By matthew peaslee

mpeaslee@vindy.com

Team

Crestview

Record	Div.	Conf.
6/4	Div. V	Independents

NEW WATERFORD

Last spring, Crestview and St. Thomas Aquinas were each in a bind. Both schools had football scrimmages lined up for the upcoming summer, but those plans went awry.

“Our team canceled on us and their one team canceled on them,” Aquinas coach Tim Budd said.

So, they got together, hoping to get a taste of what the Division V season had in store.

“We couldn’t have predicted that we’d see each other again,” Budd said.

They will tonight. The Rebels and Knights go eye-to-eye again, three months after their preseason meeting, at 7:30 at Ravenna High School Stadium.

“The teams are indeed similar in doing a lot of the same things,” Crestview coach Paul Cusick said. “We run the football, they run they football. We’re aggressive, they’re aggressive. On defense, we each try to get after the ball.”

The Rebels won the scrimmage 7-3, but so much has changed over the course of the season.

Aquinas started the year with three-straight losses, then rallied to win five straight. A loss to Canal Fulton Northwest in Week 9 was deflating as Budd felt the playoffs were simply a pipe dream even though his team had bounced back from the early-season struggles.

The way it looked, beating Canton Central Catholic was the way to cap off a roller-coaster season.

“As independents, our main goal is to beat Central Catholic every year,” Budd said. “The focus that week was beating them — the playoffs weren’t even on our mind.”

A 21-0 shutout over the Crusaders was the boost Aquinas needed to reach the postseason for the first time since 1988. Downing Woodsfield Monroe Central in the regional quarterfinal was the Knights’ first playoff win since 1985.

“These guys have been grounded all year,” said Budd, a 1995 graduate of Aquinas. “Nothing has come easy for us. We’re not really thinking of it as a special season for us yet.”

The do have a special quarterback, though.

Tyler Moeglin has accumulated 991 yards through the air and has 673 rushing yards on 112 attempts.

“He makes plays for them,” Cusick said. “He reads their offense and makes sure to throw when he can and take off when he can — he’s very athletic.”

Budd is equally wary of what the Rebels’ offense offers.

Running back Nick Blower averages 138.8 yards a game with 10.4 yards per carry. He ran for 260 yards in last week’s 44-20 win over Cuyahoga Falls.

“It’s going to be a gritty, close game,” Cusick said. “Both teams are hungry and intense.”