{"id":170422,"date":"2023-09-20T03:47:44","date_gmt":"2023-09-20T08:47:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/?p=170422"},"modified":"2023-09-20T03:47:45","modified_gmt":"2023-09-20T08:47:45","slug":"preview-0-5-wildcats-at-4-1-knights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/2023\/09\/20\/preview-0-5-wildcats-at-4-1-knights\/","title":{"rendered":"Preview: 0-5 Wildcats at 4-1 Knights"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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

CONVOY — It\u2019s official \u2013 the Crestview Knights are on a roll going into the second half of the regular season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Heading into Friday\u2019s homecoming game against Delphos Jefferson, the Knights are 4-1 (2-0 NWC) with the only loss coming to perennial power McComb in Week No. 2. Some other numbers correlate with Crestview\u2019s success to this point \u2013 second in scoring among NWC teams (34.6 points per game), fourth in rushing with a healthy 217 yard average per game, first in passing (152 yards per game) and third overall in total offense. In addition, the Knights boast the NWC\u2019s leading passer in Bryson Penix (50-of-58, 724 yards, nine touchdowns, eight interceptions); the fourth leading receiver (Kellin Putman, 13-213, three touchdowns), and the fourth and fifth leading rushers in Braxton Leeth (78-444, six touchdowns), and Jaret Harting (54-426, five touchdowns). Isaac Kline has added 173 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Braxton Leeth (32) leads Crestview in rushing attempts and yards. Bob Barnes\/Van Wert independent<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Those numbers can be tied to the up-tempo offense head coach Cole Harting brought with him from Van Wert.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPlaying up-tempo has a lot of advantages for the offense,\u201d Harting explained. \u201cFirst, it puts the defense on their heels and forces them to alignment correctly in a very short amount of time. Additionally, if you have the personnel, you can run multiple formations without making substitutions, this also puts stress on the defense.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAlso by playing up-tempo, it makes it difficult for the defense to get their assignments called in,\u201d he continued. \u201cThe most difficult aspect of running this style of offense is that you need to stay on schedule. Negative plays, penalties and incompletions can slow things down, so it\u2019s important to take advantage of what the defense gives you and not get bored with it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harting agreed with the notion that his team is on a roll and has found a rhythm at the midway point of the season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think we are finally settling in,\u201d he said. \u201cIt took a few weeks to find our identity but I believe we are almost there. Each week our execution on both sides of the ball improve and we are continuing to build depth. I\u2019m very pleased where we are and how we are playing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe must reduce our penalties and turnovers,\u201d Harting added. \u201cIf we want to achieve our goals this season, we have to clean those two areas up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

“Crestview is a very good, athletic team with good size,\u201d Delphos Jefferson head coach Damon Ulm said. \u201cThey are solid in every position. Their offense is very well balanced and makes you cover sideline to sideline.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the Knights have enjoyed success, it\u2019s been a struggle for Delphos Jefferson (0-5, 0-2 NWC). The Wildcats are currently ranked eighth in scoring (11.4 points per game) and in total offense (127 yards per game). Defensively, the Wildcats are surrendering 358 total yards and 51 points per game. However, head coach Damon Ulm said his team has remained upbeat and ready to compete each week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur kids have had a positive attitude about getting better each week and playing as a team,\u201d Ulm said. \u201cThey go out to practice each week and work to get better as a player and a person. We are very young in a lot of positions and these kids are getting great experience.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Delphos Jefferson has not played a team with a losing record yet this season. In fact, the combined record of the first five opponents is 18-7.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt this point in the season they are hungry to get something going,\u201d Harting said of the Wildcats. \u201cThey are going to come out and give us everything they have. They have shown multiple fronts on defense, so we will have to execute our assignments offensively. Defensively, we will need to contain their quarterback and not give up big plays, he does a good job of extending the play.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dean Trentmen is the team\u2019s leading rusher at this point, logging 44 carries for 222 yards and three touchdowns. Quarterback Luke Rode has completed 11-of-29 passes for 186 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Luke Millmile has two receptions for 86 yards and a touchdown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Delphos Jefferson won last year\u2019s matchup 21-7. Prior to that, Crestview had won five straight against the Wildcats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Friday night\u2019s game will air live on 99.7 WKSD.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SCOTT TRUXELL\/independent editor CONVOY — It\u2019s official \u2013 the Crestview Knights are on a roll going into the second half of the regular season. Heading into Friday\u2019s homecoming game against Delphos Jefferson, the Knights are 4-1 (2-0 NWC) with the only loss coming to perennial power McComb in Week No. 2. Some other numbers correlate […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-170422","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sports"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-01 11:29:45","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/170422","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=170422"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/170422\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":170465,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/170422\/revisions\/170465"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=170422"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=170422"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=170422"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}