Saturday success: What we learned from Crooksville football's rout at Fisher Catholic

LANCASTER — Nathan Van Meter's first win as head coach was one made with emphasis.

His Crooksville squad yielded 27 total yards in a 36-0 win against host Lancaster Fisher Catholic on Saturday night at Fulton Field, the Ceramics' first on the road since Oct. 18, 2019, at West Muskingum. It snapped a 23-game losing streak away from home.

Sophomore quarterback Brayson Hill, in his second season as a starter, accounted for five touchdowns, including three in the game's final 13:03 to break open an 18-0 game late in the third quarter. Three came on the ground.

Crooksville returns to the road in Week 2 with a game against Racine Southern, which defeated Crown City South Gallia, 38-20, in its opener. The Ceramics handed Southern a 31-6 loss last season.

Here is what we learned from Saturday's game:

1. Van Meter is making successful transition

A young Ceramics team handed Fisher a 59-7 loss in last year's opener in McLuney, and with much of that team back the win on Saturday didn't exactly shock the natives.

But given the circumstances, it was still noteworthy. It took a few weeks, but Van Meter has settled in as head coach after taking over for Gage Lotozo just before the start of two-a-day practices. Lotozo resigned due to health reasons after two seasons.

Van Meter said that Saturday's win was due largely to the structure that was in place prior to his arrival, particularly in practice.

"It was here, and being able to fill in and do those things, and I have got coaches in the right positions," Van Meter said. "These are some games we thought we could compete in."

After two scrimmages where the full roster wasn't intact due to injuries and other issues, the full product never let the Irish breathe offensively.

Hill said he still loves Lotozo but said Van Meter has settled in as the team's new leader. The players are officially on board.

"(Gage) and I were super close and he was all about leadership and keeping everybody's heads up, but Coach Van Meter has done a fine job of coming up into that position," Hill said. "It's perfectly normal now."

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2. Hill is developing fast

Another year of maturity and offseason training has made Hill more explosive, as evidenced by multiple highlight-reel scrambles that were awfully reminiscent of his current head coach back in his playing days.

He also had a 46-yard keeper on an option that led to the team's third touchdown, Hill's 18-yard scoring strike to Eli Sprankle that pushed the lead to 18-0 with 6:28 in the third quarter. He added a 23-yard scoring toss to Hunter Hurst at the 1:06 mark, then ran for scores of 13 and 5 yards in the fourth.

He finished with 12 carries for 132 yards.

"It's about getting everybody comfortable," Hill said. "We have a bunch of young guys coming up — our whole line is young and we just needed to get the first-game varsity jitters out. Once everybody got settled in we were perfectly fine."

Van Meter called him "a special leader," adding that he is more driven to succeed than any player he has coached.

"And you just don't see that out of a young kid," Van Meter said. "There are a lot of young kids that want to play, but he works. In the weight room, he's a dog. In the classroom, he's a dog. He's just a good kid overall, and he fits in to what we want to have in that leadership role."

Hill praised the underclassmen on both sides of the ball, players he said are dedicated to bring success back to a program that was once among the area's most respected with 17 playoff appearances. If it happens, Hill's talents will be a big reason.

"That is our whole main goal," Hill said. "Our main goal this game was first road game win in four years. We were just so dialed in and focused, working so hard."

Having a former quarterback in Van Meter as his head coach has helped their communication, Hill said.

"Every time I am looking over at him he is giving me tips," Hill said. "Me as a young kid, just listening to him helps a bunch."

3. Hurst is leading a quick, aggressive defense

Led by the 6-1, 175-pound Hurst, Crooksville never yielded a player longer than 10 yards. They also forced five first-half punts and turned a third-quarter fumble return from inside linebacker Gavin Mount into a Hill TD.

Fisher's only threat, after an errant punt snap gave the Irish possession at Crooksville's 12-yard line in the first quarter, resulted in no points after being stuffed on four straight running plays. Van Meter liked how they held up against the Irish's size.

"They hit us in the mouth early," Van Meter said. "For us to respond the way we did, and not have any stupid penalties like we have shown early, that is something that I have stressed these last two weeks in the preseason. We have to get better mentally to be able to handle adversity. This is the first road win these seniors have ever had."

It was still 6-0 when Hurst stepped in front of a Grant Keefer screen pass and sprinted 40 yards to the end zone. He later had a third-down sack off the edge. All of this came before he caught a touchdown.

"For these seniors, there was a different type of energy that I've felt for the last week," Van Meter said. "It started to get more physical and they started to get involved in the football things that you like to see. At first, I didn't have a feel for the pulse of the team. Now I'm a little more confident."

sblackbu@gannett.com; X: @SamBlackburnTR

This article originally appeared on Zanesville Times Recorder: Saturday success: What we learned from Crooksville football's rout at Fisher Catholic