Morning Journal The returning lettermen on the 2024 Crestview football team.

COLUMBIANA — The Crestview Rebels were a much better team at the end of the 2023 season than when they started.

In 2024, they are looking to build on the experience and cohesion that they developed last year to reach the playoffs. With all the experienced returners they have coming back, the Rebels are aiming high.

“We were extremely young and inexperienced,” head coach Dominic Perry said. “We were trying to do our own thing a little bit, so it took us some time to start to jell. The Brookfield game, when we came back in the second half, had a lot of success and ended up winning that game. It gave our kids a lot of confidence.”

That game in week five, against an always tough Brookfield team marked the beginning of when the Rebels started to see a dramatic difference in their overall play.

After falling behind 20-0 in the second quarter, the Rebels outscored the Warriors 43-6 to record just their second victory on the season. The Warriors had entered that game with a 3-2 mark, including a 2-0 record in the MVAC.

“It was the Brookfield game. The kids started buying in a little bit more. We were really young, so it took them a while to jell and get going, so that was the turning point for us,” Perry said.

The Rebels would go on to win three of their final four regular-season games, only losing to eventual MVAC league champion Garfield in week nine. After starting the season with four consecutive losses, where the Rebels didn’t score more than 14 points, Crestview finished the regular season with a 5-5 record, earning the 11th playoff position in the OHSAA computer points standings.

“I think after our fourth game there was just something that clicked,” senior Jameson English said. “In practice, we started practicing harder and everything seemed to start coming easier to us in a way.”

Unfortunately for the Rebels, they dropped a heartbreaking 16-14 playoff game to Pymatuning Valley to close the 2023 season. Two-point conversions by the Lakers on both their touchdowns proved to be the difference in the game.

“Obviously that playoff loss got to us all. We are really hoping to get back there and not let what happened to us last year (happen again),” English said.

The key now for the Rebels will be to take that second-half momentum and bring it into the 2024 season from the opening kickoff.

“That finish was tremendously important,” Perry said. “We had a pretty good off-season, and we talked a lot about accountability and working with the kids in building leadership skills. We are a lot stronger, and we have matured a bit. We are a little bit older, with seven, maybe eight starters back on both sides of the ball. That is going to help us out tremendously.”

With the majority of the starters returning on both sides of the ball, Perry is expecting more consistency on both the offense and defense. Offensively, the Rebels lost one of their top receivers from last year in Joey Carr, but most of the Rebels’ skill players return.

“Right now, the strength of our team is in the skill positions,” Perry said. “Up front, we have three starters coming back with a couple of guys battling for those last two spots. But right now, it is our skill positions.”

Arguably the top skill player for the Rebels will be senior running back Max Hawkins. Although the Rebels run a spread offense, the key to their attack is spreading the defense and pounding the ball on the ground.

“He is a tremendous help to our offense, especially when you have the defense keying on him all game long,” English said. “He is one of our best players, if not the best player on our team. So, whenever you have the defense keying on him, it gives me the chance to pull it and find a hole.”

With those skill position weapons and an offense that seemed to find its groove in the final six games last year, it may be the Rebels’ defense that will truly hold the key to their success in 2024.

“Defense has been stressed quite a bit going into this season,” Perry said. “Our defensive coordinator Eric Potts puts a lot of time in, and with us also being more experienced, I think our defense is definitely going to step up this year.”

The defense for the Rebels surrendered over 26 points per game, while the offense was racking up 23 points per contest. However, they averaged scoring over 27 and gave up 21 points after their four-game losing streak to start the season.

If the Rebels can start the 2024 season as they played in weeks four through ten of the 2023 campaign, they will be a key factor in the MVAC Grey Tier.

With a much more experienced team, and continued growth of the players in the system, they should continue to see positive results.

OFFENSE

Crestview will again run the zone spread offense they are traditionally known for. The goal will once again spread the ball to multiple weapons to force their opponents to defend from sideline to sideline.

The Rebels will benefit from the return of two experienced signal callers in senior Jameson English and junior Jake Noling. English came on in the second half of the season to throw for 229 yards with 3 TDs, while Noling passed for 325 yards.

“Whoever doesn’t play quarterback is still going to play receiver, no doubt about that,” Perry said. “They will both run the same offense.”

“Noling and I are best friends,” English said. “Whichever way we go, we will be fine. We can both interchange. We will be good.”

Despite running a spread formation, the Rebel’s bread and butter is their potent running game. Senior running back Max Hawkins (1,545 yards, 16 TDs) was the Rebels bell cow with his physical, tough running wore down opponent defenses. He will be supported by junior Mikey Proctor (265 yards, 1 TD), junior Wyatt Hart, and freshmen Trevor McElhaney and Hayden Davis.

When they are not taking snaps, English and Noling provide the Rebels with two reliable receivers. Additional weapons at the split-end position for the Rebels include juniors Ethan Kane and Ashton Dattilio. Senior Brady Davis, and junior Caidyn McElhaney and Noah Wine will battle for the starting flanker spot. The tight end position will be held by senior Luke Julian, and juniors Kyle Booth and Colton Webber.

The Rebels will need to rebuild a bit on the offensive line, but senior Jayden Kimble at guard, junior Brody Hoon at center and sophomore Shane Bacon at tackle are three experienced returning starters. The Rebels coaching staff will look to develop two additional starters and depth with senior guard Chase Nelson and tackle Josh Gragovich, along with a stable of sophomores in guards Brian Hall and Dylan Stouffer, center Ian Mascher, and tackles Carter Ray, Tanner Guy, and AJ McEwen.

DEFENSE

The strength of Crestview’s defense will be its team speed and experience.

But Perry stressed that the defense must be aggressive, and it needs to consistently make the plays. He will need them to create turnovers and help provide good field position for their offense.

They will be deep at the defensive end position with Bacon, Guy (four sacks), and McEwen all returning. Adding depth to the position will be Julian, Booth and freshman Owen Finley. Kimble returns as a starting defensive tackle with Nelson, Hoon, Hall, Mascher, sophomores Mason Scott and Kolbi Willis and freshman Gauge Wise.

“At times, we had four freshmen starting last year,” Perry said. “They had a lot of reps last season, and they had a pretty decent off-season, so we are counting on them.”

In addition to his offensive prominence, Hawkins will be a stalwart on defense as an inside linebacker alongside Proctor (73 tackles). Hart and Webber, along with freshmen Bo Julian and Trevor McElhaney provide the Rebels with depth. Dattilio and Smith will line up as outside linebackers with freshman Grant Snyder looking for playing time.

The Rebels secondary will be anchored by juniors Kane and Caidyn McElhaney (76 tackles, four INTs) with English, Wine, and Noling also playing a prominent role on defense. Nelson, along with freshmen Wyatt Ervin and Hayden Davis provide depth in the secondary.

SPECIAL TEAMS

The Rebels will need to find a new kicker with the graduation of Joey Carr.

Perry admitted that they had concentrated on special teams much in early summer workouts, but that they will have a full tryout to determine who will assume kicking duties. Hawkins served as a backup punter last year and now looks to take over the duties full-time. They will also need to replace their punt and kickoff returners with sophomore Josh Smith the only returner with experience.

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