Late touchdown is one Crossings won't forget

A jubilant Crossings Christian football coach Jonathan Keathly made a prediction to the Knights in their postgame huddle Friday night.

“Thirty years from now ,” K ea th ly said, “you' re going to be saying, `Remember that night we scored with 25 seconds left to beat Christian Heritage?' This is one you're not going to forget.”

A dramatic game with eight lead changes was decided by a 33- yard touchdown pass from Crossings quarterback Owen Crotts to Hunter Johnson with 25.7 seconds showing on the clock, giving the Knights a 31-27 win over No. 6 Christian Heritage in a key District A-3 game at Crossings.

Crotts, a senior, completed 16 of 22 passes for 189 yards and four touchdowns, two each to Johnson (four catches, 79 yards) and Mason Snyder (five catches, 50 yards). The Knights' defense did its part, too, limiting Christian Heritage (4-2, 0-2) to 62 rushing yards and 236 yards overall. That helped the Knights overcome three lost fumbles, including one in their own end zone that resulted in a CHA touchdown.

“I was glad that we overcame a lot of adversity,” Keathly said. “They're a great team and I think we proved we're on our way to becoming a great team, too. I'm really proud of the way we finished. This win will give us a lot of confidence. We still have some work to do, but this was a great win for us.

“This was exciting. It's what high school football is all about.”

Crossings (4-3, 3-1) took a 24-20 lead on a 15-yard touchdown pass from Crotts to Snyder with 8:55 left and the Knights then forced a CH A punt, but the bouncing football hit Gavin Bender and Camp Bullard recovered for CHA at the Crossings 45. Nine plays later, quarterback Denver Rhymer scored on a 1-yard sneak to put the Crusaders ahead 27-24 with 2:30 left.

The Knights converted two fourth downs on their winning drive, which started on their own 35. Both times, it was Crotts passing to Johnson. On the decisive play, Johnson broke behind a CHA defender and Crotts lofted him a perfect pass in stride.

“It was fourth down earlier and we had to execute on that,” Crotts said. “That was a deciding factor. We just had to execute (again) on the last play and make the play and get the win.”

Rhymer also had a solid passing game for CHA, completing 17 of 25 passes for 154 yards, while Cade Hale had seven catches for 89 yards and a touchdown.

In brutal District A-3, which features CHA along with No. 1 Cashion and No. 3 Minco, Crossings would appear to be in good shape to secure a playoff berth, while the Crusaders — who earlier lost to Cashion — now find themselves in need of a strong finish to ensure a trip to the postseason.

Michael Morris booted a 28-yard field goal to cap Crossings' opening drive, which was the only scoring until a wild second quarter.

First, CHA scored on a trick play, with receiver Carson Bullard hitting Hale on a 20-yard, fourthdown touchdown pass to put the Crusaders ahead 6-3. Crossings quickly answered, with Crotts connecting with Snyder, who rumbled in from 17 yards out to put his team ahead 10-6.

A punt by Carson Bullard pinned Crossings inside its own 1-yard line and when Crotts fumbled on the first play, CHA's Luke Wolfard recovered for a touchdown. But the Knights responded again, as Bender returned the ensuing kickoff to the CHA 34 and Crotts threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to Johnson with 51 seconds left in the first half, giving the Knights a 17-13 lead.