on a cool, crisp, fall evening.

    It was military appreciation night as, the Crestview Knights took the short trip to Haviland, Ohio to take on the Wayne Trace Raiders.

    This was the 2nd rivalry game in 3 weeks for the Knights.

    It would be a fast start for the Knights in the first quarter, as HB Braxton Leeth take it to the house on a 78-yard touchdown run every early.

    Wayne Trace would control the clock in the first quarter but not get on the board.

    Crestview Knights football player celebrating on the field during a game at sunset.

    Leeth would once again, get into the endzone with a 53-yard run, on a 3rd and 5.

    The senior running back would finish the game with 13 carries, for 233 yards, and 4 TDs (78, 53, 15, 34).

    The 2nd quarter would continue to be a friendly one for the Knights, as WR/DB Hayden Perrott would score two touchdowns.

    The first was a 48-yard pass from QB Huxley Grose to make it a 21-0.

    He’d follow that right up with a 51-yard interception return for a touchdown, to give the Knights a 28-0 lead.

    A high school football player in camo jersey is tackled by an opponent during a game.

    The Knights defense held strong for most of the first half.

    The Wayne Trace Raiders would finally get on the board with 36.2 seconds left in the half, when Clay Stoller took it in from 5 yards out.

    The Knights went into the locker room with a 28-7 at the half.

    TE Liam Putman had a big 24-yard catch in the first drive of the 3rd quarter, which was finished off by Leeth’s 3rd touchdown of the night. The PAT was no good, so it was a 34-7 game.

    The following drive, it was once again, Grose to Putman for 24 yards. Grose was sacked on a first down, to make it a 2nd and 19. What do you do?

    A football player from the Crestview Knights team tackles an opposing player from the Wayne Trace Raiders during a high school football game under a setting sun.

    You just hand it off to #2 and watch him bounce it outside and run for a 39-yard touchdown (his 4th and final one of the night).

    The score was now 41-7 Knights, and the running clock went into effect.

    The Raiders would get into the endzone three times in the 3rd and 4th quarters, as the backups from Crestview were now playing, to make it a bit more of a respectable final score of 41-20.

    The Knights have beaten the Raiders, 11 straight seasons now.

    The Crestview Knights (2-1) open up NWC play, next Friday Night, at home, against the Fort Loramie Redskins (1-2). Game starts at 7:00 PM (EST).

    A group of cheerleaders in Crestview Knights athletic attire, posing on the sidelines of a football field, with a crowd in the background.

    – by Sean McKenzie.

    Stats courtesy of …..Chris Lutz.

    Pictures courtesy of…..Richardson Photography.