It was a cold, mid autumn evening in the small town of Convoy, Ohio.
Partly cloudy.
The setting sun painted the sky with an orange, yellow, and purple tint.
The condensation of your breath.
The crispness of the air.
The smell of freshly cooked popcorn, hot apple cider, and pizza from The Local Slice, filled your nostrils, tempting your stomach and your wallet.
There was excitement in the air, as it was Senior night. The last home game of the season.
On this night, Crestview honored the seniors from most of the fall sports, including cross country, golf, cheer, band, and of course, football.
#15 Braxtyn Couts, #57 Aiden Helt, #0 Hayden Perrott, #51 Jace Wehner, #7 Liam Putman, #4 Huxley Grose, and #2 Braxton Leeth.
The Crestview Knights were hosting the #4 ranked Lima Central Catholic Thunderbirds.
The Knights needed a win, and some help to make the playoffs.
The Thunderbirds were just hoping to avoid an upset, as they had already clinched a playoff spot.
The Knights defense dropped LCC for a 4-yard loss on the first play of the game.
LCC answered right back with runs of 10 and 9 yards, before a false start penalty would set them back 5.
They’d connect on a 7-yard pass, before Thunderbird head coach Colin Stolly called a timeout with 8:41 remaining in the first quarter.
LCC went right back to the ground and pound, with runs of 5, 3, 2, 28, 4, and 0, before a 5-yard TD run by Lausen Flores. PAT was good, and it was a 7-0 Thunderbird lead with 4:41 left is the first.
The Knights first drive of the game, would feature their strength, the run game.
HB Braxton Leeth would have runs of 4 yards, 1 yard, and 8 yards, on the first three plays.
An incomplete pass, a 1-yard loss, and a WR run for 3 yards by Hayden Perrott, would put the Knights in a 4th and 7 from the 48-yard line.
Crestview would catch LCC with an encroachment penalty, would make it a 4th and 2 now.
The Thunderbirds would answer the call and stop Leeth for no gain, causing the Knights to turn the ball over on downs.
On the very next ensuing play, LCC HB Xavier Pernell would take the ball 54 yards to the house. PAT was good, and the Thunderbirds were up 14-0, with :21 seconds remaining. That would be the final score of the quarter.
Leeth would run for 3 and a first down.
A pass for no gain, a 2-yard by Leeth would make it 3rd and 8.
Knights head coach Cole Harting would call a timeout with 9:56 left in the 2nd quarter.
Knights QB Huxley Grose would connect with HB Leeth for a 14-yard pass, but it was negated by a Crestview penalty (illegal man downfield), and it was now 3rd and 13.
A 22-yard pass from Grose to Perrott would give the Knights a first down.
Leeth had quick runs of 2 and 3 yards.
A high snap led to a big 11-yard loss on third down.
The Knights would go for it on 4th and 15, but QB Huxley Grose would fumble the football. The Thunderbirds recovered at the 46-yard line.
Once again, it would be a 1 play scoring drive for the Thunderbirds, as QB Brady Parker would connect with WR Mike Quatman on a 54-yard touchdown pass. PAT was good, and the lead was extended to 21-0 with 6:43 remaining in the half.
Crestview plays of 2 yards, 1 yard, 11 yards, -2 yards, 7 yards, and 3 yards, would bring it to another 4th and 2.
Coach Harting would call his 2nd timeout of the half, with 2:29 left in the half.
QB Huxley Grose would run a keeper, but only gain 1 yard, and once again, the Knights would turn the ball over on downs.
LCC would run for 5 yards, before suffering a 1-yard loss to make it 3rd and 6, from the 46-yard line.
They’d connect on a pass (I missed the numbers). An incomplete pass and Thunderbird head coach would call a timeout with :36 seconds left in the half.
A Knights defensive pass interference penalty (bad call, should’ve been OPI), made it 1st and 10 at the 24-yard line.
An incomplete pass and a 5-yard loss would force LCC to call its final timeout of the half with :11 seconds left.
Another incomplete pass, and the Thunderbirds took a 21-0 lead into the locker room.
The Knights would get the ball to start the 2nd half of the game.
They’d start deep in their own end, after being stopped quickly on a Knights special teams mistake.
With the ball on their own 19-yard line, Crestview would have to drive the length of the field.
HB Braxton Leeth would pop off, with a 59-yard run on the first play of the half.
A penalty on the next play would make it 1st and 15.
An incomplete pass and a Leeth 6-yard run, would make it 4th and 9, from the 29.
The Knights would get the first down on a reverse for 11 yards.
Runs of 5 yards and 6 yards, then a shovel pass inside to TE Liam Putman for 4.
