Knights down Parkway 30-16 in opener

Van Wert independent sports

CONVOY – The Crestview Knights scored six times in a row – including two safeties — and then held off the Parkway Panthers for a 30-16 non-conference victory at home on Friday.

The Knights compiled 402 yards of total offense, compared to 245 for Parkway, had 19 first downs to 9 for the Panthers and dominated the game until the final six minutes of play.

After a fumble halted the Knights’ first possession on the Parkway 3-yard line, Crestview’s Trevor Roop then intercepted a Panther pass to give the ball back to the Knights.

Crestview then scored its first touchdown when Roop hit Zach Burdette for a 19-yard scoring strike with 8 minutes left on the first-quarter clock. Knight kicker Kameron Grubaugh hit the first of two extra points and it was 7-0, Crestview.

Three possession later, the Knights got a break when Parkway’s punt was blocked and the ball went out of bounds for a safety, giving Crestview a 9-0 lead with 1:31 left in the first quarter.

Less than a minute later, the Knights scored again when Roop hit Venice Roberts for a 40-yard TD with 45 seconds left in the quarter.

Crestview’s next score came with just 37 seconds left in the first half, when Roop ran it in from the Parkway 4-yard line to give the Knights a 21-0 halftime lead.

Crestview scored again in the third quarter when Malcolm Oliver broke away for a 38-yard touchdown run with 7:15 remaining in the period. Grubaugh kicked the extra point to make it a 28-0 lead for the Knights.

Crestview got another defensive coup when they caught Panther quarterback Austin Dennison in the end zone for a second safety and it was 30-0 in favor of the Knights.

Parkway took a bit of the sting away from the loss, though, with two big scoring plays in the fourth quarter. The Panthers scored its first TD when Dennison found Kris Gangwer for a 63-yard scoring strike with 6:09 left in the game. Three minutes later, Dennison hit Cain Pontsler for a 67-yard touchdown pass and the score was 30-16 with 3:07 yet to play. Parkway ran for two-point PATs after both TDs.

But that’s how it ended, as neither team was able to mount a scoring drive in the remaining time left.

Oliver led the Knights on the ground with 105 yards on 11 carries, a 9.5-ard average, while Roop ran for 92 yards on 15 carries. Roop was 7 of 14 passing for 120 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. He also fumbled the ball three times, with one of those recovered by Parkway.

Roberts led the Crestview receiving corps with 56 yards on two catches, while Oliver also caught two passes for 40 yards.

For Parkway, Brandon Moorman rushed for 68 yards on three carries, while Dennison was 10 of 19 passing for 186 yards, two TDs and two interceptions.

Defensively, Jacob Harmon had five tackles for the Knights, while Lippi added four tackles. Both had a sack in the game. Tyler Matthews had seven tackles for Parkway.

Crestview, now 1-0 on the year, will travel to Lima Central Catholic this coming Friday for a Northwest Conference game.