Knights to host state ranked Lima CC

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports  

CONVOY — As Crestview prepares for the regular season finale, the Knights may have a chance to play again in Week No. 11, but it won’t be easy.

Crestview (6-3, 4-2 NWC) will host Lima Central Catholic (8-1, 5-1 NWC) Friday night and as it turns out, a victory over the Thunderbirds, coupled with a bit of help in Division VI, Region 22, could put the Knights in the playoffs. A win could also place the Knights as high as second in the final NWC standings. Crestview is currently No. 14 in Region 12, with the top 12 teams advancing to the playoffs after this Friday’s games. While the Knights won’t win or share the conference crown, there’s plenty to play for Friday night.

“The NWC title race (Columbus Grove, Bluffton and possibly LCC) is playing out about how I figured it would,” Crestview head coach Cole Harting said. “We wanted to be in the position to compete for a conference championship at the end of the season and credit to our players and coaches, we put ourselves in position by taking care of business early in our conference schedule. This week is huge for us…our conference is very strong from top to bottom. There are definitely no off weeks, if you don’t bring your best every week, someone will knock you off. Because of that, I believe whatever teams make the playoffs from our conference will make deep runs.”

Under first year head coach Colin Stolly, Lima Central Catholic is coming off a 33-25 loss to defending NWC champion Columbus Grove last Friday, the first loss of the season for the T-birds, ranked No. 4 in Division VII in this week’s Associated Press statewide poll.

“We have a lot of great coaches and some awesome kids that have made the transition pretty easy,” Stolly said. “We do a lot of the same stuff as before our staff, just put our own tweak on some things and it’s really paid off. I think our guys are ready to bounce back after the loss last week and get back to doing what we do. We need to play well and make sure that we are in rhythm throughout the whole game.”

When the Thunderbirds are in rhythm, they’re more than a handful. LCC averages 32 points per game and allows just 14 points per outing, second among NWC schools. Balance has been key this year, with the Thunderbirds averaging 181 yards rushing per game and 148 yards passing. Dual threat quarterback Brady Parker has completed 90-of-138 passes for 1,423 yards, 14 touchdowns and just four interceptions, and he’s the team’s leading rusher (102-752, nine touchdowns). Carter Lester had added 72 carries for 393 yards and six touchdowns and Mike Quatman (38-580, seven touchdowns) and Lausen Flores (29-398, three touchdowns) are the top two targets.

Defensively, LCC ranks as the No. 1 unit in the NWC, allowing just 222 yards per game, including 114 on the ground and 108 through the air. In addition, Quatman leads the conference in passes intercepted with four.

“LCC is a very physical and well coached team,” Crestview head coach Cole Harting said. “They have very good size and athleticism across the board.  Offensively, they are led by their quarterback who is one of the best passers as well as a top rusher. They are very efficient in what they do, we will need to find ways to get them off the field.” 

“Defensively, they are very physical up front and get off the ball very quickly,” he continued. “We will need to match their physicality in order to have sustained success. Our kids always love competing against LCC, we are going to give it everything we got and hopefully send our seniors out with a great game.”

With Braxton Leeth rushing for a school record 2,120 yards and 31 touchdowns on 223 carries, Crestview has the top ground game in the NWC, 250 yards per game and the Knights average 33 points per game, second among conference teams.

“I believe they need to win to get into the playoffs so we are expecting their best shot,” Stolly said. “We need to be able to stop Braxton and make sure to bottle him up.”

The Knights will try to snap a four game losing streak against LCC, regular reason and playoff games included. The Thunderbirds won last year’s game 10-3. Crestview’s last win in the series came in the 2013 playoffs, 48-35.