Crescent Grinds out road win at OCA

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  • OCA and Crescent players gather for a postgame prayer
    OCA and Crescent players gather for a postgame prayer
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Luke Descher took the handoff and sprinted left through the hole in the defense.

He reached the end zone untouched, sealing Crescent’s 22-8 win Thursday night against Oklahoma Christian Academy at Edmond North’s Husky Stadium.

Crescent (6-1 overall, 4-0 District A-3) used a dominant running game to score when it was most needed.

OCA (1-7, 1-4) moved the ball into Tiger territory on multiple occasions but only reached the end zone once.

Eagles coach Grey Powell said penalties killed OCA’s momentum on several offensive drives.

“We get down there, and whether it’s a lack of focus or nerves, we’ve struggled getting the ball in the end zone this year,” Powell said. “I think tonight, it just kinda showed when we got down there, ‘Hey, we can do this,’ and then those nerves got the best of us and then we had some crucial penalties that prevented us from being as successful as we would like to be and can be.”

One of the biggest penalties came late in the third quarter. OCA trailed 14-8 but reached the Crescent 14-yard line. The Eagles gained three yards on first down, but a chop block penalty backed them up to the 27. The Tigers’ defense took over and ultimately forced a fourth down incompletion, denying the Eagles a chance to take the lead.

Crescent coach J.L. Fisher said OCA tested the Eagles, but the inexperienced Tigers did enough to win.

“We’re a bend but don’t break type of defense,” Fisher said. “Hopefully, we can continue to do that throughout the season. We tell our kids, ‘Hey, teams are going to get yards on us. They’re gonna throw the ball, they’re gonna run, but we just gotta keep playing every single play. Have a short memory. Move on to the next play and try to improve on the mistakes you made early on.’”

Descher, a sophomore running back, scored his game-sealing touchdown with 5:16 remaining in the fourth quarter. Both teams scored the rest of their points in the second quarter.

Crescent senior quarterback Hunter Wilmoth scored the game’s first points when he ran untouched into the end zone early in the second quarter. After an OCA fumble, freshman running back C.J. Wilson powered his way in. Wilmoth scored the 2-point conversion on a similar play to his touchdown.

The Eagles scored their only points 26 seconds before halftime when senior quarterback James Henault connected with sophomore wide receiver Lamar Crawford for a touchdown. Sophomore running back Antone Prince scored the 2-point conversion.

Wilmoth led the Tigers with several great runs, but he also contributed on defense with an interception after an Eagles receiver tipped a high pass into the air. Despite his performance, Wilmoth was tough on himself after the game.

“Not good enough,” Wilmoth said. “We won, it was an ugly win, but we gotta play better to keep moving. I feel like I played well, but we need to get better.”

Both coaches said OCA getting some players back from injury helped the Eagles put up a fight, but the Tigers did enough to continue their winning ways and secured their fifth-straight win against OCA.

 

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