Crawford & Grove Dominate Collinsville 49-21
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Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy! It was a battle of undefeated teams in Class 5A as #5 Grove traveled to #8 Collinsville to take on the defending state champs and the…
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It was a battle of undefeated teams in Class 5A as #5 Grove traveled to #8 Collinsville to take on the defending state champs and the district championship would more than likely be decided in this week eight clash. It was our game of the week but it turned into a rout as the Ridgerunners played about as perfect as you could, especially on the offensive side of the ball. The Ridgerunners knocked off the Cardinals, snapping their 21-game winning streak with a 49-21 victory. They were led by senior running back Emmanuel Crawford Emmanuel Crawford 5'10" | 170 lbs | RB Grove | 2023 State OK , who finished with well over 300 yards on the ground and four touchdowns in the win.
Crawford and the Ridgerunners got the scoring going on their first possession after forcing a turnover on downs. They took five plays and Crawford scored from 20 yards out to put Grove up 7-0 halfway through the first quarter. Collinsville would respond with a touchdown from quarterback Kaden Rush Kaden Rush 6'3" | 200 lbs | QB Collinsville | 2023 State OK but that would be the only success they would find on offense in the first half. From there, the Ridgerunners rattled off four touchdowns on four straight possessions to go up 35-7 at halftime. They would score on all five of their first half possessions to take the commanding lead into the halftime locker room.
Crawford added two more touchdowns, including a 70-yard score and a 56-yard score before halftime. Senior quarterback Carson Trimble Carson Trimble 6'1" | QB Grove | 2023 State OK would connect with senior Hagen Hacker for two touchdowns as well to put the Ridgerunners up by 28 at halftime. After a scoreless third quarter, both teams would add two touchdowns in the final period. Collinsville’s Jack Keith Jack Keith 6'0" | DL Collinsville | 2024 OK would score from a yard out and Rush would find junior receiver Hudson Henslick Hudson Henslick 5'9" | 155 lbs | WR Collinsville | 2024 State OK for a touchdown. Crawford and Trimble each added another touchdown on the ground.
The Ridgerunners put on an offensive clinic on Friday night, finishing with over 600 yards of total offense. Over 450 yards came on the ground and Crawford accounted for most of it, showing why he still has to be considered one of the best players in the state. With the win, the Ridgerunners snap Collinsville’s win streak, but they also prove that they belong in the state title conversation in Class 5A. This is a class that is probably the deepest and most competitive in the state and the Ridgerunners are right there in the mix for the gold ball conversation.
GROVE TOP PERFORMERS
Grove’s ground game dominated on Friday night but the offense played complete and flawless football behind the play of senior quarterback Carson Trimble Carson Trimble 6’1″ | QB Grove | 2023 State OK . Because of the meteoric rise of Crawford at running back, Trimble can sometimes be overlooked when you look at the Ridgerunners. That’s a mistake, and he showed why on Friday night. Trimble was 11-15 for 145 yards and a pair of touchdowns to fellow senior Hagen Hacker. Trimble also added 80 yards on eight carries and a short touchdown run on a QB sneak near the goal line. Trimble really stood out when the Ridgerunners faced third down and several times, he would make plays with either his arm or his legs. The UCO commit is going to be a big key to Grove’s title chances.
Grove’s senior running back Emmanuel Crawford Emmanuel Crawford 5’10” | 170 lbs | RB Grove | 2023 State OK was without a doubt the player of the game with 338 yards and four touchdowns on 24 carries. He also had 21 yards on three receptions. Crawford hasn’t had to play like Superman many times this year but he did this week. And look, Crawford has been one of the best players in the state for over a year now. His performance on Friday night shouldn’t be surprising. But what was surprising is how much better he is from when we saw him in person last. Crawford is bigger, but he still has that breakaway speed. And I don’t know how many times Collinsville thought they had him contained, wrapped up and nowhere to go, until they didn’t. Crawford reminded us of the saying “you couldn’t tackle him in a phone booth.” It played out that way on Friday night.
We JUST updated our 2025 rankings and guess what, we have another player that should have been on that list. That’s how it goes whenever we do any ranking update. And on Friday night, it didn’t take long to realize that not only should tight end Jackson Gain Jackson Gain 6’4″ | TE Grove | 2025 State OK have been on the list, but he was going to have an impact on Friday’s game. He finished with a pair of catches for 35 yards and he also had seven carries for 36 yards. You just look at Gain physically and he passes the eye test. He stands around 6’4 or 6’5 and is a match-up nightmare for opposing defenses. And he’s a pretty solid athlete for his age and size, able to move around a little bit. We definitely want to see more of Gain moving forward because he impressed Friday.
Grove’s offense grabbed all the headlines on Friday night but they weren’t the only ones shining in the week eight victory. While they did rack up over 600 yards of total offense, the defense did a great job of making Collinsville one dimensional and it started up front with junior defensive lineman Scott Cox Scott Cox 6’4″ | 275 lbs | DL Grove | 2024 State OK . While Grove racked up over 450 yards on the ground, Collinsville was limited to a little over 100 yards rushing. Cox set the tone early on that it was going to be a long night for the Collinsville ground game. As a defensive lineman, Cox has good size and like Gain, we didn’t know about him prior to the game. We’re glad that we do now because he has to be considered a defensive lineman to watch in the state’s 2024 class for the next level.
COLLINSVILLE TOP PERFORMERS
When we talked with Collinsville head coach Kevin Jones before the game, he talked about the emergence of junior wide receiver Hudson Henslick Hudson Henslick 5’9″ | 155 lbs | WR Collinsville | 2024 State OK . The junior breakout player was not only Collinsville’s leading receiver on Friday night but he’s hands down been the leading receiver on the season. He had 44 catches coming into Friday’s game and the next two receivers had 22 catches combined! On Friday night, Henslick was the brightest part of the offensive side of the ball as he was routinely getting open and also making plays after the catch. He finished with 11 catches for nearly 200 yards and a touchdown. As a prospect, Henslick showed that he can make plenty of plays. He’s a smaller receiver but he was impressive on Friday.
One player that we were looking forward to seeing in person this week was Collinsville senior quarterback Kaden Rush Kaden Rush 6’3″ | 200 lbs | QB Collinsville | 2023 State OK . He’s been a breakout star in Class 5A this season but he was somewhat contained on Friday night. That doesn’t take away from his performance so far this season and what he could be for the Cardinals down the road. On Friday night, Rush was 17-30 for 273 yards and a touchdown. He was also Collinsville’s leading rusher with 11 carries for 42 yards and a touchdown. Rush is definitely a candidate to finish the season with over 2,000 yards passing and over 1,000 yards rushing, depending on how far the Cardinals go in November. And the Rush to Henslick combination has been incredibly fun to watch so far.
Highlights
Henslick wasn’t the only pass catcher to have an impact in Friday night’s game. Collinsville was happy to get one of their senior leaders back in tight end Zach Stein Zach Stein 6’0″ | 215 lbs | ATH Collinsville | 2023 OK , who will definitely provide a spark for the Cardinals down the stretch. Stein was part of the passing and running game on Friday night but his main impact was as a pass catcher. Stein finished with four catches for 35 yards. When Rush wasn’t finding Henslick, he was going to Stein and the Collinsville standout will certainly give the Cardinals another playmaker on the offensive side of the ball. You could tell that Stein wasn’t 100 percent yet after missing over a month of football. But he’ll certainly help them as we get closer to November and the playoffs right around the corner.