Columbus Grove upsets Crestview Knights

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports editor

CONVOY — Columbus Grove raced out to a 26-6 halftime lead then held on to stun No. 4 Crestview 33-20 on Friday night.

The homecoming loss dropped Crestview’s record to 4-1 (1-1 NWC), while the Bulldogs improved to 3-2 (2-0 NWC)

Columbus Grove quarterback Blake Reynolds put the Bulldogs on the board first with a 31 yard touchdown pass to Adam Bogart with 7:23 left in the opening quarter, but the Knights responded when Caylib Pruett returned the ensuing kickoff 83 yards for a touchdown. The two point conversion failed and Grove led 7-6.

The Bulldogs increased their lead to 14-6 when Reynolds tossed his second touchdown pass of the quarter, a 12 yarder to Caleb Barrientes with 3:30 remaining in the opening stanza.

Neither team scored during the first part of the second quarter, but that changed when Columbus Grove’s Trevor Taylor returned a Crestview punt 66 yards for a touchdown. The PAT was no good and the Bulldogs led 20-6. Columbus Grove tacked on one more scored with 22 seconds left until halftime with a one yard fumble return by Gabe Clement that gave the visitors a 20 point lead at the break.

“Grove was ready to play and they had a great plan,” Crestview head coach Jared Owens said. It made it hard for us to move the ball in the first half.”

“We put our defense in a bad spot giving up a turnover for a score and a special teams touchdown,” Owens added.

The Knights got back on the scoreboard with 2:03 left in the third quarter when Drew Kline bolted in from 27 yards out, followed by a two point conversion pass from Kline to Landin Burch that trimmed the deficit to 26-14.

Kline connected with Burch from 13 yards out with 6:31 left in the fourth quarter to pull Crestview to within six, 26-20, but the Bulldogs secured the victory with a nine yard touchdown run by Reynolds with 2:16 left.

“We played hard in the second half, but we just couldn’t overcome the deficit,” Owens said.

Reynolds finished the game 7 of 14 passing for 98 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while rushing nine times for 28 yards and a score. Garrett Nemire led Columbus Grove with 21 carries for 89 yards, while Caleb Barrientes finished with a team high four receptions for 41 yards and a touchdown. The Bulldogs finished the game with 234 yards of total offense.

The Knights finished with 374 total yards and were led by Kline, who had 18 carries for 156 yards and a score, along with 152 yards passing and a touchdown on 10 of 22 passing. Kline also threw two interceptions. Wade Sheets had four receptions for 78 yards.

The Knights will travel to Spencerville on Friday.

Scoring summary:

Crestview    6   0 8 6 – 20
Col. Grove 14 12 0 6 – 33

7:38 1st qtr: Blake Reynolds 31 yard pass to Adam Bogart (Rece Verhoff kick)
7:23 1st qtr: Caylib Pruett 83 yard kickoff return (run failed)
3:30 1st qtr: Blake Reynolds 12 yard pass to Caleb Barrientes (Rece Verhoff kick)
5:53 2nd qtr: Trevor Taylor 66 yard punt return (PAT failed)
0:22 2nd qtr: Gabe Clement 1 yard fumble return (PAT failed)
2:07 3rd qtr: Drew Kline 27 yard run (Kline pass to Landin Burch)
6:31 4th qtr: Drew Kline 13 yard pass to Landin Burch (PAT failed)
2:16 4th qtr: Blake Reynolds 9 yard run (Rece Verhoff kick)