Van Wert County, Ohio is a rural county with strong agricultural roots. Only 1% of the counties 410 square miles has been deemed “urban”. The Lincoln Highway Byway is a beautiful driving route, with many land markers and stops along the way. America’s very first free public county library was built here (Brumback Library). The Van Wert County courthouse, built in 1876, is a Gothic and Romanesque architectural marvel. I’ve visited multiple times.
There is strong community support and spirit in the towns that dot the landscape. People greet each other by name. Know your family and help neighbors out in times of need.
There’s only one thing that could divide families, and put friendships on hold for a few hours, and that is high school football.
The two predominate football teams in Van Wert County are the Van Wert Cougars.
and the Crestview Knights.
Parents and children are often related to someone from the other team. Friendships formed from youth sports, church events, pancake breakfasts, and other community events.
So for that brief moment in time, when the helmets are put on. The chin straps are snapped on, and pads start popping, the trash talking starts. On this hot and clear, but beautiful summer evening, the friendly chirping was aplenty.
Knight Pride vs Cougar Pride.
The 2025 football scrimmage game had both teams looking to clean some things up, lingering over from summer practice. Both teams hoping that this would be the start, of a return to the playoffs.
The varsity starters played an entire first half of football.
On the first play, Knights HB Braxton Leeth busted through the middle for a 15-yard run. but it was to be short lived, as the Knights fumbled the football on the very next play.
The Cougars couldn’t capitalize, as the Knights stopped them on a 4th down attempt.
Van Wert QB #15, sophomore Zach Crummey missed a throw, to a wide-open receiver, that would’ve been a touchdown on Van Wert’s fourth offensive drive.
The defenses ruled, and after the first quarter of play, it was a 0-0 game.
Finally, with 1:31 left to play in the half; the Cougars put the first points up on the board, when QB Zach Crummey scored on a quarterback draw from the 1-yard line, on a 3rd and 1.
The lead would be short lived for the visiting Van Wert Cougars as a mere 25 seconds later, the Crestview Knights would tie the game when senior QB #4 Huxley Grose connected on deep pass to senior WR #5 Hayden Perrott, with 1:06 left on the clock.
That would be it for the varsity football teams from both schools. Ending up in a 7-7 tie at the end of the half.
The Knights outgained the Cougars in total yards 162 to 151. Both teams struggled on 3rd downs, going a combined 2 for 11.
Knights QB Huxley Grose finished the half completing 5/9 for 89 yards.
His counterpart Cougars QB Zach Crummey 9/14 for 60 yards.
I spoke with Crestview head coach Cole Harting first after the game.
“I thought both teams played really hard. Both offenses were able to move the ball at times. We had a couple penalties here and there, so we got to clean that up. We got to get our snap game a little better, we had some bad snaps, but we should be OK. Braxton had a really nice game. He had a couple tough runs, and a couple deep runs. Obviously, Hayden Perrott had a nice game, and I thought Huxley played really nice.”
I asked him specifically about the Knights defensive line getting lots of pressure on Cougars QB Crummey, mostly on the edge.
“We have a little bit more experience on the edges there, and our kids are pretty athletic, so that bodes well for us on the perimeter.”
Van Wert head coach Keith Recker has been leading the Cougars for 14 seasons, and led them to a state championship in 2020. I caught up with him after the game.
“Defensively we played well. We challenged them to really stop the run. They ran all over us last year with the same running back and a lot of the same offensive line. So, we challenged our linebackers to fill and keep their shoulders square. We did a really nice job against that.”
I asked Coach Recker about #11 sophomore WR/DB Xavier Kelly, who was a 2024 Honorable Mention as a freshman.
“Yeah, X does a great job and he’s only a sophomore. He can play a lot of different positions. We put him in at running back today because he can get a lot of touches that way.”
Van Wert’s starting QB Zach Crummey is a big kid, at 6’6″. He showed some scrambling ability for a kid his size. I asked Coach Recker about his ability to move around.
“Unfortunately, our pass pro broke down quite a bit and he had to be elusive, but I thought he showed that really well. We want to keep him healthy through the scrimmage and but he’s tough and he’ll do whatever he needs to when we get into the game.”
At the end of the day, there were hugs and handshakes by all. Players, coaches, and even the fans who came out to support their kids and teams. They’ll be seeing each other again. I know both teams will be represented at the Wren Homecoming Pie Eating Contest, in Wren, Ohio on Saturday at 2:15 PM.
I wonder if it will be as competitive as last night’s game.
– by Sean McKenzie.
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Stats courtesy of….. Chris Lutz.
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