WRIGHT TWP. — In a clash between two of top defenses in WVC Division 1, Crestwood put together a near-flawless gameplan to shut down Hazleton Area and pick up a statement victory.
The Comets forced three turnovers and made multiple fourth-down stops, while the running game found its groove in a 28-2 win over Hazleton Area on Friday night.
From Crestwood’s first drive on defense, the unit made its mark: a bobbled exchange from Hazleton Area quarterback Austin Wilson to halfback Ashton Karlick was recovered by the Comets deep in Hazleton Area territory.
That allowed Crestwood to take an early lead with an 18-yard touchdown drive, with Nate Walsh punching it in to put Crestwood ahead.
The Comets would recover one more fumble, pick off a second-half pass and made things practically impossible for the Hazleton Area offense to move the ball.
“The defense has to follow a plan, and we felt really good about our plan,” Crestwood coach Ryan Arcangeli said. “The kids have to execute, and they were relentless.”
While the defense continued to get stops, Crestwood’s offense got a ton of different players involved in the run game, with Jacob Jeckell and Lincoln Bibla being the standouts.
Jeckell ran for 159 yards and two touchdowns, a 35-yarder in the second quarter and a 21-yarder in the fourth quarter, while Bibla added 78 yards and the win-sealing touchdown with time ticking away late.
The Comets as a team ran for 305 yards, with the continued shuffling of personnel and use of motion and misdirection proving difficult for even a stout defense like Hazleton Area’s to bottle up.
“When you could hang your hat on multiple guys, and they have confidence, it’s huge,” Arcangeli said.
The Cougars defense allowed them to hang around, and the special teams unit kicked off the fourth quarter with a blocked punt. The ball rolled back into the end zone, and was fallen on by a Crestwood player for a safety.
Good field position had Hazleton Area starting the ensuing drive right at midfield, but Crestwood was ready.
After a stop for loss on first down, linebacker Carter Kennedy picked off a pass to quickly flip the momentum back to the Comets.
Two touchdowns later, and the clock hit zero to officially lock up Crestwood’s third win in a row.
The Comets (4-3, 2-0 WVC Div. 1) will host Dallas next week in a battle of the final two Division 1 unbeatens. Hazleton Area (4-3, 2-1 Div. 1) will return home to take on Pittston Area.
Crestwood 28, Hazleton Area 2
Hazleton Area`0`0`0`2 — 2
Crestwood`7`7`0`14 — 28
First Quarter
CRE — Nate Walsh 12 run (Ethan Zabroski kick), 4:37
Second quarter
CRE — Jacob Jeckell 35 run (Zabroski kick), 5:17
Fourth quarter
HAZ — Safety, Crestwood tackled in end zone, 11:48
CRE — Jeckell 21 run (Zabroski kick), 6:33
CRE — Lincoln Bibla 40 run (Zabroski kick), 3:23
Team statistics`HAZ`CRE
First downs`6`12
Rushes-yards`23-69`48-305
Passing yards`113`43
Total yards`182`348
Passing`10-25-1`3-6-0
Sacked-yards lost`3-32`0-0
Punts-avg.`6-25`4-26.5
Fumbles-lost`2-2`2-1
Penalties-yards`5-34`11-64
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — HAZ, Austin Wilson 11-56, Ashton Karlick 6-7, Freddy Corrado 1-(minus-16), Jeffrey Lantigua 3-20, Xavier Heck 1-2. CRE, Colin Lazo 12-42, Jeckell 17-159, Bibla 9-78, Jack Rodgers 2-(minus-8), Matthew Bealla 1-1, Walsh 4-11, Gio Barna 3-22.
PASSING — HAZ, Wilson 6-16-0-77, Corrado 4-9-1-36. CRE, Rodgers 3-6-0-43.
RECEIVING — HAZ, Yohansel Moran 3-38, Jack Mariano 4-40, Carlos Gonzalez 3-35. CRE, Bibla 1-8, Barna 1-22, Emmett Seyer 1-13.
INTERCEPTIONS — CRE, Carter Kennedy 1-12.
MISSED FGs — CRE, Zabroski 1-27.
