Knights to hit the road in Week No. 2

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports

CONVOY — It doesn’t get any easier for the Crestview Knights.

During last Friday’s season opener, the Knights lost to Paulding 18-6 but the game was much closer despite five turnovers by Crestview, including an interception return for a touchdown with roughly 2:30 left in the game that sealed the win for the Panthers.

Now, the Knights will head to the Auglaize/Shelby County border to face Minster, a team that has enjoyed success in the powerful Midwest Athletic Conference.

While reflecting on last Friday night’s game, Crestview head coach Cole Harting was able to find some positives.

“Despite the loss, our defense had one of the best performances since I have been here,” he said. “They executed the game plan and shut down a very potent offense.”

The defense also forced three Paulding turnovers and the Knights outgained the Panthers 287-263. In his varsity debut, junior quarterback Cooper Miller completed 10-of-26 passes for 184 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Behind a large and experienced offensive line, running backs Evin Brincefield and Trenton Osborn combined for 20 carries and 105 yards rushing.

“We are still looking at that position, I expect to rotate guys in there and keep everyone fresh,” Harting said of the running back position. “We may have a couple of change-ups this week, but we are still trying to figure out what gives us the best offense possible.”

Cash Hammons led the Knights with three receptions for 95 yards and a touchdown, while Beau Lichtensteiger had three catches for 52 yards.

“Crestview looks big and physical on film,” Minster head coach Seth Whiting said. “We will have our hands full with their size. They do a nice job over there, we will need to play at a high level to compete.”

Minster is new to Van Wert’s schedule. The Wildcats are replacing powerhouse Marion Local as the Week No. 2 opponent, and Minster is Crestview’s third different second week non-conference opponent since 2022, along with McComb and Hicksville.

“This will be a home and home series that will hopefully last a while,” Harting said of the Wildcats. “I believe in challenging ourselves and constantly improving. Our conference is very good and we need to challenge ourselves with great competition so that we are prepared to go once our conference games start.”

Minster opened the season with a 27-17 win over Fort Loramie. The two teams were tied 17-17 at halftime, but the Wildcats scored a touchdown in the third quarter and kicked a field goal in the fourth quarter to secure the win.

“We were resilient last week,” Whiting said. “We had a lot of Week No. 1 self-inflicted damage that we were able to recover from and find a way to finish. I thought our staff and players made sound defensive adjustments and we were efficient in the pass game and physical in the run game on offense.”

Taylor Fancher rushed for 126 of Minster’s 182 yards in the win, needing just 16 carries to do it. Quarterback Carson Kaylor was very efficient, completing 18-of-22 passes for 173 yards and two touchdowns. His favorite receiver was Tyler Bergman (6-82, one touchdown). The offense ran 68 plays compared to 41 for Fort Loramie, and the defense forced a pair of turnovers. 

“Minster is a very physical, well coached football team,” Harting said. “They get to the ball on defense and cause turnovers. On offense, they have a very good quarterback who can make plays with his arm and legs. We will have to limit our turnovers and be very sound on our assignments.”

The Knights and Wildcats last played in back-to-back years, 2017 and 2018 in the OHSAA playoffs. Minster won 35-32 in 2017 but Crestview returned the favor with a 28-14 victory in 2018.