Crestview wins, claims share of NWC title

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports editor

PAULDING – Drew Kline rushed for three touchdowns and threw for another to lead Crestview to a share of the Northwest Conference championship with a 50-8 win at Paulding on Friday.

The Knights, Spencerville and Columbus Grove each claimed a piece of the title with 6-1 conference records.

“This group hasn’t earned the opportunity to call themselves league champs until tonight, and it’s a good feeling for everyone involved,” Crestview head coach Jared Owens said of his team.

Crestview (9-1) raced out to a 16-0 first quarter lead, then led 36-0 at halftime. A rolling clock was used for the entire second half.

Brody Brecht’s one yard touchdown run and Kline’s two point conversion put the Knights up 8-0 with 8:46 left in the opening quarter, then Kline ran two yards for a touchdown and tossed a two point conversion pass to Javin Etzler with 1:28 left in the quarter.

The Knights found the end zone three times in the second quarter. Kline’s six yard touchdown put Crestview up 22-0 at the 11 minute mark, then Kline fired a 14 yard touchdown pass to Caylib Pruett and Brecht ran for the two point conversion to increase the lead to 30-0 just 51 seconds later.

The final score of the half came with no time left on the clock, when Wade Sheets returned an interception 91 yards for a touchdown.

Kline’s third and final touchdown of the night, a 40 yard run and the extra point by Ayden Lichtensteiger put Crestview up 43-0 with 2:03 left in the third quarter. Kline finished with 91 yards on eight carries and completed 7 of 14 passes for 93 yards.

Logan Gerardot and Lichtensteiger closed out Crestview’s scoring with a 35 yard run and PAT with 8:10 left in the game.

Paulding’s lone score came with 6:10 left, when Payton Beckman threw a 39 yard touchdown pass to Hunter Kesler, and Jacob Deisler added the two point conversion.

“We had a very focused approach all week,” Owens said. “We were aware that Paulding was a dangerous team and that it was a game we needed to achieve our goal of being NWC champs”

Crestview finished with 316 yards of total offense, including 228 on the ground. In addition to Kline, Brecht had nine carries for 53 yards while Gerardot had two carries for 44 yards. Sheets had three receptions for 60 yards.

Meanwhile, the Knights held the Panthers (3-7, 3-4 NWC) to just 141 total yards. Beckman completed 7 of 19 passes for 97 yards and a touchdown, but was intercepted three times. Kesler had three receptions for 66 yards, and Deisler was Paulding’s leading rusher with 13 carries for 34 yards.

Crestview will open the Division VII, Region 28 playoffs on Saturday as
the No. 2 seed, most likely against Cincinnati Miami Valley Christian Academy. The Ohio High School Athletic Association will announce the official pairings on Sunday.

“We will see who we play,” Owens said. We’ll get the film exchanged and then put all of our energy into our prep and planning.”

Scoring summary

Paulding    0   0  0  0 –   8
Crestview 16 20  7  7 – 50

8:46 1st qtr: Brody Brecht 1 yard run (Drew Kline run)
1:28 1st qtr: Drew Kline 2 yard run (Kline to Javin Etzler)
11:00 2nd qtr: Drew Kline 6 yard run (kick failed)
10:09 2nd qtr: Drew Kline 14 yard pass to Caylib Pruett (Brecht run)
0:00 2nd qtr: Wade Sheets 91 yard interception return (kick failed)
2:03 3rd qtr: Drew Kline 40 yard run (Ayden Lichtensteiger kick)
8:10 4th qtr: Luke Gerardot 35 yard run (Ayden Lichtensteiger kick)
6:13 4th qtr: Payton Beckman 39 yard pass to Hunter Kesler (Jacob Deisler run)