By Tom Williams

williams@vindy.com

NEW WATERFORD

South Range senior running back Joe Alessi rushed for 307 yards and scored five touchdowns.

It wasn’t nearly enough.

Crestview senior quarterback Jesse Best rushed for 315 yards, passed for 83 more and scored six touchdowns Friday as Crestview shredded the defending Inter Tri-County League Tier One champions, 63-42.

Perhaps the most stunning number in a game that had 988 total yards was six — that’s the yards the Raiders were limited to in the fourth quarter.

Alessi had 223 yards rushing in the first half.

“He’s a crazy athlete; so fast,” Rebels senior linebacker Derek Kozlowski said. “If he spots a mistake, he’s going to capitalize.

“It’s awesome, it’s great for our program,” Kozlowski said. “A lot of people were questioning us.”

After going 9-1 last season and advancing to the Division V Region 15 final, the Rebels (3-2, 2-0), lost two of their first three games. The Raiders (3-2, 1-1) were unbeaten last season before losing in the Div. VI Region 19 semifinals.

“It feels great to get them after losing last year,” Best said. “This is a great feeling, for sure.”

In the second quarter, it appeared that the Raiders were on their way to a blowout. But moments after Alessi’s 25-yard touchdown gave South Range a 21-7 lead, Best broke free for a 66-yard touchdown.

The turning point came late in the second quarter when the Rebels stopped the Raiders near the own goal line. That set up Zach Hicks’ 43-yard punt return for a touchdown with 12 seconds remaining in the half to reduce South Range’s lead to 28-26.

“It felt great — there’s nothing better than ending the first half with a touchdown,” Hicks said.

Gino Collins made the hit of the game on the second-half kickoff when he stripped the ball from Raiders returner Nick Stanton and Cody Mackall recovered at the 28.

One of Best’s four second-half touchdowns followed.

“Best is a great quarterback,” South Range head coach Dan Yeagley said. “You have to play your very best when your playing [Crestview].

“You can’t make mistakes against great teams,” Yeagley said. “They make you pay.

“We made mistakes.”

On the next possession, Best scored on a 45-yard run then hit Evan Beachler on the conversion for a 41-28 lead.

“Hicks made a great play on the punt return,” Best said. “That and the turnover really just catapulted us — we had great momentum in the second half. We just kept the ball rolling.”

The Raiders responded. Alessi ripped off a 30-yard gain and Greg Dunham on a reverse ran 37 yards to set up Alessi’s 1-yard touchdown for a 41-35 score.

After the Rebels and Raiders exchanged touchdowns late in the third quarter, the Rebels seized control. One of Best’s fourth-quarter scores covered 54 yards.

“There was a lot of confidence, but we had to make sure we didn’t get cocky, you know?” Best said. “Keep our foot on the gas.”

Crestview head coach Paul Cusick was surprised at how well Alessi was stopped in the fourth quarter.

“He’s a great running back — he just slips and slides,” Cusick said. “There were times when we were in position [to stop Alessi] and he just made guys miss. We did a little bit of a better job of tackling in the second half, but you aren’t going to contain a kid like that.”

Raiders quarterback Ryan Miller passed for 65 yards, including a 43-yard touchdown to Dunham on their first play.