OLIVESBURG – Crestview head coach Steve Haverdill didn’t enjoy his team’s 42-0 win Friday night over New London as much as he would have liked.
A pair of lost fumbles mixed in with a few frustrating penalties and missed PAT kicks in the first half had him gritting his teeth.
But the Cougars tightened up their game in the second half and ran away with a shutout to open Firelands Conference play 1-0 for the first time since 2022.
“We didn’t come out with the intensity, and that’s my fault,” said the seventh-year head coach, who secured his 50th win leading the Cougars (50-24). “Maybe we just didn’t work hard enough this week in practice or maybe we were a little lackadaisical, but we’ll fix that.”
“Our kids were getting better every week, so that’s why there was disappointment in that first half tonight,” he added. “That’s nowhere near the way we were playing the first three weeks.”
Despite the frustration, it would be hard for Crestview (2-2) to dwell on its early mistakes too much.
The Cougars got their six touchdowns from six different players and allowed just 67 total yards of offense to the Wildcats (2-2), who were coming off a 49-0 shutout of Vanlue a week earlier.
Defensive back Ayden Reymer had a pair of interceptions against New London quarterback Jarrett Mencl (8-for-20, 63 yards passing), who spent much of his night running from guys like defensive end Karter Goon and linebackers Wyatt Barber and Keith Abshire.
“Defense is something we’ve been able to lean on the whole year, so that’s nice to have,” said Goon, who also had four catches for 77 yards.
“We just came in (thinking), ‘No first downs.’ We just owned the line the entire game.”
Crestview didn’t give up a rushing first down against the Wildcats, who squeezed out just four yards on 18 carries.
New London’s Hunter Chandley entered Friday with 226 yards and four touchdowns on the ground, but never had a gain of more than five yards.
Meanwhile, Mencl never seemed to have enough time to get the ball to Wildcats receiver Jackson Mitchell, who had 222 yards and five touchdowns on just eight receptions through three weeks.
Keith Squire led the New London offense with five catches for 30 yards. But 12 of those came on the last play of the game, which was the first time the Wildcats converted a third down (1-for-11).
“I thought our D-line did a nice job of holding the line and getting pressure,” Haverdill said. “As a unit, they played well tonight.
“Obviously, anytime you can shut out a varsity team, you’re at least on the same page.”
Offensively, Crestview scored 21 points in both halves, collecting nearly 500 yards for the game.
Third-year starting quarterback Liam Kuhn was 12-for-19 for 196 yards, logging a 41-yard touchdown pass on the Cougars’ first play from scrimmage. That came on a screen to the right side to Max Durbin, who busted through traffic on his way up the right sideline.
Kuhn also scored on a 7-yard carry in the second quarter and went over 200 completions and 3,000 yards passing for his career.
Meanwhile, the Crestview ground game was a largely balanced attack, paced by Bransen Hider. The senior’s 89-yard run early was the offensive highlight of the game and he finished with 151 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries.
Also with rushing scores were Reymer, Wyatt Barber (9 carries, 82 yards) and Abshire, as CHS finished with 298 yards on 36 carries to help trigger a running clock in the third quarter.
Abshire added a 27-yard field goal to close out the opening half.
“We picked it up in the second half; the first half wasn’t what we wanted,” Hider said. “Going into the second half, we were all mad and we wanted to go.”
New London entered the night allowing just 3.2 yards per carry in its first three games. Its shutout win in Week 3 was its first such victory since 2014.
“Coming over here it’s always a tough battle; Crestview is always good,” Wildcats head coach Jon Harrison said. “We wanted to come in and compete this year.
“After the showing last year (67-0 loss to the Cougars), the kids worked really hard to not have that same showing and I think we did come and compete.”
The coach feels his program is heading in the right direction after going three years (2021-2023) without a varsity football team. He hopes the Wildcats can start to climb the FC ladder this fall.
“They’ve been working their butts off,” Harrison said. “We try to put them in the right positions, but their effort and their physicality this year is tenfold better than last year.”
Crestview hopes to get rolling in FC play as well, as it gears up for games the next two weeks against winless teams in South Central and Plymouth.
If the Cougars take care of business there, they’ll be 3-0 in league play heading into a showdown at home against St. Paul (2-2, 1-0) in Week 7, followed by an equally huge road test at Western Reserve (3-1, 1-0).
Haverdill and his squad believe they’ll be in position for a league crown if they can cut down on mistakes.
“Our first goal is (winning) the Firelands Conference,” Goon said. “That’s what we’re going for, and defense is the starting point for that.”