Football Preview: Crestview Rebels vs. Garfield G-Men
Crestview is on a eight-game streak of home wins (dating back to last season), while Garfield is on a three-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. The Crestview Rebels will challenge the Garfield G-Men at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Last Friday, Crestview took their game on the road with ease, bagging a 43-7 win over Champion. Given the Rebels' advantage in MaxPreps' Ohio football rankings (they are ranked 308th, while the Golden Flashes are ranked 671st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Crestview can attribute much of their success to Maxwell Hawkins, who rushed for 129 yards and three touchdowns on only 14 carries, and Jake Noling, who threw for 101 yards and two touchdowns on perfect 8-for-8 passing. Hawkins is on a roll when it comes to rushing touchdowns, as he's now punched in two or more in the last seven games he's played dating back to last season.
Crestview's defense stepped up as well, laying out the QB six times. AJ McEwen was especially locked on to Champion's QB and sacked him twice. McEwen also set a new season high mark in total tackles with six.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Crestview was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 241 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 241 rushing yards in seven consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, while Garfield put up plenty of points on Friday, the same can't be said for Newton Falls. Garfield simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Newton Falls 40-0 at home. With that victory, the G-Men brought their scoring average up to 27.2 points per game.
Garfield found their leader in underclassman Devin Bates, who rushed for 120 yards and two touchdowns. Those 120 rushing yards gave Bates a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Ryder Cain, who rushed for 70 yards and a touchdown.
Crestview's win bumped their record up to 7-1. As for Garfield, their victory bumped their record up to an identical 7-1.
Friday's matchup might be decided in the on the ground. Crestview has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 290.8 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Garfield struggles in that department as they've been averaging 270.1. It's looking like Friday's match might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Crestview was taken down by Garfield 56-7 in their previous meeting back in October of 2023. That game was all but decided by halftime, at which point Crestview was down 42-7.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
