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Tag: high school sports

  • Lady Knights Get a Tough Win at Home.

    The Crestview Lady Knights basketball team huddled together, discussing strategy during a game against the Fort Jennings Lady Musketeers in the gymnasium.

    It was a bitterly cold, December night in Convoy, Ohio.

    The roads still partly covered, from the weekend’s snowfall.

    A sheen of glazed ice on the roads, as the melt refreezes.

    Inside Crestview high school, the smell of fresh popcorn and pizza filled your senses.

    Inside the gym, things were already heated up, as the Lady Knights hosted the Fort Jennings Lady Musketeers.

    It was a physical game from the opening tipoff.

    A basketball game is in progress at Crestview High School, featuring the Lady Knights and the Fort Jennings Lady Musketeers. A referee is making a call as players are positioned on the court, with spectators visible in the background.

    The officials tried to set the tone early, calling 4 combined team fouls within the first 2 minutes of the game.

    Both teams struggled to make shots from the floor, and it was only a 7-4 game after the first.

    In the second quarter, things didn’t get any better for the Knights or Musketeers from the field.

    The physicality continued with jump balls, charges, and a lot of bodywork.

    The Lady Knights took a 14-6 halftime lead into the locker room.

    A basketball player wearing a white uniform and the number 5 attempts a shot while several opposing players in black uniforms watch closely. The gymnasium is filled with spectators and features bleachers in the background.

    The Musketeers started the third quarter well, getting off a couple baskets, and clamping down on the Knights.

    Lady Knights #1 Zoe Ross would hit a big 3 pointer to put a stop to the run, and the Knights would go a run of their own. It was here, that they started to pull away from the Lady Musketeers.

    The Knights would have a 33-19 lead heading into the final quarter.

    The fourth and final quarter would be a repeat of the first. Very physical, and both teams not being able to convert from the field or the free throw line.

    At the end of the night, the Lady Knights took home a 47-25 victory and move to 4-2 overall this season.

    #1 Zoe Ross led the team with 13 points.

    #10 Haley McCoy led the team with 10 rebounds and was the allsportsfan.com Player of the Game.

    A female athlete stands in a gymnasium, smiling and holding a card, wearing a black jacket and white shorts, with other people in the background.

    I spoke to Knights head coach Mark Gregory after the game.

    It was a big win in a physical game, and I asked him what was his biggest takeaway was from the victory?

    “Yeah, you know, we struggled knocking down shots tonight and just had to play really hard tonight. They played physical and tough. The biggest thing that I take away from tonight is we struggled to get 50/50 balls all night long. I talked to the girls and that’s something that we’ve got to get better at.”

    I noticed that the Knights were very aggressive on defense.

    Utilizing everything from full court press on inbounds to zone presses. I asked if that was something they were going to do all season long, or was it specific to tonight’s game.

    “No, no, no. It’s something we’ve been working on all season long, switching between man to man and zone press. We’ve been mixing things up a bit. Our pressure in the second half was a big difference in the game, and lead to some easy baskets for us, especially in the third quarter.”

    The Lady Knights (4-2) next game is Thursday, December 18th, at home against the Columbus Grove Bulldogs. JV tips off at 5:30 PM.

    A hand holding a cup of iced coffee with frothy cream on top, set against a frosty tree backdrop in winter.

    For the best coffee and lattes in Van Wert County, stop into The Rebel Bean. Check out their Facebook page for hours, menu, and special holiday drinks.

    – by Sean McKenzie

  • 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 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.

  • Crestview Knights take on the 4-time defending state champions.

    Crestview Knights football team walking onto the field before a game, wearing blue uniforms, with coaches and staff in the background.

    The Crestview Knights varsity football opened their 2025 home schedule against the toughest team in the entire state of Ohio.

    The Marion Local Flyers.

    The Flyers came in on a 65-game winning streak, and have won 4 straight football state championships.

    The Knights came in 1-0 after defeating rival Parkway, 62-41.

    Crestview Knights football team running onto the field before the game.

    Crestview received the opening kickoff, and got a nice return by #2 Braxton Leeth. That would be as good as it got for the Knights on the opening drive.

    A miscommunication on 3rd down, led to a 5-yard loss. That was immediately followed by a bad snap, causing Marion Local to take over at the 23-yard line.

    The Flyers scored a touchdown on the 1st play, with a 23-yard run by #20 Ben Meier, to take a fast 7-0 lead.

    A Crestview Knights football player in blue uniform number 4 prepares to pass the ball while being pressured by a player from the opposing team in yellow.

    The following possession, Knights QB #Huxley Grose would get a nice scramble for a first down. The Flyers would stop Leeth for a 1-yard loss on 3rd and 3.

    Knights head coach Cole Harding would go for it on 4th down, but the Flyers broke up the pass.

    The Flyers would score on the 2nd play of their 2nd drive, and that would be a theme for the night, to make it 14-0.

    On the very 1st play of the Knights 3rd drive, QB Huxley Grose would throw his 1st of 3 interceptions of the game. The Flyers would quickly score their 3rd touchdown in 3 drives.

    A football player in a yellow jersey evades a tackle from a blue jersey player on a grassy field during a game.

    Marion Local would have a bad snap on the PAT, but they managed to get to the edge and actually convert it, into a successful 2-point conversion.

    Crestview would go for it on another 4th down play, and covert with a nice pass from Grose to #7 TE Liam Putman.

    The 1st quarter would end with the Flyers up 22-0.

    Marion Local would score again to make it 29-0 in the 2nd quarter.

    Knights #28 Conner Hammons would get an interception, but it would be a 3 and out.

