Route 30 Rankings: West Holmes, Crestview clinch football poll championships
They were the two best teams along Route 30 all season.
And because of that, they took home their second consecutive Route 30 Rankings championships.
West Holmes and Crestview were the only two undefeated teams in the Route 30 Rankings and completely dominated all of their opponents. Let's find out how they clinched yet another title.
Big School (Divisions I-IV)
Rank. Team (Record): Score (First-place votes)
1. West Holmes (10-0): 8 (8)
The Knights are the repeat Route 30 Rankings champions in the big school division, taking all first-place votes in the final voting of the season. Last week, they clinched a perfect 10-0 season by beating Mount Vernon 49-14.
The Knights were prolific on both sides of the football. They had a running clock in every single game they played and finished with one in all but one. West Holmes led the entire state in scoring with 50.9 points per game while gaining an average of 459.6 yards.
The Knights, who outscored their regular-season opponents by a combined 509-123, were led offensively by their skill players. Quarterback Mason Wolfe completed 69.7% of his passes (136 of 195) for 2,511 yards and 34 touchdowns with just two interceptions. He also added three rushing scores and averaged 12.9 yards per pass completion.
Junior running back Sam Williams-Dixon carried the load on the ground with 1,221 yards (8.1 average) and 23 touchdowns on 150 rushes. He was also dynamic in the receiving game with 15 catches and 240 yards.
The Knights had four receivers tally 334 or more yards, led by Kyle Maltarich, who caught 47 passes for 1,041 yards (22.1 average) and 18 touchdowns. A two-way player, he also had six interceptions.
Logan Zollars caught 31 passes for 588 yards and eight touchdowns, Zevin Proper had 376 yards and three scores on 23 catches and Nate Flair added 22 catches for 334 yards and four touchdowns.
The Knights, who won their second consecutive Ohio Cardinal Conference championship, will host Shelby in the opening round of the postseason as the No. 2 seed in Division IV Region 14.
2. Clear Fork (9-1): 18
3. Mansfield Senior (8-2): 22
4. Ashland (6-4): 37
5. Galion (6-4): 38
6. Ontario (6-4): 45
7. Shelby (5-5): 58
8. Wooster (4-6): 63
9. Lexington (3-7): 71
10. Madison (1-9): 80
Small School (Division V-VII)
Rank. Team (Record): Score (First-place votes)
1. Crestview (10-0): 8 (8)
The Cougars clinched their second consecutive Route 30 Rankings championship in the small school division, completed their second consecutive undefeated regular season and wrapped up their third straight Firelands Conference title by knocking off Mapleton 47-16 last week.
Crestview has been balanced all year with a mixture of great offense and even better defense. The Cougars scored 37.3 points per game while allowing just 9.1 points for a near-running-clock differential.
Offensively, they passed for 1,206 yards and ran for 2,173 as a run-first offense that could throw the ball at any second. That made the Cougars O as dangerous as any offense in the state. They averaged 217.3 rushing yards and 120.6 passing yards for a total of 337.9 yards per game. Ten touchdowns came through the air and 38 came on the ground with one two-point conversion to finish up the scoring.
What made the offense so special was its ball security. The Cougars only threw one interception and lost just seven fumbles during the entire season. The offensive line allowed just three sacks in 10 games. Incredible.
Hayden Kuhn was the conductor of the offense at quarterback, completed 77 of 134 passes for 1,164 yards and 10 touchdowns with just one pick. His leadership cannot be overlooked when talking about the Cougars and the power poll title. Without him, the offense would be tough to run.
Speaking of running, Crestview has a stable of running backs at its disposal this season. Adison Reymer was the leading rusher with 1,211 yards and 19 touchdowns on 170 carries, while Michael Mays added 477 yards and eight scores on 63 carries. Kuhn did some damage with his legs as well with 179 yards and four touchdowns on 50 carries, and Clete Rogers was another runner to worry about with 99 yards and a score on 28 carries.
Kuhn spread it around to multiple receivers as no receiver had more than 300 yards. Owen Barker led the way with 289 yards and four TDs on 19 catches, while Caden Cunningham had 17 for 258 and a TD. Tyson Ringler caught 14 passes for 208 yards and a score, Reymer had 11 catches for 179 and two TDS, Shawn Bailey caught 10 passes for 163 yards and two scores and Brice Perkins caught four passes for 66 yards and a TD.
Defensively, the Cougars were among the best in the state. The defense even scored 26 points, returning three of its 15 interceptions for touchdowns, one of its eight fumble recoveries for a score and had a safety. That is 23 turnovers in 10 games for those keeping score.
The Cougars allowed just 936 yards rushing and 778 passing for a total of 171.4 yards per game. They collected 18 sacks and 54 quarterback hurries, so they didn't allow a QB to get comfortable in the backfield.
Reymer was the leader defensively with 98 tackles, two for a loss, two interceptions with one pick-six. Bailey had 74 tackles, three for a loss, with a sack, two interceptions, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery for a score. Owen Barker became the all-time sack king at Crestview with 25.5 for his career and had 67 tackles, 24 for a loss, 11 sacks, 27 QB pressures, a pass breakup, three forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and a safety this season.
Cunningham was special in the secondary with five interceptions and 10 pass breakups to go with three fumble recoveries, one forced fumble and a blocked punt.
The Cougars were special on special teams as well. Devin Holloway was one of the best kickers in Richland County, nailing three field goals with a long of 40 along with going 45 of 51 on PAT attempts. Five of the misses were blocked.
Barker handled the punting with 16 kicks for 552 yards (34.5 average), had seven downed inside the 20 and a long of 60 yards.
Offense, defense and special teams. All three phases of the game, and Crestview owned all three.2. Dalton (8-2) 16
3. Northwestern (8-2): 28
4. Colonel Crawford (8-2): 30
5. Norwayne (7-3): 38
6. Hillsdale (6-4): 52
7. Loudonville (6-4): 58
8. Orrville (6-4): 61
9. Smithville (6-4): 78
10. Black River (6-4): 86
11. Lucas (4-6): 86
12. Mapleton (6-4): 88
13. Triway (4-6): 99
14. South Central (3-7): 114
15. Tuslaw (3-7): 124
16. Plymouth (3-7): 129
17. Waynedale (3-7): 135
18. Wynford (2-8): 145
19. Bucyrus (2-8): 151
20. Buckeye Central (3-7): 156
21. Chippewa (2-8): 169
22. Rittman (2-8): 173
23. Crestline (0-10): 184
This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Route 30 Rankings: Crestview, West Holmes take poll championships
