Crestview pulls away from Wayne Trace

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports editor

CONVOY — Playing in a steady rain on Friday night, it seemed like momentum had swung in favor of Wayne Trace, but the Crestview Knights had an answer.

Trailing 14-0 with 8:46 left in the third quarter, the Raiders scored a safety when an errant punt snap was booted out of the end zone by Crestview punter Landin Burch. Two possessions later, Wayne Trace (1-2) took advantage of two Crestview penalties – a targeting call and an offsides call that put the ball at the one yard line – and put together an eight play, 56 yard drive that ended with a one yard touchdown pass from Trevor Speice to Nate Gerber that trimmed the deficit to six, 14-8 with 2:41 left in the period.

However, the Knights (3-0) responded in rapid fire fashion with a six play, 65 yard drive that took less than three minutes off the clock. Drew Kline hit Derick Dealey for 32 yards, then Landin Burch for 11 yards. Brody Brecht ran for 14 yards on two carries, then Kline ran for four before throwing a five yard touchdown pass to Wade Sheets. The two point conversion failed, but Crestview had wrestled momentum back and led 20-8 with 11:54 left in the fourth quarter.

Kline went on to rush for just 24 yards on 14 carries, but completed 16 of 18 passes for 190 yards and three touchdowns.

Wayne Trace’s next drive started at the Raider 48, but ended in four plays with a Crestview stop on fourth down and short.

The Knights took over and drove 55 yards and scored on an 11 yard touchdown run by Brecht to increase the lead to 27-8. Dealey, who finished the game with 39 yards rushing and 63 yards receiving, had a 24 yard run on the drive, and the Knights were aided by a face mask call on the Raiders.

“I thought the momentum swung a little bit after the safety,” Wayne Trace head coach Mike Speice said. “We were able to punch it in and we had a couple of chances to make something happen. We had fourth and one, but they were able to make a big defensive stand.”

“I thought our defense finally started to gel a little bit, and I felt like we finally started to play with enough discipline to where we kept things in front of us,” Crestview head coach Jared Owens said. “It was a huge step in the right direction for us defensively.”

Two plays after Brecht’s touchdown, Sheets intercepted Speice’s pass and took it back to the Raider 35. From there, the Knights stuck to the ground game and scored six plays later on Brecht’s second touchdown of the quarter, a 15 yard run to increase the lead to 34-8 with 2:09 left. Brecht led the Knights with 80 yards rushing on 12 carries, plus the two scores.

Speice, who completed 14 of 26 passes for 186 yards, two touchdowns and one interception closed the scoring with a 26 yard touchdown pass to Gerber with 56 seconds left. Gerber finished the game with four catches, 48 yards and both Raider touchdowns.

It looked like it might be a rout in the first half, as the Knights scored on their opening possession. Kline hit Sheets for 29 yards, then after a defensive face mask penalty, Kline connected with Dealey for 17 yards, then fired an 11 yard touchdown strike to Sheets to give the Knights a 6-0 lead with 9:34 left in the first quarter. Sheets finished the game with six catches for 61 yards and two touchdowns.

The Raiders mounted a drive, but turned it over on downs at the Crestview 22 with 5:05 left in the quarter. Crestview then drove 78 yards in 10 plays and scored on a 10 yard pass from Sheets to a wide open Dealey. Kline was 6-6 on the drive for 54 yards. Kaden Short ran for the two point conversion, and Crestview led 14-0 with 11:29 left in the second quarter.

From there, Wayne Trace held the Crestview offense in check until the fourth quarter.

“I wasn’t upset with how we played offensively,” Owens said. “We weren’t clicking off the big plays like we’re used to, but I told the guys that Wayne Trace put together a great defensive game plan and executed it really well. They played physical tonight, so I tip my cap to them.”

Crestview finished the game with 310 yards of total offense, while Wayne Trace tallied 228 total yards.

“Give credit to our kids – they fought, and their kids fought,” Speice said. “Coach Owens has a nice program and a nice team.”

The Raiders will open Green Meadows Conference play at home against Tinora on Friday, while Crestview will start Northwest Conference play at home against Bluffton.

Scoring summary:

9:34 1st qtr: Drew Kline 11 yard pass to Wade Sheets (pass failed)
11:29 2nd qtr: Drew Kline 10 yard pass to Derick Dealey (Kaden Short run)
8:46 3rd qtr: Safety – punt snap kicked out of end zone
2:41 3rd qtr: Trevor Speice 1 yard pass to Nate Gerber (pass failed)
11:54 4th qtr: Drew Kline 5 yard pass to Wade Sheets (pass failed)
6:04 4th qtr: Brody Brecht 11 yard run (Jordan Perrott kick)
2:04 4th qtr: Brody Brecht 15 yard run (Jordan Perrott kick)
0:56 4th qtr: Trevor Speice 26 yard pass to Nate Gerber (kick blocked)

Statistical leaders:

Crestview

Rushing: Brody Brecht 12-80, 2 TDs; Derick Dealey 7-39; Drew Kline 14-24

Passing: Kline 18 attempts, 16 completions, 190 yards, 3 TDs

Receiving: Wade Sheets 6-61, 2 TDs; Derick Dealey 4-63, 1 TD; Landin Burch 2-32

Wayne Trace

Rushing: Trevor Speice 13-43; Kameron Bevis 4-18

Passing: Trevor Speice 14-26, 186 yards 2 TDs, 1 int

Receiving: Nate Gerber, 4-48, 2 TDs; Korbin Slade 3-20; Mox Price 2-68; Evan Mohr 3-37