    The Flyers would score back-to-back touchdowns, and it would be a massive 43-0 halftime lead.

    Scoreboard showing Crestview Knights 0, Guest 43, with 19:48 left in the third quarter.

    The officials would go to a running clock for the 2nd half of the game. It wouldn’t get any better for the Crestview Knights.

    Knights TE Liam Putman would be hurt of the 1st play of the 2nd half. Thankfully, he was able to the sideline under his own power. He would not return to the game.

    Another Flyers touchdown, thanks to some bad tackling attempts makes it 49-0.

    A holding penalty would move the Knights back. Leeth with a 9 yard run to make it 3rd and 9. Marion Local would get the sack forcing another Knights punt.

    Knights DL #57 Aiden Helt would get a big sack on 3rd down to force a Flyers punt.

    Marion Local would down the punt at the 4-yard line. The Knights would fumble the ball shortly afterwards, and the Flyers would return it to the 1-yard line. Another Flyers touchdown would make it 56-0 at the end of the 3rd quarter.

    Crestview Knights varsity football team huddled together on the field before the game.

    The Flyers would get 1 more touchdown on this night, to get a 63-0 win over the Knights.

    Marion Local has now won 66 games in a row. It’s their 50th straight regular season win.

    The Flyers last lost a regular season game, way back on October 18th, 2019, to the Minster Wildcats.

    A group of Crestview Knights football players in yellow and gray uniforms walk off the field under bright stadium lights after a game.

    Knights QB Huxley Grose finished 3 of 10, for 20 yards, and 3 INTs.
    HB Braxton Leetch had 24 carries, for 79 hard earned yards.
    DB Braxtyn Couts led the team with 6 tackles.

    Flyers QB Brennen Hess finished 4 of 6, for 96 yards, with 2 TDs and 1 INT.
    HB Ben Meier had 8 carries, for 110 yards, and 3 TDs.

    I spoke with Crestview head coach Cole Harting after the game.

    Players from the Crestview Knights football team walking on the field during a night game, with stadium lights shining.

    I asked Coach Harting, what are some positives that he and the team could take out of this home opening loss?

    “You know, our kids played hard. I thought we did some good things on offense. Defense is still coming along. We missed some tackles. We knew how good this team was coming in and it showed. We still got a way to go, to get to that point.”

    I asked him if he had any update on injuries to Braxton Leeth and Liam Putman.

    “Yeah, I mean we didn’t want them to take any more extra hits, so we pulled them a bit early. They are our bellcows and we wanted to get them a little bit of extra rest. Nothing to really worry about.”

    Prayers for them.

    A group of Crestview Knights football players and coaches gathered on the field, discussing strategies during a night game.

    The Crestview Knights (1-1) take on rival Wayne Trace Raiders (0-2) next Friday night, at 7:00 PM (EST) at Wayne Trace High School.

    – by Sean McKenize.

    Follow me on X (Twitter) @JoeAmerican6771.

    2 pictures courtesy of…..Richardson Photograpy.

    Stats courtesy of…..Chris Lutz.

  • Lady Knights with another tough test at home.

    Coach Gregory talking to the Crestview Lady Knights volleyball team during a timeout, with players in red jerseys huddled together on the court.

    Coach Gregory and the Lady Knights once again were back at The Ray with a tough matchup against the Coldwater Cavaliers. Whoever made the schedule, certainly made the home openers of the season tough, as Coldwater are the defending state champions.

    It was a nice turnout at The Ray, as over 100 Crestview and Coldwater students, parents, and fans showed up to cheer on the young ladies (by my hand count). It’s been a pleasant surprise to see how much the community supports all the Crestivew Knights athletic teams.

    Crestview got the first point of the game in a competitive first set, before falling 25-20.

    Crestview Lady Knights volleyball team preparing for a match with coaches and players on the court.

    The Lady Cavaliers got off to a fast start in the second set, forcing Crestview timeouts with the Lady Knights down 11-5 and 16-12. The Lady Knights had a small rally forcing Coldwater to take a timeout up 20-16.

    The Cavaliers rallied back, forcing Coach Gregory to use a timeout, down 23-16, before the Coldwater won the second set 25-19.

    Once again, the Lady Cavaliers started the third set fast, jumping out to a dominate 20-9 lead. The Lady Knights stormed back, scoring six of the next eight points, forcing a Coldwater timeout, up 22-15.

    A volleyball player in a red jersey prepares to serve in a match, with a crowd of spectators in the background.

    It was just not to be again on this night, as the Lady Knights would fall 25-18, losing the match in straight sets.

    The Lady Knights were led by senior Lillie Best who went 9/10 serving with 2 aces, as well as 7 kills.

    Freshmen Nora Perkins got a lot of playing time, and played well, going 9/9 on serves and had 7 assists.

    Junior Kaci Gregory led the team with a whooping 16 digs. She was diving and flying around all over the floor. It’s fun to watch her play.

    Senior Haley McCoy had 4 kills and 2 blocks.

    Senior Emily Lichtle had 12 assists and is the most vocal player on the floor, so far this season.

    Volleyball teams Crestview Lady Knights and Coldwater Cavaliers shaking hands after the match in a gymnasium.

    Crestview JV Lady Knights fell in straight set as well (25-11 and 25-20).

    The Lady Knights (1-2) travel north on US-49 to take on the Antwerp Archers (1-5) on Thursday afternoon. JV kicks it all off at 5:30 PM at the Antwerp high school gym.

    Coach Gregory was unavailable for a post-match interview.

    – by Sean McKenzie

    Stats courtesy of……Crestview Head Coach Tammy Gregory.