Firing on all cylinders

Creston (3-4, 3-0) put all the pieces together Friday against Knoxville (3-4, 0-3), winning 70-0 to take sole possession of first place in the district.

The offense put up more than 550 all-purpose yards, getting seven different receivers, two running backs and two quarterbacks involved. The defense played a shut out with three turnovers and a defensive touchdown. Special teams went 10-10 on point after attempts by Joaquin Flores and consistently provided a short field for Creston.

“I thought in all three phases, it was our best game no doubt,” Coach Brian Morrison said. “The kids executed tonight.”

There were many young players on the field, Knoxville with multiple starters sitting out not due to injury and Creston bringing in backups early in the second half.

“We got a lot of kids in,” Morrison said. “It’s always good because those kids work hard and they deserve a chance to play. An opportunity for those kids to get on the field means so much to our team.”

Offense

For a team normally dominating through the run game, Creston’s quarterback Tanner Ray came out and passed on their first six plays of the game.

“The fans don’t see it, but in practice, Tanner’s getting a lot of confidence, doing a lot of nice things,” Morrison said. “He’s getting better as a quarterback as a sophomore, so his eyes aren’t as big anymore. He’s doing the job, reading his keys and getting the ball out.”

Ray completed 10-of-15 for 193 yards and two touchdowns in three quarters. He connected with four different receivers — Xander Drake, Casen Dryden, Josh Schaefer and Weston Trapp. Creston got a look at backup quarterback Rhett Driskill in the fourth quarter. Driskill went 4-for-4 for 81 yards and a touchdown. Driskill connected with Jace Purdum, CT Stalker and Parker Varner, Varner for a touchdown.

Despite it being Creston’s most successful game in the air, Trapp still went off for 217 yards and five rushing touchdowns. Backup Maddix Leppla came in during the third quarter, scoring on a 33-yard run and logging 48 total yards.

“Our offense did a nice job,” Morrison said. “We weren’t playing behind the sticks; we were executing up front. The quarterback made great decisions. All phases – running the football, throwing the football, protecting the quarterback was good.”

Offensive lineman Brayden Schoon said the line has really come together as a team in recent weeks. “We’re coming together and trusting each other a lot more, and now we’re trusting the quarterback to put it in people’s hands,” he said. “Tanner Ray’s getting a good ball going, trusting us, staying in the pocket longer.”

Creston put up 28 points on Knoxville in the first quarter on three runs by Trapp and one 32-yard connection from Ray to Drake.

Drake said he was ready for the ball. “We always work on it during practice. This was our chance to start throwing, and we took advantage of it,” he said. “There’s competition between me and Trapp because we’re brothers; I want to score more than him.”

Unfortunately for Drake, Trapp won the touchdown battle Friday, scoring again to start both the second and third quarters.

Driskill had a nice drive on the Panthers’ last score of the game, connecting with Purdum for 19 yards on third-and-13. On the next play, Stalker caught a pass, taking it downfield 40 yards. It was a 24-yard pass to Varner that set up a first-and-goal from the 5. It was Driskill to Varner again for the 5-yard score.

Defense

The Creston defense forced five three-and-outs and three turnovers on 11 Knoxville drives.

“They’ve improved so much in the secondary,” Morrison said. “You can see it week in and week out. They’re doing the little things better and that makes a huge difference on defense.”

After going three-and-out on the first two drives of the game, Knoxville got things moving downfield, sophomore quarterback Roston McCarty connecting with four different receivers to get to the Creston 35-yard line.

McCarty’s pass intended for sophomore Eli Fuller was broken up by Creston senior Lucas Travis, Tyson Looney coming down with the football for his first interception of the night.

“We knew he had the opportunity to be a good player for us, and now he’s doing things right,” Morrison said. “He’s a physical kid; he’s athletic and he competes hard. That’s a good combination to have.”

In their first drive of the second quarter, Knoxville again worked downfield, making it to Creston’s side of the field. Knoxville converted a fourth-and-3, but on first down, Looney sacked McCarty for a 9-yard loss. Down 35-0, Knoxville went for it on fourth-and-17. Looney leapt for the ball, coming down with his second interception.

“The first pick was just kind of a lucky break,” Looney said. “He came out on an out route and my corner tipped it up to me and I easily got the pick. The second one, I kind of read he was coming across the middle. I watched the quarterback’s eyes and picked it off.”

In the third quarter, it was junior Lane Travis’s turn to pick off McCarty, running 38 yards to score on the play.

