COLUMBIANA — Crestview Rebels run for 444 yards in 41-12 victory over Waynedale Bears.

By Eric Hamilton

COLUMBIANA — At 6-foot-4, 238 pounds, Crestview senior lineman J.D. Harris doesn’t have the look of an art critic, but he still knows a masterpiece when he sees it.

And what he and the rest of the Rebels’ offensive line saw during Saturday night’s 41-12 victory over Waynedale in the first round of the Division V playoffs, was a thing of beauty.

“It was like watching a picture paint itself,” said Harris, as he reflected on the 227 rushing by senior Corey Hill. “We know if we make the holes, Corey and the other backs will do the rest. It’s amazing to watch.”

By the end of the night, the Waynedale defense had seen enough. Led by Hill, Crestview rushed for 444 yards and reeled off 35 straight points to turn a 6-all tie into a rout.

“All week, we told the kids that Waynedale prides itself on being physical and we wanted to meet that challenge and we did tonight,” Crestview coach Paul Cusick said. “Our offensive line just took over and played very physical. When we get great blocks up front like that, we get great runs.

“We thought if we could keep them to 17 points or less, then we’d have a chance to be successful. Our defense played physical and they wanted to make that statement tonight. This is a great victory and we take pride in representing our league.”

Crestview advances to a Region 17 semifinal contest against Kirtland at a neutral site next Saturday night.

The Rebels will bring with it a running game that Waynedale had no answer for. In addition to Hill’s 227 yards, his brother Carter burned the defense for 164 yards on 16 carries. The sophomore scored a touchdown and threw a scoring pass to Corey.

The eldest Hill went over 2,000 yards on the season and scored five touchdowns — four on the ground.

“All the backs have to do is run through the holes the linemen make,” said Hill, who also caught four passes for 54 yards. “Those guys just enjoy what they do and wouldn’t want to do anything else but block for us.

“We thought this would be a closer game, but we were just more physical than they were. Our defense was our best offense, because they kept Waynedale off the field and we were able to put up some points.”

The Crestview defense forced three turnovers, including two interceptions inside the red zone. Waynedale mustered 192 total yards and seven first downs.

Trailing 34-6 at halftime, the Bears even tried some trickery in an attempt to get things going. A fake punt was successful on the first drive of the third quarter.

But a halfback pass on the next snap failed and four plays later, Crestview’s Brian Orr intercepted a pass at the 1 yard line to turn back a scoring opportunity.

The Rebels responded with a 12-play, 99-yard scoring drive, as Crestview increased its advantage to 41-6 with 3:23 left in the third quarter.

Waynedale scored on its first and last drives of the game.

After Hill scored from 47 yards out on Crestview’s opening possession, the Bears parlayed a 85-yard kickoff return to the Crestview 5 into a 6-yard touchdown pass. Both teams missed the extra points and the game was knotted at 6-all.