Knights drop season opener to Parkway

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports editor

ROCKFORD — Brody Brecht rushed for 203 yards and two touchdowns, but Parkway used big plays and scored twice in the fourth quarter to defeat Crestview 33-20 in the season opener on Friday night.

Brecht’s second touchdown, a 50-yard run and the ensuing two point conversion by Kaden Kreischer tied the game 20-20 with two minutes left in the third quarter.

“He’s a great leader,” Crestview head coach Jared Owens said of Brecht. “All of our kids gave great effort following his example and Brody will do whatever we ask him to do to the best of his ability.”

Brecht also completed 4 of 6 passes for 27 yards and caught a pass for nine yards.

Parkway broke the tie on Elijah Rich’s 11 yard touchdown pass to Jason Luth with 10:56 left in the fourth quarter, then Nick Hawk sealed the victory with a 47-yard touchdown run with 3:49 left in the game.

Hawk finished the game with 15 carries for 127 yards, while Rich was 8 of 13 for 142 yards, three touchdowns and one interception, plus nine carries for 56 yards and a score, as the Panthers rolled up 329 yards of offense, including 187 on the ground. The Knights gained 300 total yards, with 249 of that coming via the rush, but Crestview had a pair of costly turnovers in the game.

There was just one punt in the contest – a 46 yarder by Parkway’s Corey Walls.

Parkway struck early in the game, scoring on a 27-yard run by Rich with 10:24 left in the first quarter. Walls added the PAT for a 7-0 lead, a score that stood at the end of the first quarter.

Crestview got on the scoreboard with 36 seconds left in the second quarter, when Jayden Ward found Caylib Pruett for a 15-yard touchdown. However, the PAT was no good.

Parkway extended the lead to 13-6 when Rich connected with Caleb Kinney for a 63-yard score with 13 seconds left until halftime.

In the third quarter, Brecht pulled the Knights to within one, 13-12, with a one yard touchdown run with 6:15 remaining, but Rich and Hawk teamed up for a 31-yard touchdown pass to give Parkway a 20-13 lead with 3:43 showing on the clock.

“We played our tails off,” Owens said. They made a couple more plans than we did and we had a couple of costly mistakes that were the difference in the game.”

Crestview (0-1) will host Hicksville on Friday, while Parkway (1-0) will travel to Spencerville.

Scoring summary

First quarter

PHS 10:24 – Elijah Rich 27 yard run (Corey Walls kick)

Second quarter

CHS 00:36 – Jayden Ward 15 yard pass to Caylib Pruett (kick failed)
PHS 00:13 – Elijah Rich 63 yard pass to Caleb Kinny (kick failed)

Third quarter

CHS 6:15 – Brody Brecht 1 yard run (kick failed)
PHS 3:43 – Elijah Rich 31 yard pass to Nick Hawk (Corey Walls kick)
CHS 2:00 – Brody Brecht 50 yard run (Kaden Kreischer run)

Fourth quarter

PHS 10:56 – Elijah Rich 11 yard pass to Jason Luth (Corey Walls kick)
PHS 3:49 – Nick Hawk 47 yard run (pass failed)

Individual leaders

Parkway

Rushing: Nick Hawk 15-127-1; Elijah Rich 9-56-1; Passing: Rich 8-13-142-3-1; Receiving: Caleb Kinney 2-64-1; Jason Luth 2-41-1; Nick Hawk 1-31-1

Crestview

Rushing: Brody Brecht 29-203-2; Caylib Pruett 11-31; Passing: Brecht 4-6-27; Jayden Ward 2-2-24-1-0; Receiving: Pruett 4-43-1