Friday Flashback: Knights top Pirates

Editor’s note: The Friday Flashback feature is back on the Sports page of the VW independent until the end of August. Each Friday, the VW independent will turn back the hands of time by featuring a sports story dating back 10 years or longer. This installment goes back to September of 2014 and a NWC football game between Crestview and Bluffton. Below is the story as it appeared on the Sports page.

Van Wert independent sports

CONVOY — The Crestview Knights got into another offensive battle with Bluffton on Friday, but escaped with a 41-31 win in Northwest Conference football action on Friday.

The Knights led 27-13 at the half, but Bluffton rallied in the third quarter, scoring three unanswered touchdowns to take a 31-27 lead with 1:39 left in the third quarter.

Crestview’s offense then re-established itself as the Knights scored the last two TDs of the game to get the win.

The Knights got on the scoreboard first when quarterback Preston Zaleski ran 4 yards to paydirt with 5:28 left in the first quarter. Jake Tatum kicked the first of five extra points and Crestview led 7-0.

The Pirates responded with a drive that culminated in a 2-yard run by quarterback Mitchell Ault to make the score 7-6, Crestview, with 1:10 remaining in the first stanza.

The Knights then scored three unanswered touchdowns, with the first coming on a 59-yard run by Zaleski with 13 seconds left in the first quarter. The kick failed and it was 13-6, Crestview.

Crestview scored next at 9:41 of the second quarter on a 5-yard run by Jordan Miller. Tatum kicked the PAT to make it 20-6, Knights.

Crestview’s final score of the first half came on a 9-yard pass from Zaleski to Nate Owens with 6:22 remaining in the second quarter. Tatum again split the uprights for the PAT to make it 27-6, Knights.

Bluffton scored the first of four straight touchdowns with 5:27 left in the first half when Ault hit Robbie Stratton on a 26-yard scoring strike. Alt kicked the PAT and the first half ended with Crestview leading 27-13.

Bluffton scored first in the second half when Ault again hooked up with Stratton on a 49-yard TD pass play with 11:06 remaining in the third quarter. The PAT was no good and Bluffton trailed 27-19.

The Pirates came back to score at the 5:20 mark of the third stanza when Ault hit Stratton on a 14-yard pass to get within two points of Crestview, 27-25.

Bluffton’s final score of the game came at the 1:39 mark of the third quarter on another Ault to Stratton pass, this time for 28 yards, giving the Pirates a four-point lead, 31-27, over Crestview.

The fourth quarter belonged to the Knights, though, who scored twice on 1-yard runs by Zaleski to ice the game and give Crestview the victory.

The Knights and Pirates were pretty in the offensive stats category, with Crestview compiling 374 yards of total offense, compared to 370 for the Pirates.

The Knights got most of their yardage on the ground (295), though, while Bluffton passed for 368 yards through the air, but was held to just 2 yards of rushing offense.

Zaleski was the top rusher for Crestview, with a whopping 175 yards on 32 carries (5.5-yard average). Miller carried the ball 15 times for 85 yards for the Knights.

Bluffton’s Ault completed 23 of 40 pass attempts for 368 yards, four TDs and one interception, while Zaleski attempted just seven passes, hitting five of those for 79 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions.

Stratton caught nine passes for 168 yards and four TDs, while Levi Kistler hauled in eight passes for 140 yards. Owens was Crestview’s top receiver with three catches for 68 yards and a touchdown.