Rootstown has enjoyed a three-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will wrap up 2023 with a road trip to face off against the Crestwood Red Devils at 6:45 p.m. on Wednesday. Rootstown will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps Ohio Rankings (they are ranked 611th, while Crestwood is ranked 124th).
Last Friday, Rootstown came up short against Lake Center Christian and fell 51-41. Rootstown has struggled against Lake Center Christian recently, as their game on Friday was their seventh consecutive lost matchup.
Meanwhile, Crestwood put another one in the bag on Wednesday to keep their perfect season alive. Everything went their way against Cardinal as Crestwood made off with a 78-53 victory. Crestwood's offense stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most points they've scored all season.
Dekota Johnson was his usual excellent self, scoring 28 points along with five rebounds and four steals. Those four steals set a new season-high mark for him. James Durham was another key contributor, scoring eight points along with 12 rebounds and four blocks.
Rootstown's defeat dropped their record down to 2-4. As for Crestwood, their victory was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 6-0.
Rootstown couldn't quite finish off Crestwood when the teams last played back in December of 2022 and fell 61-58. Can Rootstown avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
