Leeth scores 4 times in win over Raiders

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports

HAVILAND — Braxton Leeth reached the end zone four times and Hayden Perrott added two touchowns to lead Crestview to a 41-20 win over Wayne Trace Friday night. The Knights improved to 2-1 with the win, while the Raiders fell to 0-3.

Leeth, who finished with 13 carries for 233 yards, scored on a 78-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, one of just two plays run by Crestview in the opening stanza, then added a 53-yard scoring sprint in the second quarter. He also had touchdown runs of 15 and 34 yards in the third quarter, the latter of which gave the Knights a 41-7 lead entering the fourth quarter. Unofficially, Leeth has 733 yards rushing and 11 scores so far this season.

“He just continues to do what he does,” Crestview head coach Cole Harting said. “He works hard and puts himself in position to make plays and the offensive line does a nice job of creating holes for him and he definitely takes advantage of that.”

“Leeth is a problem and will be a problem for a lot of teams,” Wayne Trace head coach Matt Holden said. “We said going in we had to limit explosive plays, especially on the ground and we just weren’t able to do that tonight.”

Perrott’s two touchdowns came in the second quarter, one on a 48-yard pass from Huxley Grose, who completed 7-of-9 passes for 131 yards, and the other on a 51-yard interception return. In addition, Perrott was 6-of-7 on extra point attempts. The interception was one of two thrown by Wayne Trace quarterback Jack Schoenauer, who completed 14-of-26 tosses for 146 yards.

“He’s been a great player and it’s nice to see him have a night like that,” Harting said of Perrott.

“We need to clean up our passing game,” Holden said. “The turnovers through the air are killing us.”

Two of Wayne Trace’s three touchdowns came in the fourth quarter, one on a 5-yard run by Carter Baumle, who finished with 25 carries for 121 yards, and the other on an 11-yard pass from Corbin Stoller to Easton Jay with 23 seconds left in the game. Wayne Trace’s first touchdown came in the late in the second quarter, when Clay Stoller scored from five yards out, making it 28-7 at halftime.

Harting noted he was pleased with his starting defense for allowing just seven points through three quarters.

“Considering through the first two weeks of the year we gave up over 100 points, I think it was a huge night for our defense,” he said. “I thought we were kind of ‘bend but don’t break’ and we gave up some yards but we made them earn everything and I think that’s a huge step forward for our defense.”

Despite the loss, Holden said he saw some positives.

“For the most part, we were able to make adjustments and move the ball,” he said. “We continue to make mistakes to put us behind the chains and kill drives. We started out on our own 7-yard line and drove it down the field, but stalled out the drive on a mishandled snap. We need to limit those drive killers, but our kids showed they’re capable of running ball, which is certainly good for us.”

Crestview will begin NWC play at home against Fort Loramie (0-3) on Friday, while Wayne Trace will host rival Paulding (3-0) the same night.

“They’re hungry for a win and they’re a very well coached team,” Harting said of Fort Loramie. “It should be a really good matchup on Friday. 

Scoring summary

First quarter

CK – 5:27: Braxton Leeth 78-yard run (Hayden Perrott kick)

Second quarter

CK – 9:01: Braxton Leeth 53-yard run (Hayden Perrott kick)

CK – 6:13: Huxley Grose 48-yard pass to Hayden Perrott (Hayden Perrott kick)

CK – 4:56: Hayden Perrott 51-yard interception return (Hayden Perrott kick)

WT – 0:36: Clay Stoller 5-yard run (Jensen Beining kick)

Third quarter

CK – 6:30: Braxton Leeth 15-yard run (kick failed)

CK – 3:17: Braxton Leeth 34-yard run (Hayden Perrott kick)

Fourth quarter

WT – 6:43: Carter Baumle 5-yard run (kick failed)

WT – 0:23: Corbin Stoller 11-yard pass to Easton Jay (Jensen Beining kick)