OLIVESBURG – Crestview head coach Steve Haverdill knew his team’s early schedule wasn’t going to be forgiving when the program had perennial talents Seneca East, Kirtland and Keystone make up its non-conference slate for 2024 and 2025.
On Friday night in their home-opening game at Scott Bailey Memorial Field, the gauntlet paid off.
The Cougars overcame a 14-0 first-half deficit to score 28 unanswered points against visiting Keystone in a 28-14 victory that Haverdill hopes will be a huge springboard into Firelands Conference play.
“We set goals and our kids want to be in the state championship game,” Haverdill said. “So we said, ‘OK, let’s go play Kirtland because they’re there every year, so now you can see where you’re at.’”
“The confidence has started rolling with our kids and I think that helped play a part (in Friday’s win),” he said. “We got down early, 14-0, and they didn’t hang their heads. They knew it was time to grab the lunch pails and go to work.”
After a heartbreaking, 2-0 loss at Seneca East (2-1) in Week 1, Crestview (1-2) dropped a 42-7 outcome at Kirtland (3-0) in Week 2 – a program that has played for a state title every year since 2017.
While the final score was a runaway, Haverdill said the Cougars cut their halftime deficit in half from their game with the Hornets a year earlier.
“We threw punches all night and they had to keep their starters in the whole game,” he said. “Last year, they were out in the second quarter.”
The coach said Crestview has one of the toughest non-league schedules in all of Division VI this fall, and that competition led to Friday’s breakthrough against Keystone (10-2 last season).
“We just kept smash-mouthing it down their throats and the defense made adjustments and played lights-out,” Haverdill said.
Behind a balanced offensive attack, Crestview put up three rushing touchdowns in the second quarter from three different players.
Senior Ayden Reymer – who also found paydirt on a 61-yard run in the third quarter – scored from 14 yards out to get the Cougars on the board.
That was followed by a 34-yard score from Keith Abshire and a 2-yard plunge from senior quarterback Liam Kuhn just before halftime.
Kuhn also finished the game with 88 yards passing and Crestview received a huge boost from the return of offensive lineman and defensive end Jack Stephens. The senior led the team in tackles last fall but missed the first two games this season due to mono.
“Jack helps solidify that O-line, then on defense as an end, he’s very difficult to block,” Haverdill said. “Now they can’t just key on Karter Goon.”
Always known as a rushing-led program, the Cougars showed it was still their bread and butter Friday, putting up 275 yards on the ground.
Reymer, who led the squad with 702 yards rushing last year, went for 147 yards and the two scores against the Wildcats, while Bransen Hider chipped in 88 yards.
“We’ve got four guys that we can really rely on with Reymer, Hider, Abshire and a sophomore in Wyatt Barber,” Haverdill said. “When you have that, we’re able to keep guys like Hider and Reymer fresh.”
The seventh-year coach could get his 50th win leading the program this Friday (49-24) when Crestview opens FC play at home against New London (2-1).
After an 0-4 start last year in which the Cougars muscled their way into the playoffs for a sixth straight season (5-6 final record), Haverdill feels his squad is in line to start stacking wins quicker and make a run at the FC crown.
“A lot of these guys played when they were sophomores, so they have that experience,” he said. “A lot of it was just believing and making sure you did proper technique and the things you need to do on a Friday night to beat good football teams.”