Leeth would run for no gain. Back-to-back runs by Leeth on 3rd and 4th down would end in no points, as the Thunderbirds stopped the Knights at the 2-yard line. Another turnover on downs for the Knights.
With a long field of their own, the Thunderbirds would go on a long drive.
Pass of 8 yards to start the series.
Runs of 6 yards, 3 yards, 6 yards, 9, yards, a 10-yard pass, run of 7 yards, 18 yards, and then an 8-yard run.
A holding penalty on LCC would negate a run, and make it 2nd and 12 from the 32-yard line.
A 1-yard run, and incomplete pass, would make it 4th and 11, from the 31-yard line.
A bad snap over the head of Thunderbirds QB Brady Parker, forced an interception by Knights WR/DB Hayden Perrott.
The Thunderbirds would take a 21-0 lead, into the 4th quarter.
HB Braxton Leeth would run for 8 yards.
A LCC penalty (personal foul) would tack on 15 more yards, and the Knights were quickly at the 42-yard line.
A 3-yard run, followed by a 23-yard pass, had them in scoring position.
An incomplete pass by Grose, then a 13-yard run by Leeth.
Leeth would be hurt on the next play, after a 1-yard run.
Crestview would finally get on the board, when Hayden Perrott took a jet sweep for 9 yards to the endzone. The PAT no was good, and it was now a 21-6 game with 8:26 left in the 4th quarter.
The Knights would recover the onside kick, and start on the 44 yard line.
They’d start with a 1-yard loss, then Huxley Grose would find Hayden Perrott for a 19-yard gain, to the 25 yard line.
Leeth would run for 1 yard on 1st down, an incomplete pass on 2nd down, and a pass for no gain on 3rd down, had the Knights facing a 4th and 9, at the 24.
Once again, QB Huxley Grose would find WR Hayden Perrott, as he went up and over, not 1, not 2, but 3, Thunderbirds to pull in a 24-yard TD pass, his 2nd of the game. PAT was good. It was now a 21-13, with 5:59 left in the game.
The Knights lined up for another onsides kick.
The Thunderbirds knew it was coming. Everyone in the stands knew it was coming.
We all watched, as the improbable, become reality, as the Knights recovered another onsides kick, as the ball took a high bounce on that needed second hop.
The crowd, which had been mostly quiet during the game, was now loud as I had heard them all season long. The coaches and players on the sidelines were jumping and cheering. All the momentum had turned in favor of the Knights.
QB Huxley Grose would find HB Braxton Leeth on a 16-yard pass to the 30-yard line.
Leeth would take the next play 13 yards on a run, to the 17-yard line.
LCC would take a timeout with 5:00 minutes remaining in the game.
A Grose incomplete pass, and runs of 5 yards, and 2 yards, put the Knights in a pivotal 4th and 2, at the 10-yard line.
Knights head coach Cole Harting would call a timeout, to talk it over, with 3:31 in the game.
With the momentum going against them, the Thunderbird defense took the field, knowing exactly what needed to be done.
The Knights decided to ride with what had led them to 6 wins in 9 games.
They handed the ball off to HB Braxton Leeth, but the LCC defense, stood its’ ground, and made the stop when they needed it the most.
Despite the Knights using their last two timeouts, the Thunderbirds were able to run out the clock and get the hard fought 21-13 win, and clinch a 1st round bye in the OSHAA playoffs. The loss officially eliminated the Knights from playoff contention.
QB Huxley Grose finished the game 11 of 16, for 118 yards, and 1 TD.
HB Braxton Leeth had 28 carries, for 144 yards.
WR Hayden Perrott had 5 catches, for 87 yards, and 2 total TDs and an INT.
Luke Eggleston had 8 total tackles.
I spoke to Knights head coach Cole Harting after the game about the game.
“Well, you know, it really starts with the seniors and the amount of work that they put in these last four years. I was telling them afterwards, that when I got this job three years ago, those guys were the best class we had.”
I asked about those seniors and being honored, here on Senior Day.
“When it came to accountability, and just showing up to workouts and the amount of work it takes, and if you’re willing to do that. They showed all of it. That’s what I really take away from this group of seniors. I’m just really proud to have had the opportunity to coach these guys.”
(One final huddle for the 8 outgoing seniors, as family and friends gather. There were a lot of hugs and tears, as emotions were high).
I personally saw them practice onsides kicks, when I covered the team in the summer, I asked him about those kicks.
“Yeah, you know, there’s always a weird one, but we were fortunate. Hayden did a great job of really getting a nice bounce on those balls, and our team did a fantastic job of getting after it, and getting down there. They were willing to stick there nose in there and go get the ball.”
(Senior captain HB Braxton Leeth leads the Knights, into the locker room, for the final time in his career).
– by Sean McKenzie
Stats courtesy of…..Chris Lutz.
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