It’s only a rumor Kadin Chrastina directed the Clear Fork Marching Band at halftime. But the truth is that’s the only time the junior left the field on Friday night.
All the 6-1, 170-pound quarterback/defensive back/kicker/punter did while on the field was account for 361 yards from the line of scrimmage, rushing for three TDs and kicking a field goal as the Colts held off the Madison Rams, 24-22.
Chrastina ran the ball 35 times for 256 yards, including TD runs of 9, 6 and 23 yards. He completed 7 of 12 passes for 105 yards. He kicked a 35-yard field goal. He played the entire game in the Colts’ secondary and also punted and kicked off.
Afterward, Chrastina admitted a bit of fatigue. OK, he admitted a whole lot of tired under a workload that increased with several Clear Fork starters out with injuries. He was joined on the field by as many as four freshmen during the game.
“I’m pretty exhausted,” he said with a smile. “I can’t wait to get home to sleep. But I wanted to do everyting I could do to help my team get the win.
“We knew we had some guys out and the rest of us had to step up,” Chrastina said. “Our offensive line was making some big holes – a lot of times I wasn’t touched until I was 10 yards down field. The O-line and I rushed for all those yards.”
The win was the third straight for the Colts, now 5-2 overall and 3-1 in the Ohio Cardinal Conference. The loss dropped Madison to 2-5 overall and 1-3 in the league.
Clear Fork coach Dave Carroll praised his entire team, especially Chrastina, as his Colts ran up 396 yards of offense.
“He’s my neighbor … I may have to give him a bedroom or something. Kadin is one of the toughest kids I ever coached. His dad is still one of the toughest guys I know,” Carroll said.
Nursing the 2-point lead early in the fourth quarter, Chrastina ran the ball on 10 of Clear Fork’s final 14 plays from scrimmage, including the last six in a row.
“People say we can’t run our quarterback so much. Well, our offense is one where the quarterback is the tailback. He just throws the ball sometimes, too,” Carroll said with a smile. “I hope that clears that up for everyone.
“(Kadin) has incredible feet,” Carroll said. “I would not want to have to try to tackle him.”.
Madison coach Sean Conway labeled Chrastina a great player.
“He makes Clear Fork a very difficult team to plan for because they do so many different things with him,” Conway said. “His ability to get outside the pocket and have the run or pass option makes him awfully hard to stop.”
The Rams had big playmakers of their own, especially senior running back Kalvin Gordon. All he did was carry the ball 12 times for 189 yards, including scoring runs of 81 and 63 yards. Junior quarterback Austin Finley completed 10 of 16 passes for 151 yards, including a 21-yard TD pass to Dylan Harper that gave Madison a 7-0 lead after the first quarter.
“It’s hard to find things to say about what a great job Kalvin does,” Conway said. “He is such a special kid. But he will be the first to give credit to his teammates. He does have the ability to make me look a very smart coach sometimes.
“Our kids have fought through some adversity this season and they will continue to fight,” Conway said. “They will learn from this game and we will come back next week against Orrville like it was the biggest game of our season.”
The Rams return home next Friday to meet Orrville in another OCC game. Clear Fork, tied for second in the OCC behind Mansfield Senior, still has playoff aspirations on its agenda. The Colts travel to Ashland next Friday in a game with OCC and post-season implications for the visitors.
