Cadets rally late to edge Independence

INDEPENDENCE - An impressive second half rally by the Crestwood varsity football team allowed the Cadets to trip the Independence Mustangs, 25-21, on Friday, Sept. 11. 

The win improved Crestwood’s overall mark to 3-0. The Cadets will face New Hampton (2-1) on the road on Sept. 18 in the first district contest of the season.

Friday’s win over the Mustangs was definitely not a work of art by Crestwood, but as the late Al Davis used to say, ‘Just Win Baby!’

With 17 seconds left in the third quarter, Cadet quarterback Alex Loden completed a 65-yard touchdown pass to Finn Donlan. Mitchell Williams nailed the extra point kick to give Crestwood a 25-21 lead. 

With less than two minutes remaining in the fourth, Independence moved the ball from their own 40 to the Cadets’ 26 yard line. The Mustangs’ drive ended when Crestwood junior Lux Smith intercepted a pass in the end zone with 1:36 left. The Cadets were able to run out the clock and secure the hard-fought win.

Crestwood Head Coach Justin Denner was pleased to notch the win, but he admitted his team did not play great for all four quarters.

“I give credit to Independence because they played one heck of a game,” Denner said. “They played the game they wanted to play. They controlled the game. On their first drive, they held the ball for almost seven minutes before scoring a touchdown.

“At halftime, Independence only had three offensive possessions and we had two. They executed their game plan, but we fought hard. 

“This wasn’t where we wanted to be standard-wise in terms of play, and our guys know that. We just need to continue to get better, and that’s not just players - we as coaches didn’t do a great job getting everyone ready to go. Still, it’s great to be 3-0 going into district play, but ultimately, we’re back to 0-0 (in district play).

“What we did and whatever everyone else did in non-district games doesn’t matter. We’ve got a big game coming against New Hampton down there (on Sept. 18), and we know they’ll be ready for us,” Denner said.

The coach said the Cadets didn’t make many adjustments in the second half after falling behind 14-12 at halftime.

“We just played better in the second half,” Denner said. “We executed better. Alex (Loden) made a great pass to Finn (Donlan) for the touchdown in the third, which was huge. Lux (Smith) had a big interception for us in the end zone late in the game. We made plays on both sides of the ball in the second half."