Team

Crestview

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

Team

Warren JFK

Record	Div.	Conf.
3/6	Div. VII	North Coast League

QB DeSalvo throws for TD, runs for one

By John Bassetti

sports@vindy.com

WARREN

At Mollenkopf Stadium on Friday night, there was a bigger crowd and a much more decisive outcome with Warren Harding beating Fitch, 38-0.

On Saturday night, the attendance was much less, but the outcome hung in the balance until the last few minutes before Crestview finally defeated Warren JFK, 20-13, in what is believed to be a first-time meeting between the schools.

Spencer DeSalvo threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Caleb Hill and the senior quarterback also ran 5 yards for another score at 8:49 of the fourth quarter, when Crestview finally went ahead for good, 13-10.

Then Tyler Stratton’s 27-yard TD run pushed the Rebels’ lead to 20-10. Stratton’s TD followed Tyler Fitzsimmons’ fumble recovery for Crestview (4-0).

“I thought our defense really stepped up in the second half,” Crestview coach Paul Cusick said of his Rebels (4-0) stuffing JFK in the trenches when it counted.

“It was a physical game,” Cusick said. “Both teams played their hearts out, but, in the end, it just came down to who was going to make that play and, fortunately, we did.”

“I felt that if we kept our pace up and kept being physical, I thought we could make some plays and that’s what happened in the fourth quarter.”

Crestview chewed up 271 on the ground, while the Rebels’ defense limited JFK to 104.

Zach Hicks carried 21 times for 124 yards for the winners, while DeSalvo added 113 on 18 carries, followed by Stratton’s 34 yards on four attempts.

Bobbv Jefferson was 11 of 14 for 102 yards passing for the Eagles (3-1) and the senior transfer from East High put the game’s first points on the board with a 1-yard TD run, followed by Justin Bofenkamp’s point-after kick for a 7-0 JFK lead.

With his 42-yard field goal in the third quarter, Bofenkemp tied a JFK school record, which was established by his older brother, Eric, who was in attendance at Mollenkopf after playing for Saint Francis University earlier in the day against Youngstown State.

“When you watch them on film, you see that they’re very well-coached and their kids play hard,” Cusick said. “It was no surprise to me at all that it was as close as it was.”