HUNTINGTON ÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬ” It was only Huntington HighÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬ™s second drive of the game in a 58-6 victory over St. Albans Friday, but Highlanders coach Billy Seals knew something about his quarterback looked different.
After battling an injury that forced Avonte Crawford to miss valuable practice time in the summer, he looked as strong as he has since before he was hurt, throwing three touchdowns and running for another in a blowout win that moved his squad to 2-1 on the season.
ÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬœHe was out for a couple weeks in the preseason which kind of made him rusty the first week or two of the regular season,ÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬ Seals said. ÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬœWhen he pulled it there early in the game, I said to myself that he was back. He wouldnÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬ™t have done that the last couple weeks because of mobility being an issue. When he pulled it, I knew, and we can do a lot of our offense now when the quarterback is a threat to run it.ÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬ
That was a 15-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. Crawford finished with 37 yards on the ground and completed all 12 pass attempts for 189 yards and three scores, one each to Zah Jackson (63 yards), Taviun Chandler (one yard) and Andreas Reese (64 yards).
It was an offensive display that Huntington hadnÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬ™t quite been able to show yet, edging out a 38-35 victory over Hurricane to open the season before being held to 17 points in a loss at Martinsburg.
ÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬœI donÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬ™t think anyone can stop us when weÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬ™re all on the same page and clicking. We all like to score and have fun doing it,ÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬ Crawford said after the win, admitting he was more comfortable that night than in previous weeks. ÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬœFootball games can be won in your head and if youÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬ™re mentally tough when making decisions, youÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬ™re going to win football games and that shows. Me getting mentally better is only making us better as a team.ÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬ
His play also has the potential to elevate his teammates as the season goes on.
ÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬœHeÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬ™s starting to look like the Avonte that we all know he is,ÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬ Seals said of his senior quarterback. ÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬœIÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬ™m proud of him and heÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬ™s going to continue to get better, as is his leadership. Anytime your quarterback is playing well, youÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬ™ll have a chance to win.ÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬ
Huntington (2-1) travels to Riverside (0-3) Friday night before having an open date the following week.
ÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬœJust have to come back ready to work on Monday, look at the film and get better,ÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬ Seals said. ÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬœWe have to play the game with a little more passion, thatÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬ™s the one thing that IÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬ™ve probably been disappointed with, weÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬ™ve got to show it more.ÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬ
Luke Creasy is a sports reporter for HD ÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬ. He can be reached by phone at 304-526-2800.
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