“We really worked on our coverage, especially our safeties and corners,” Lane said. “We were making sure we were reading the pass, watching the quarterback and making sure we were on the passes.”

Lane led the defense with five total tackles, three solo. Sophomore Davin Wallace had 4.5 tackles, three solo and Looney had four tackles and two sacks.

Despite all the success the Creston defense had throughout the first three quarters, their fourth-quarter stop was perhaps the most impressive.

With a majority of the starting defense on the bench, it was young players in for Creston. Knoxville started at the 8-yard line, making it to a first-and-goal on the 6-yard line.

On first down, McCarty took it 3 yards, downed by junior Brett Orr. On second down, McCarty’s pass was broken up by senior Tommy Sand. On third-and-goal, sophomore Brodie Pashek tackled the ball carrier for no gain. The goal-line stand was completed when Cason Scarberry defended a pass to the end zone, turning the ball over on downs.

“During the week, they give us a look,” Morrison said of the backup defense. “They’re practicing just like the other guys. We can run any defense we want with those guys because they know it. They competed like crazy. They had a ton of fun. Kids are stepping up.”

Special Teams

There was no need to go for 2 Friday as Flores went a perfect 10-for-10 on PATs.

“He’s going to be a good one,” Morrison said. “He’s only a sophomore and you can see his leg strength on his kickoffs. He’s a pretty special player for us. When you talk about field position, that’s a big part of it.”

Defense and special teams worked in tandem to provide the offense great field position throughout the game. Creston had five drives start on Knoxville’s side of the field, four of them inside the 40-yard line.

“It makes a huge difference,” Morrison said. “That’s our first four games. It’s tough to win a football game if the defense is on the field with 30 yards to go and that’s it.”

Special teams also kept Knoxville from big returns, something that’s plagued them in weeks prior.

Up Next

The Panthers return to action Friday at Nevada. Harlan topped Nevada 24-21 Friday on a fourth-quarter field goal, making Creston the only team undefeated in District 6 play. If Creston beats Nevada Friday, the Panthers will have the tie-breaker over Atlantic, Harlan and Nevada, winning the district. If Nevada wins over Creston, the Panthers would need Atlantic to win over either Harlan or Nevada in the final two weeks to secure a spot.

“The last three games, it’s been a playoff games for us,” Morrison said. “It’s going to be another one for us Friday at Nevada.”

STATS

Knoxville statistics unavailable

Creston 70, Knoxville 0

Points by quarter

KN 0 0 0 0—0

CR 28 14 21 7—70

SCORING SUMMARY

First Quarter

CR — Weston Trapp 2 run (Joaquin Flores kick), 10:25.

CR — Trapp 2 run (Flores kick), 8:45.

CR — Xander Drake 32 pass from Tanner Ray (Flores kick), 7:17.

CR — Trapp 9 run (Flores kick), 3:49.

Second Quarter

CR — Trapp 8 run (Flores kick), 11:12.

CR — Cason Dryden 37 pass from Ray (Flores kick), 3:11

Third Quarter

CR — Trapp 6 run (Flores kick), 8:11

CR — Maddix Leppla 33 run run (Flores kick), 4:57.

CR — Lane Travis interception (Flores kick), 1:33

Fourth Quarter

CR — Parker Varner 5 pass from Rhett Driskill (Flores kick), 3:01.

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TEAM STATISTICS

CR

Rushes-yards 20-283

Passing-int 14-21-0

Passing yards 274

Total yards 557

Fumbles-lost 0-0

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — CR: Weston Trapp 13-217, 5 TD. Maddix Leppla 5-48, 1 TD.

PASSING — CR: Ray 10-15-0 for 193 and 2 TD; Rhett Driskill 4-4-0 for 81 and 1 TD.

RECEIVING — CR: Xander Drake 3-69, 1 TD; Trapp 3-48; Josh Schaefer 3-39; Parker Varner 2-29; Casen Dryden 1-37, 1 TD; CT Stalker 1-40; Jace Purdum 1-12.

TACKLE LEADERS (total-solo) — CR: Lane Travis 5-3; Davin Wallace 4.5-3; Tyson Looney 4-3; Kal Barber 3.5-3Aiden Snodgrass 3-0.

INTERCEPTIONS — CR: Looney 2; Lane Travis 1.

FUMBLE RECOVERIES — CR: None.

TACKLES FOR LOSS — CR: Looney 2; Snodgrass 0.5; Jayden Myers 0.5

SACKS — CR: Looney 2.