Knights win last game over Paulding

Van Wert independent sports

PAULDING — The Crestview Knight football team ended the regular season on a high point with a 34-6 thrashing of Paulding in the team’s final Northwest Conference game of the year.

The Knights led 28-6 at the half and cruised from there to end the season at 5-5, 3-5 in league play. The Panthers end the season winless at 0-10 overall and 0-9 in the NWC.

Crestview scored first when Malcom Oliver ran the ball in from the 23-yard line of Paulding with 7:25 left to play in the first quarter. Oliver was the Knights’ workhorse on the night, with 13 carries for 213 yards rushing (16.4 yards per carry average). Crestview quarterback Preston Zaleski also ran well, with 106 yards on seven carries (15.1 yards average) and a touchdown, while Jacob Harmon rushed for 75 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries. Zach Burdette rushed for only two yards on one carry, but it was for a TD.

James Brown was the Panthers’ top rusher with 111 yards on 16 carries (6.9-yard average).

Crestview scored a second touchdown in the first 12 minutes of play when Harmon hit paydirt on a 1-yard run with 3:35 remaining in the first stanza. Kameron Grubaugh kicked both extra points and it was 14-0, Knights, when the first quarter ended.

Paulding opened up the second quarter with its only touchdown of the evening, which came on an 16-yard scoring strike from Devan Gamble to Javier Gonzales with 10:20 remaining in the first half. The Knights added two more scores, though, before the half ended. The first came on Burdette’s 2-yard run at 8:35 of the second quarter, while Zaleski took the ball in from the Paulding 6-yard line with 1:38 remaining in the half.

The Knights scored their last TD with 1:33 left in the third quarter when Harmon bulled it over from the 4-yard line.

Crestview compiled 474 yards of offense, with 456 of that coming on the ground. Zaleski completed just one pass for 18 yards out of six attempts.

Paulding had 328 yards of total offense, with 128 yards coming on the ground. Gamble was 9 of 25 passing for 122 yards and a touchdown, while also throwing an interception in the game.