By Cort Reynolds
CONVOY - The injury-ravaged Ada football team could not stop the run and lost 63-12 at Crestview in Northwest Conference play last Friday night.
The hosts raced to a 35-0 lead and cruised past the Bulldogs, who dressed only 20 players for the game.
The purple and gold fell to 2-6 overall and 1-4 in NWC play with their third straight defeat. The Knights improved to 4-4 and 3-2 in league action with the lopsided win.
"I was very impressed with Brandon (Hull); he fights and gives you everything he has got," said Ada head coach Shawn Christopher. "He has a lot of talent, but his competitiveness is amazing.
"We have had some young guys step in, take advantage of their opportunities and play well," he noted, singling out four freshmen. "Colby and Conner Curtis have stepped up, and Gage Hoffer is also getting a lot of valuable experience on the line. Spencer Wall has done a great job battling, too."
Crestview rushed for 397 of its 421 total yards, throwing just one pass. Meanwhile, Ada managed 200 net yards.
The Knights scored first on a 12-yard run by Brody Brecht with 7:20 to go in the first period. The extra point kick by Kaden Kreischer made it 7-0.
Knight quarterback Kaden Short then helped double the lead to 14-0 when he scored on a two-yard run at the 3:58 mark.
Brecht completed the lone Knight aerial of the night for a 24-yard TD to Caylib Pruett with 2:18 left in the opening period as Crestview built a 21-0 cushion.
Brecht's one-yard TD plunge 35 seconds into the second stanza made it 28-0 after the fourth Kreischer PAT kick.
Just 1:56 later, Short found the end zone on a five-yard run to build the lead to 35-0.
Bulldog junior quarterback Brandon Hull scampered 41 yards to paydirt with 3:24 left in the first half to get Ada on the board. His two-point pass fell incomplete to keep the margin at 35-6.
Crestview added one more TD before intermission, a one-yard scoring run by Short with 2:17 left. Kreischer's extra point kick put the Knights comfortably on top, 42-6.
Brecht tallied his third TD on a two-yard run with 8:14 left in the third quarter.
Hull countered by scoring on a seven-yard scoring jaunt with 2:28 to go in the third period. The two-point run came up short to keep the score 49-12.
Crestview tacked on two more six-pointers in the fourth quarter despite the running clock. Rontae Jackson hit paydirt on a 45-yard run with 11:26 remaining.
Payton Heistand added the last TD on a 12-yard scamper with 1:22 to go. Kreischer's ninth PAT in as many tries finished the scoring.
1 2 3 4 F
Ada 0 6 6 0 12
Cvw 21 21 7 14 63
Notes and stats
Ada got off 54 plays, averaging 3.7 yards per try. The Knights averaged a whopping 14.5 yards on just 29 plays.
Crestview rushed for 397 yards on 28 carries, a 14.2 yard average per run.
The Bulldogs rushed for 120 yards and passed for 80. Hull completed 12 of 19 aerials for 84 yards. Ethan Murphy completed one of two passes for minus four yards.
Hull rushed for 83 yards and two TDs on 18 carries to account for 167 yards in offense. Colby Curtis netted 36 yards on 16 rushes.
Daniel Mattson led Ada with five catches for 53 yards. Curtis added five receptions, and Zac Swaney snared three passes for 14 yards.
Brecht led Crestview with 140 yards and three scores on just eight runs. Short netted 81 yards on seven rushes. Logan Gerardot added 56 yards on just three carries.
Pruett caught the lone Knight pass from Brecht for 24 yards and a TD. He also added a 44-yard punt return.
The Bulldogs committed one turnover while the Knights made no miscues. Ada possessed the ball for most of the game, 31:01 to 16:59. The Bulldogs were three of 13 on third down.
Ada has been outscored by its opposition 417-242 this season, a 52.1 to 30.3 points per game average margin.
With two home games left in their campaign, the Bulldogs ended up 2-3 on the road this season.
