COLLINS — Hayden Keith looked healthier than ever.
Western Reserve’s senior quarterback completed 10-of-14 passes for 250 yards and four touchdowns in the first half as the Roughriders roughed up Crestview 34-0 on Friday at Bachelder Field.
A three-year starter, Keith suffered a knee injury in the season opener at Wellington. He missed five weeks before returning on defense last week. He took his first offensive snaps in the better part of two months on Friday.
“He’s a three-year starter, so he’s played a lot of football,” WR coach Ty Stevenson said. “He can run the ball and he can pass the ball. It’s good to get him back.”
Crestview coach Steve Haverdill knew Keith’s offensive return was a possibility.
“We had an idea he would be back after playing some defense for the last week,” Haverdill said. “So we kind of prepared for that.
“He’s a little bit more of a hard-nosed runner than the other (quarterback), but they both throw the ball well.”
A 5-foot-11, 210-pound gunslinger hooked up with speedy wideout Brexton Fraelich on a 12-yard scoring strike in the first quarter as the Roughriders (6-2, 4-1 Firelands Conference) opened an 8-0 lead.
He had TD passes of 24, 68 and 44 yards in the second quarter as Western Reserve’s lead ballooned to 26-0. Keith’s fifth and final TD pass gave WR a 34-0 lead late in the third and triggered the running clock.
Trench Warfare
Western Reserve dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. The Roughriders ran the ball at will and hounded Crestview quarterback Liam Kuhn all evening.
“We didn’t match the intensity and we didn’t match the physicality,” Haverdill said. “Our guys just played flat and that’s on me.”
The Cougars (5-3, 4-1) had several scoring opportunities, but failed to take advantage of them. Crestview turned the ball over on downs in Western Reserve territory three times.
“We talked about putting pressure on them,” Stevenson said. “We haven’t beaten Crestview in a long time and a lot of times it was because we made uncharacteristic errors early in the game.
“Our goal tonight was to make sure we applied pressure early on and they did a great job.”
Championship Chase
Crestview is still in the hunt for the Firelands Conference championship despite Friday’s setback. The Cougars trail league-leading Monroeville (6-2, 5-0) by one game with two games remaining. Crestview hosts the Eagles next week.
“It is bad and they should not be happy,” Haverdill said. “However, the sun comes up tomorrow and we still have an opportunity to be part of the conference title.
“We’ve got a good Monroeville football team coming to our place next week and we’ve got to have a great week of practice and we’ve got to play a perfect game if we’re going to win that game.”
