MOUNTAIN TOP — Before the ball was even snapped, Noah Schultz knew there was going to be an open field where he was running. The Crestwood senior has been in that situation plenty of times before in his career, so he focused on taking the play where it was supposed to go and then running like hell.
Sixty-six yards later Schultz was in the end zone for the third time in the first half of Friday’s game against Wyoming Area. And it may have been his easiest tote of the night.
But there weren’t many contested carries for the Comets last night. They ran the ball so well behind a veteran offensive line that they didn’t even have to throw a pass. The Comets compiled 520 rushing yards and bounced back from a disappointing loss a week ago by beating Wyoming Area, 49-7.
Crestwood coach Ryan Arcangeli wanted to get back to what his offense does best following last week’s loss to Dallas in which an abundance of uncharacteristic mistakes spelled their doom. What the Comets’ offense does best is run the ball. It doesn’t necessarily matter who in their backfield carries it behind an offensive line which created gap after gap for Schultz and his teammates to run through.
The Comets averaged nearly 12 yards per carry last night. Schultz himself ran for 191 yards on 14 carries, the third-best total of his career.
“We feel really good about our seniors up front and the gentlemen we have behind them,” Arcangeli said. “So we said let’s show all the hard work we put in in the offseason and let’s keep the ball on the ground. We have confidence in them. And I can’t say enough about our entire offensive line and the backfield because they answered the challenge.”
Crestwood had already opened a three-score lead in the second quarter when Schultz stood in the backfield and knew he was about to pop a long run. When he took the snap on the sweep play the Comets executed all night with aplomb, Schultz got the open area he expected and he coasted to the end zone.
It was the second of three touchdowns Crestwood scored on their first four snaps of the second quarter. And even with 32 minutes left in the game, it was a knockout blow against a Wyoming Area defense that had no answer for any play Crestwood ran.
The Comets had 17 runs of 10 yards or better. Three of those runs were 60-plus-yard touchdown runs. And those three individual carries totaled more yardage individually than Wyoming Area ran for as a team.
“As long as we get our blocks down, we know those runs will be open, and our guys continued to do that,” Schultz said. “They made the blocks and we made the plays.”
“That’s our strength,” Arcangeli said. “We liked our matchups (on the perimeter), and our staff does a good job of picking out where we can win some matchups. But you still have to go out and execute, and the kids did that.”
Behind an offensive line of Chris Smolenak, Aidan Jardine, Aleks Jaskiewicz, John Jones, Andrew Lenahan, and tight end Zach Sheloski, Crestwood had five players run for at least 57 yards. Jaden Shedlock ran for 97 yards and a touchdown. Brady Davidson added 70 yards and a touchdown. Nick Miscavage had just one carry, but it was a 63-yard score. And Brendan Dennis ha 57 yards and a touchdown.
The Comets’ powerful run game not only produced yards and points, but it also kept the ball out of the hands of Wyoming Area’s dynamic running back Aaron Crossley. Crossley, ran for nearly 500 yards through the season’s first two weeks but gained just 42 yards on 13 carries last night. A well-rested Crestwood defense was relentless in their pursuit of Crossley and the rest of the Warriors’ backfield. Even when they didn’t tackle well, they forced Wyoming Area ballcarriers to get around 3 or 4 defenders just for a 4-yard gain.
“Don’t think that wasn’t part of the deal for us running the ball,” Arcangeli said. “Don’t give that kid any more touches than he needs. He’s electric and certainly one of the best backs around here. But sometimes a really good ground game can rest our defense so they can prepare for a guy like that.”
After a loss last week which was filled with so many mistakes, Crestwood righted the ship last night. It got back to what it does best. It built confidence in its game plan. And it executed the way it knows how.
“That was a great way to bounce back,” Schultz said. “It was the best way to bounce back.”
