Knights get first win, down Wayne Trace

Van Wert independent sports

HAVILAND – The Crestview Knights built up a 20-6 halftime lead and then held off a fourth-quarter rally by Wayne Trace to beat the Raiders 29-19 in a non-conference game Friday.

Wayne Trace scored first when Austin Speice returned a pass interception 40 yards for a touchdown with 8:32 remaining in the first quarter. The Knights recovered, though, and also scored a touchdown on a 14-yard run by Trevor Roop with just 22 ticks left on the clock. Neither extra point was good and the score was 6-all at the end of the first quarter.

Crestview owned the middle quarters, scoring 16 unanswered point in the second and third periods to lead 22-6 at the three-quarter mark. But Wayne Trace wasn’t done yet. The Raiders mounted two successful rallies in the final stanza and trailed by just three, 22-19, with 6:52 left to play.

The Knights put the game on ice, though, when Trevor Roop ran 82 yards on the next series to make it 29-19 with 6½ minutes left to play.

Crestview compiled 338 yards of total offense, while holding the Raiders to 75 yards, including a minus-23 yards rushing. Knight quarterback Trevor Roop connected on 4 passes out of 12 attempts for 98 yards and an interception, while Room was also the top rusher in the game with 82 yards and three touchdowns on 16 carries. Matt Holden rushed 19 times for 54 yards and a touchdown and also had a safety on defense.

For Wayne Trace, quarterback Colby Speice compiled 98 yards of passing offense and a touchdown on a 4-of-11 passing night.

Crestview had 12 first downs in the game to four for the Raiders. Noah Gebert was the Knights’ top receiver with 91 yards on three receptions.