{"id":121751,"date":"2019-08-23T22:36:53","date_gmt":"2019-08-24T03:36:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thevwindependent.com\/news\/?p=121751"},"modified":"2019-08-23T22:36:59","modified_gmt":"2019-08-24T03:36:59","slug":"cougars-down-knights-in-preseason-finale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/2019\/08\/23\/cougars-down-knights-in-preseason-finale\/","title":{"rendered":"Cougars down Knights in preseason finale"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

SCOTT TRUXELL\/<\/strong>independent sports editor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Van Wert dominated county rival Crestview 45-7 in the final preseason tune up at Eggerss Stadium on Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Cougars scored early and often, with 33 of those points coming in the first quarter, most on big plays. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After Tanner Barnhart intercepted a pass by Kaden Short, the Cougars scored on a two play drive capped off by the first of Nate Jackson\u2019s three touchdown runs, a 14-yarder. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Van Wert’s Nate Jackson (20) sprints away from Crestview defenders Logan Gerardot and Brody Brecht. Jackson scored three times in the scrimmage.<\/strong> Wyatt Richardson\/Van Wert independent<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Crestview\u2019s next possession ended on the first play, when Dru Johnson intercepted Short\u2019s pass and three plays later, Jackson scored on a 17 yard run, followed by a Peyton McAlpine PAT that made it 13-0. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Knights were forced to punt on their next possession and Jackson took just one play to race 71 yards to the end zone, then on Crestview\u2019s ensuing possession, a pair of runs by Caylib Pruett put the Knights on the 48 yard line, but Sam Cassidy picked off a Short pass and returned it for a touchdown, giving Van Wert a 26-0 lead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The final score of the quarter came on a 13-yard touchdown pass from Owen Treece to Barnhart, and head coach Keith Recker was pleased with how his team generated big plays. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA lot of that is our offensive line and blocking downfield, and we didn\u2019t have that a lot during the preseason,\u201d Recker said. \u201cWe need that \u2013 we need to get some plays of 20, 30, 40 yards, so without seeing the film I think our offensive line played as well as they\u2019ve played all preseason.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

On the flip side, Crestview head coach Jared Owens said the scrimmage was a learning experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have to approach a scrimmage for what it is \u2013 you learn from it \u2013 it means nothing for the results of the rest of the season except what you can take from it and learn from it,\u201d Owens said. \u201cWe\u2019ll break down the film and learn where they need to get better and that\u2019s what we\u2019ll try to do next week, is improve on our mistakes and things we can control.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jackson led the Cougars with three carries for 120 yards and three scores, while Treece completed 7 of 15 passes for 166 yards and a touchdown. Johnson led all receivers with five receptions for 120 yards in just two quarters of play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDru has been doing that all summer and preseason and he\u2019s going to be an explosive receiver and a difficult matchup for teams,\u201d Recker said. \u201cNate came in and did a great job of filling in for Jake (Hilleary) and he\u2019s starting to figure it out. He\u2019s a very good athlete.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Short led Crestview with 53 yards rushing, but he went down late in the second quarter with an apparent leg injury while playing defense. He was taken from the stadium on a stretcher, and his condition is unknown. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pruett had eight carries for 27 yards and Brody Brecht, who also saw snaps at quarterback, had eight carries for 26 yards. Crestview quarterbacks combined to go 1 of 13 for six yards, with four interceptions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The entire second half was played with junior varsity players who combined to score three touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Van Wert\u2019s Aidan Pratt scored on a 15 yard touchdown run, then tossed a 10 yard scoring pass to Jacob Fuerst. Crestview\u2019s Payton Helstad put the Knights on the board with a 70 yard touchdown sprint, followed by Kaden Kreischer\u2019s PAT.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The two teams combined for 21 penalties and both coaches agreed that\u2019s an area that will have to be cleaned up quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA couple of times they took scoring plays off the board for holding and we can\u2019t do that against the teams we play,\u201d Recker stated. \u201cHopefully we can learn from that and really teach that better next week.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOffsides, false starts, fumbles \u2013 we\u2019re not the type of team that\u2019s going to be able to get behind the chains,\u201d Owens said. \u201cWe\u2019ve harped on that a lot, but we just have to execute better.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Van Wert will open the regular season at Bryan on Friday while Crestview will play at Parkway the same night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scoring summary<\/strong>
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First quarter<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

10:16 Nate Jackson 14 yard run (pass failed)
\n9:26 Nate Jackson 17 yard run (Peyton McAlpine kick)
\n5:37 Nate Jackson 71 yard run (run failed)
\n4:15 Sam Cassidy 48 yard interception return (Peyton McAlpine kick)
\n0:00 Owen Treece 13 yards to Tanner Barnhart (Peyton McAlpine kick)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fourth quarter<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

7:24 Aidan Pratt 15 yard run (run failed)
2:13 Aidan Pratt 10 yard pass to Jacob Fuerst (run failed)
1:03 Payton Halsted 70 yard run (Kaden Kreischer kick)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n