NORTH ROBINSON — Trevor Vogt wasted no time in getting Colonel Crawford on the scoreboard.
The senior took the opening kickoff 75 yards as the Eagles struck paydirt with just 10 seconds clicked off the clock. From there it was a cakewalk with the Eagles (3-0) defeating East Knox 49-15 to stay unbeaten and treat the Senior Night crowd to a stellar showing.
“We had so much energy in the locker room. It’s senior night and it’s my last first home game. We were looking to score; that’s our cheer every time we come out for kickoff —returners score on three — and we did it,” Vogt said.
“We blocked that really well. That was phenomenal blocking. I give all the credit to the blockers.”
Vogt had a complete game rushing for 123 yards and throwing for 77, scoring three touchdowns.
After holding the Bulldogs to three and out, Crawford got the ball back and Vogt went to work again, this time a 43-yard run on an option to the left side. He got a huge block from wideout Lucas Foy.
“Our receivers are great at blocking in space. We emphasize that so much. It’s great to open up lanes downfield.”
Vogt and Eagles head coach Jake Bruner were glad to be home. After two road wins and nearly 600 miles of travel that included trips to the Ohio River and then Toledo, the Eagles hosted the first of three games at H.J. Gary Field.
“It’s so much nicer showing up an hour and 45 minutes before a game instead of a day before a game,” Vogt said.
The Eagles went up 21-7 after a quarter and had control from that point forward.
“We just felt like we were one score away from putting it away. That first quarter, my goodness, might have been the longest first quarter ever. It’s what happens when you score on the opening kickoff,” Bruner said.
“I thought we were good at times. Credit East Knox. They have some really good football players. Lot of guys back from last year — offensive line, linebackers — guys who played a lot and they’re really physical.”
Crawford took a 28-7 lead at halftime thanks to Connor McMichael’s 57-yard touchdown pass from Vogt and an 18-yard run in the second quarter.
McMichael had 9 carries for 50 yards and backfield mate Micah Thomas plowing his way for 118 yards on 17 carries.
“Our young team is coming along. We’re getting better. It’s just a process. We got some veteran guys and some young guys, and it shows sometimes. I thought our special teams were really good tonight,” Bruner added.
Senior Braxton Morton converted all 7 PATs. Vogt and Tyler Smith had interceptions for Crawford. Sophomore defensive lineman Payne DeGray had a big hit to end the first half.
“We talked about how important this game would be. The River win was a big win because that’s a really good football team. This team has two good running backs. Number 55 (Alex Dolby) is a dude and number 10 (ILB Blake Elliott) is the leading the state in tackles.”
Elliott scored the first EK touchdown from 2 yards out and recorded numerous tackles on defense.
“We were concerned about being in a four-quarter physical battle. It felt like that for a while and the second half we turned the tide a little bit,” Bruner said.
The second half was all Eagles with Vogt’s 25-yard scramble and Thomas blasting in from 18 yards and adding a 14-yard run in the final quarter.
Vogt has taken over at quarterback after playing receiver in previous seasons and the 6-foot-2, 185-pounder has embraced the change.
“Last year I had to be somewhat of a leader on the field, starting both ways and on special teams. But this year as a quarterback it’s just key that I have to keep my composure compared to last year where if I got emotional a little bit, it didn’t matter as much.
“I have to keep the guys together and make sure we aren’t freaking out in hard situations, like when they scored that touchdown.
“They had a big kick return. That could have swung some momentum, but we just stayed locked in,” Vogt said.
New faces have stepped up in key roles for Colonel Crawford thus far.
“We have so many juniors and sophomores playing right now … and they’re even freshmen players rotating in and that’s absolutely huge. We can have those guys come in and knowing what they’re doing without having to tell them every single play and it’s good for the future of our program too,” Vogt said.
The Eagles host Bucyrus (0-3) in Northern 10 Athletic Conference play next Friday night. The Bulldogs (1-2) will open KMAC play hosting Centerburg.
Box score
Score by quarters
East Knox 7 0 0 8 — 15
Colonel Crawford 21 7 14 7 — 49
Scoring summary
First quarter
CC — Trevor Vogt 75 kickoff return (Braxton Morton kick), 11:50.
CC — Vogt 43 run (Morton kick), 3:35
EK — Blake Elliott 2 run (Will Jensen kick), 2:43.
CC — Connor McMichael 57 pass from Vogt (Morton kick), 2:23.
Second quarter
CC — McMichael 18 run (Morton kick), :36.
Third quarter
CC — Vogt 25 run (Morton kick), 9:07.
CC — Micah Thomas 18 run (Morton kick), 5:49.
Fourth quarter
CC — Thomas 14 run (Morton kick), 11:40.
EK — Luke Holsinger 18 run (Dylan Reed pass from Dylan Springer), 4:09.
Individual statistics
Passing
East Knox: Jaxon Lester 5-16-2 92, Dylan Springer 1-1-2 0; Colonel Crawford: Trevor Vogt 3-8-1 77, John DeGray 0-1-0 0.
Rushing
East Knox: Luke Holsinger 7-70, Aaron White 4-9, Blake Elliott 4-4; Colonel Crawford: Trevor Vogt 12-123, Micah Thomas 17-118, Connor McMichael 9-50.
Receiving
East Knox: Bryar Householder 3-82, Bracen Davis 2-15, Parker Kimball 2-8; Colonel Crawford: Connor McMichael 1-57, Ryan McMichael 1-14, Lucas Foy 1-6.
Team statistics
EK CC
First downs 7 12
Rushing 23-147 40-291
Passes 6-17-1 3-9-0
Yards passing 94 77
Total yards 241 368
Fumbles-lost 2-1 0-0
Penalties 2-30 6-35