Grose shines, but Knights fall to AE

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports

CONVOY — In his first start, backup quarterback Huxley Grose threw five touchdown passes but Crestview came up short in a shootout, falling 48-41 to Allen East during Friday’s homecoming game.

Playing in place of Bryson Penix, who was injured late in last week’s game against Fort Loramie, Grose fired touchdown passes of 28, 48, 11, 69 and 10 yards and finished 14-of-31 for 284 yards and an interception.

“Our kids just kept fighting all game long and we had some new faces out there,” Crestview head coach Cole Harting said. “I thought we did some really good things, especially Huxley for having his first start. He came in and played tremendous – he really spread the ball around, got a lot of guys involved and really made some clutch throws for us.”

Allen East bolted out to a 21-0 lead with Keagan Jones tossing a 79-yard touchdown pass to Ethan Hershberger and a 5-yard scoring pass to Jacob Pinks on what was supposed to be a field goal attempt. Jackson Thompson added a 6-yard touchdown run, followed by a two-point conversion run by Jones.

The Knights then went to work. Grose connected with Wren Sheets from 28 yards out to make it 21-7 at the end of the first quarter. Grose then threw a 48-yard scoring pass to Hayden Perrott and an 11-yarder to Liam Putman that tied the game 21-21 at halftime.

“It’s the story of our season right now,” Harting said. “We get off to these slow starts and then we just have to expend so much energy to get back in the game and it’s a credit our kids that we’re not just shutting down, we fight and we claw and scratch to get back in it but we have to find a way to start the games better.”

Both teams added two scores in the third quarter, with Crestview’s scores coming on a 1-yard touchdown run by Ayden Martin and a 10-yard touchdown pass from Grose to Putman. Hayden Perrott added the PAT after both touchdowns. Allen East countered with a 57-yard touchdown pass from Jones to Ethan Young and a 3-yard touchdown run by Thompson. After a missed extra point after the touchdown pass, the Mustangs went for two after Thompson’s run but came up short, giving the Knights a 35-33 lead with 90 seconds left in the third quarter, a score that stood going into the final period.

In fourth quarter, Jones found Young from 23 yards out and Thompson added the two point conversion, giving Allen East a 41-35 lead with seven minutes left. Grose countered with a 69-yard touchdown pass to Sheets, but the extra point was no good, leaving the scored tied 41-41. The Mustangs were force to punt on their next possession but a Crestview fumble gave Allen East the ball in the red zone, which set up what proved to  be the winning score, a 15-yard run by Jacob Pinks with 3:35 left. The Knights had one last chance but were stopped on fourth and 5 at the 15-yard line and the Mustangs were able to run out the clock.

“We knew they could score pretty well and they have a lot of playmakers and they’ve had so much success recently,” Harting said of the Mustangs. “They did a nice job of making plays down the stretch to win the game.”

Sheets finished with three receptions for 110 yards and two touchdowns while Perrott had four catches for 66 yards. Putnam added four receptions for 65 yards and a pair of scores. Zayden Martin led the Crestview rushing attack with 47 yards on six carries, while Ayden Martin had 17 carries for 40 yards and a touchdown. The Knights finished with 373 total yards.

Jones completed 12-of-19 passes for 273 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions. Hershberger had three receptions for 114 yards, Young caught seven balls for 109 yards and Deacon Jones had two receptions for 90 yards. Thompson paced the Mustang rushing attack with 11 carries for 43 yards and two touchdowns and Allen East finished with 434 total yards.

Crestview will play at Delphos Jefferson next Friday. The Wildcats (1-4, 0-2 NWC) lost 65-6 to Columbus Grove on Friday.

“We have to prepare and get back to what we do best and I think if we have a great week of practice we’ll be set up to give a really good shot on Friday,” Harting said.

Friday’s Crestview at Delphos Jefferson game will air live on 99.7 WKSD.