Crestview no match for Marion Local

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports

CONVOY — There’s absolutely no doubt – they’re as good as advertised.

Marion Local, winners of four straight small school state championships, came to Convoy Friday night and the Flyers rolled to a 63-0 victory over the Knights. It was Marion Local’s 66^th consecutive victory, the longest current winning streak in the entire nation.

In addition, the Flyers have not allowed a regular season touchdown since Week No. 5 of the 2024 season, and Marion Local’s defense limited Crestview to 100 yards of total offense, including 79 yards rushing on 23 carries by Braxton Leeth. In addition, the Flyers forced four turnovers, three by interception and one via a fumble, and capitalized on each of the turnovers.

“We did a nice job of creating lanes to run in, but they were able to shed blocks and they got guys to the ball very quickly, Crestview head coach Cole Harting said. “It was very difficult to maintain drives.”

Marion Local wasted no time getting on the scoreboard, with three first quarter touchdowns – a 23-yard touchdown run by Ben Meier, a 28-yard touchdown pass from Brennan Hess to Cale Nagel, and a 2-yard run by Cam Eifert, followed by two Thomas Winner PATs and a two-point conversion run by Nolan Eckstein that made it 22-0 entering the second stanza.

“They didn’t do anything that surprised us, they just executed at an extremely high level,” Harting said.

Meier ran for his second touchdown of the night, a 6-yarder, early in the second quarter, then Hess and Nagel connected on a 28-yard touchdown pass. Hess tossed his third touchdown pass of the night, 15 yards, to Braylon Mescher with just 34 seconds left until halftime, giving the Flyers a 43-0 lead going into halftime.

“Defensively, I thought we actually played better than we did a week ago, but we still struggled to make tackles in the open field,” Harting said.

The entire second half was played with a continuous clock and the Flyers added a pair of third quarter touchdowns – a 50-yard run by Meier and a 1-yard run by Cam Griesdorn, who scored the game’s remaining touchdown on a 5-yard run late in the fourth quarter.

Meier finished with 104 yards rushing and three touchdowns on just seven carries. Hess attempted only seven passes but completed five for 124 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. Nagel was his main target, with three grabs for 71 yards and two touchdowns.

By comparsion, Crestview’s Huxley Grose was harassed into a 3-of-10 passing night, 20 yards and three interceptions.

“It was a great test for us and despite the outcome, I’m proud of the way our kids fought,” Harting said. “We can’t wait tget back on the field next Friday.”

The Knights will head to Haviland to face non-conference rival Wayne Trace Friday night. The game will air live on 99.7FM WKSD. Marion Local will begin MAC play at St. Henry.