OLIVESBURG — As good as quarterback Hayden Kuhn and the offense was, Crestview’s defense was even better on opening night.
The Cougars surrendered just 103 yards and returned an interception for a touchdown in a season-opening 49-14 win over Loudonville.
While Kuhn and the offense were marching up and down the field, Crestview’s all-for-one defense was imposing its will on the Redbirds. Seven different Cougars had at least five tackles, led by linebacker Wade Bolin’s eight stops. Defensive end Owen Barker had seven tackles and a sack, while safety Adison Reymer returned an interception 57 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.
“The defensive line and linebackers stepped up big,” said Kuhn, who saw time in Crestview’s secondary. “The defensive backs did good in coverage, too.”
Crestview surrendered a 44-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter after giving up a score just before halftime. Coach Steve Haverdill said the Cougars can’t afford mental lapses going forward.
“We’ve been preaching focus all off-season and we lost that focus,” Haverdill said. “We addressed that at halftime, but they didn’t pick it up in the third quarter, so that’s something we’ve got to work on.”
The Cougars head to Howard on Friday for a date with East Knox.
“We had some guys played different positions (on defense). They’re ready are different than last year,” Haverdill said. “Our philosophy is to get better every week. We’ve done that so far and now our job is to get better for East Knox.”
Crestview (1-0) at East Knox (1-0): The Cougars offense looked impressive in last week’s 49-14 win over Loudonville. Quarterback Hayden Kuhn completed 14 of 19 passes for 203 yards and two touchdowns, while running back Adison Reymer, a converted receiver, rushed for 124 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries. Fullback Wade Bolin added 34 yards and a pair of scores on 10 carries. Tyson Ringler and Shawn Bailey each caught a touchdown pass, while Caden Cunningham had four grabs for 65 yards.
The Bulldogs opened with a 26-13 win at Northridge, racing out to a 20-7 first-quarter lead. First-year starting quarterback Bracen Davis completed 14 of 21 passes for 250 yards and three touchdowns. Running back Cole Delaughder torched Northridge for 150 yards and a touchdown on seven carries while catching three passes for 38 yards and a score. Carson Steinmetz caught seven passes for 147 yards and a touchdown.
Ashland (0-1) at Marion Harding (0-1): The Arrows got off to a disastrous start in last week’s 61-28 loss at Norwayne. The Bobcats raced to a 27-0 lead, returning a pair of interceptions for touchdowns and recovering a two pooch kicks when Ashland failed to field the ball. The Arrows turned the ball over seven times. Starting quarterback Luke Bryant completed 12 of 26 passes for 204 yards before exiting because of an injury. Freshman Nathan Bernhard came on in relief and completed 6 of 10 passes for 191 yards. Receiver Jonathan Metzger had a monster night, catching nine passes for 222 yards and a touchdown. Grayson Steury had four catches for 134 yards. Cayden Spotts rushed for 79 yards and three touchdowns on 14 carries. Max Harpster and Parker Grissinger each had 10 tackles.
The Presidents scored a late touchdown to force overtime, but came away empty-handed in a 28-21 double overtime loss to Mount Vernon. Quarterback Alex Stokes completed 11 of 20 passes for 221 yards, while receiver Parker Davis caught four passes for 181 yards, including a pair of touchdowns. Trinity Keith rushed for 82 yards on eight carries.
Hillsdale (1-0) at Lucas (0-1), Saturday: The Falcons had their way with Black River in the opener, rolling to a 34-6 win. Dual-threat quarterback Jake Hoverstock completed 7 of 10 passes for 119 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 17 yards and two TDs on 10 carries. Braylen Jarvis rushed for 74 yards and returned an interception 93 yards for a touchdown. Bo Moody had seven tackles while Jarvis and Presley Lewis were each in on six stops.
The Cubs gave what proved to be the game-winning touchdown late in the fourth quarter in a 21-20 loss to Clear Fork last week. Lucas had 250 yards in total offense, including 155 on the ground. Corbin Toms rushed for 52 yards on eight carries, caught a 9 yard touchdown pass from quarterback Andrew Smollen in the first quarter and returned a kickoff 90 yards for a score. Smollen completed 7 of 14 passers for 95 yards, while Graysen Jackson caught three passes for 56 yards.
