Raiders down Knights in offensive battle

Van Wert independent sports

HAVILAND – The Wayne Trace Raiders struck early, and often, and then held on for a 54-41 non-conference football victory over Crestview at home on Friday night.

It was a game that featured plenty of offense, with Raider quarterback Colby Speice completing 20 of 33 passes for 385 yards, six touchdowns and one interception. Knight quarterback Preston Zaleski completed 12 of 22 passes for 153 yards, but also had two passes picked off by the Wayne Trace defense. Backup quarterback Dylan Grandstaff completed 2 of 2 pass attempts for 40 yards and a TD, with no interceptions for Crestview, while Jordan Miller also played quarterback for the Knights, completing his only pass attempt for 10 yards.

On the ground, Jared Sherry of Wayne Trace led with 80 yards rushing and a touchdown on 10 carries. For the Knights, Justin Overmeyer had 55 yards and a touchdown on eight carries, while Zaleski rushed for 28 yards and two TDs on 13 carries.

The Knights drew first blood on an 11-yard run by Zaleski with 10:04 remaining on the first-quarter clock. Kameron Grubaugh kicked the PAT and it was 7-0, Crestview.

Wayne Trace came roaring back, though, scoring the next five touchdowns on a 1-yard run by Speice; 51-, 26- and 27-yard pass plays – all to Korbin Showalter – and a 1-yard run by Jared Sherry mid-way through the second quarter.

The Knights then scored two TDs in the final 28 seconds of the first half on a 1-yard run by Zaleski and a 20-yard fumble return by Malcolm Oliver to make it 32-20 at the half.

Wayne Trace again put some distance between it and the Knights with two third-quarter scores. The first came on a 19-yard pass from Speice to Sherry, while Speice tossed a two-yard scoring strike to Jake Arend for the second touchdown and a 46-20 lead.

The Knights cut that lead by seven points when Overmeyer scampered into the end zone from the Raider 8-yard line with 1:48 left in the quarter, but Speice then stunned Crestview with an 80-yard touchdown pass to Showalter 47 seconds later to make it 52-27.

The Knights scored twice more, on a 15-yard run by Isaiah Kline at the 3:34 mark of the fourth quarter and a pass from Grandstaff to Kline with 2:29 left in the game, but those scores came too late to help Crestview.