Running man: Philo's Talon Preston carried a heavy load in a must-win against Crooksville

McLUNEY — When Crooksville's defenders laid their heads to rest on Friday night, they likely had visions of Talon Preston running over, through and around them.

With its playoff hopes hanging in the balance, Preston terrorized his neighboring rivals with 151 of his 178 yards in the first half, as the Electrics scored 37 unanswered points in a 37-7 win in a Muskingum Valley League crossover at Ceramic Stadium.

Both teams left at 4-2 with the division schedules awaiting.

Here are three things we learned:

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1. Philo is finding traction

Philo maintained its top-10 positioning in Division IV, Region 15 with a three-game gauntlet against Sheridan, John Glenn and Tri-Valley forthcoming in Big School play.

But Philo coach Dirk Lincicome feels better about his team, which faced Athens and New Lexington — a combined 9-1 entering Friday — in consecutive weeks to start the season. They are 3-0 since, with Friday accounting for its most complete performance to date.

The Electrics shook off an inauspicious start by amassing four straight drives for touchdowns to end the half in building a 27-7 lead. They finished with 280 yards rushing for a 5.8-yard average.

"We knew what we were up against," Crooksville coach Nathan Van Meter said. "Philo is a physical football team, and we knew they were going to run the football. It took too long for us to make our adjustments in that second quarter, where they continued to run the ball down our throat. I like our adjustments in the second half."

Lincicome confirmed Friday was a game his team "had to have" given the schedule lurking. He admitted that he underestimated Athens and New Lex a bit, adding they were even better than he expected.

"Those are two good football teams," Lincicome said. "It was nice to see us bounce back against Maysville and kind of pick up steam every week since then. Give credit to Nate, he has done a good job here to have these guys sitting at 4-1. They are a good football team."

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2. Preston has settled in at running back

The 6-foot-1, 185-pounder ran his season total to 745 yards and 12 touchdowns after moving from quarterback to running back to start the season. He also leads the team with 10 catches for 160 yards.

Both elements were on display at key times against a Ceramic defense that entered as one of the league's best statistically.

He played the role of hammer against a smaller Ceramic defense that relies more on quickness than size, but Preston's running and the advantage in the trenches proved to be a blissful marriage.

He had eight carries of at least 10 yards before halftime and caught a 27-yard pass on third-and-18 to set up a score late in the second quarter. Jack Lincicome's 112-yard passing effort, which included a 33-yard strike to Aidan Mahon to set up Preston's third-quarter touchdown, provided balance.

Philo held a 257-66 edge in yards at the half, with Preston accounting for almost 200 of them.

"He is just a physical runner," Lincicome said. "He plays defense, too. He's just special, and he's so easy to coach."

3. Crooksville's failed gamble turned momentum

The game was tied at 7 after Philo drove 75 yards in 11 plays to hit paydirt on Lincicome's 2-yard sneak with 4:22 left in the first quarter.

Crooksville soon found itself at midfield after Brayson Hill kept an option 15 yards. But after failing to convert a third-and-2, Van Meter chose to go for it on fourth-and-1. It backfired when Kam Potter was stuffed at the line of scrimmage by Jacob Savage.

Philo turned that into a 2-yard touchdown from backup quarterback Wyatt Tysinger after four straight Preston runs netted 37 yards. Cohen Davis' second extra point made it 14-7, starting a string of 23 unanswered points.

Van Meter didn't regret the decision, "because I've got faith in my defense if we don't make it. Looking back, I just wish I'd have put it in my best athlete's hands."

That would be Hill, the Ceramics' sophomore quarterback who entered Friday second in area rushing and passed for 220 yards against Morgan in Week 5.

But Van Meter pulled him for the rest of the game on the next series after receiving an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in the second quarter for removing his helmet. It came on the heels from being ejected for two unsportsmanlike penalties in a 19-7 win at Racine Southern in Week 2, after he scored three touchdowns in the first half. Van Meter removed Potter, the team's second-leading rusher, shortly after for disciplinary issues.

Consider the message sent.

"That is part of the culture we want to represent," Van Meter said. "It's discipline, assignments and team football. It's not 'I' and 'me.' And that's what we have to buy into. Young guys that get put into these roles, they have to learn that. That's a big part of it, the growth and maturation as a young high school athlete."

He confirmed they are decisions that weigh on him as a coach.

"It eats me," Van Meter said. "I told Brayson, 'This isn't a me and you thing. This is you putting us in that position, and I have to stick to my guns.'"

sblackbu@gannett.com; X: @SamBlackburnTR

(This story has been updated to add new information.)

This article originally appeared on Zanesville Times Recorder: Running man: Philo's Talon Preston carried a heavy load in a must-win against Crooksville