Butler linebacker James Hodge keeps Troy halfback Michael Tucker out of the end zone. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Lee Woolery)
The Aviators, led by twins Braylen and Tayven Crump, are making a habit of creating turnovers and building leads in their 3-0 start.
Vandalia, OH – Among the many things said during halftime in the Vandalia Butler locker room Friday night, Braylen Crump’s message was perhaps the most prophetic.
“I kept saying to the team we wanted it more than them,” he said. “And we did. We got it done.”
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To be exact, the Aviators got it done by creating two turnovers in the second half, by turning those takeaways into touchdowns, by not letting a halftime tie divide them.
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“We went into half and were like, we go to stay together,” said Crump, whose long interception return in the fourth quarter will be remembered for years by the Butler faithful as the play that finally beat Troy.
Now the Aviators are 3-0 for the first time in a long time because of their 21-13 victory, their first over Troy since the Miami Valley League was formed in 2019.
“It feels great to get that win tonight against a good team, a well-coached opponent in Troy,” Butler coach Zach Gueth said. “They just keep fighting and fighting. If we can do that, we can be a pretty special team. I like our chances against anybody when we’re all on the same page fighting together.”
The Aviators have turned that fight-for-each-other mentality into fighting to take the football away.
Butler’s Mason Reckner kept Troy’s defense guessing with pinpoint passing.
Turnovers were a main ingredient in last week’s 17-7 home win over Piqua. Senior cornerback Tayven Crump, Braylen’s twin, made two of Butler’s three interceptions and returned one of them 66 yards for a touchdown. (Remember the number 66.)
Against Troy, the Crump brothers tag-teamed the turnover game with help from senior Joey Love.
“It really gives our offense boost when we flip the field,” Tayven Crump said. “It gives us so much confidence, and it’s really what drives us to win those big games that we need a turnover in.”
After Troy drove 80 yards to close the first half and scored on quarterback Aiden Kirkpatrick’s two-yard run, the halftime score was 7-7. The Aviators felt like the half had gotten away from them because they started the game a touchdown drive.
Braylen Crump caught passes of 43 and 11 yards on the opening drive and quarterback Mason Reckner sneaked in from the 1 for a 7-0 lead. The tie that came didn’t cause them to lose aggressiveness.
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Like they had tried in the first half, the Aviators had kicker Griffyn Bradley kick high and short on the second-half kickoff. This time it worked. The ball was caught near the 20, Love punched it loose and Tayven Crump recovered just before the ball bounced out of bounds.
“We saw a weakness in their kickoff return, and we knew that he wouldn’t be able to field the ball or hold onto it,” Tayven Crump said.
Butler’s Julius Rusk grabs this touchdown pass against Troy.
The Aviators handed the ball to Kaiden Bates on five straight plays to reach the 13. On third and six, Reckner passed over to the middle for a 13-yard touchdown pass to Julius Rusk for a 14-7 lead.
“Something happens, and it just changes the whole game,” Braylen Crump said. “It couldn’t have been any more perfect timing.”
But Troy responded with a 71-yard drive and scored on fourth-and-goal from the four. Kirkpatrick rolled left and threw across his body for a touchdown to Dakota Manson, who barely kept his feet in bounds on the catch.
But the Trojans, prone to mistakes, didn’t tie the score because the extra-point snap sailed over the holder and kicker’s heads. Butler was relieved to keep the lead at 14-13 with 1:07 left in the third.
Early in the fourth quarter Troy started at the Butler 47 and moved to the 27. But on third-and-12 from the 29, Kirkpatrick rolled right while Braylen Crump dropped into coverage from his outside linebacker position.
“I didn’t even know who was behind me,” Crump said. “I was just watching him, and I had a feeling as he turned toward me. I just grabbed it. I should have scored, but it is what it is. We got it in there.”
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Crump returned the interception 66 yards (there’s that number again) to the 8. An unsportsmanlike penalty on Troy after the play advanced the ball to the 4. And Jace Love ran into the end zone on the next play with 8:11 left for the game’s final points.
“We definitely needed that big time,” Tayven Crump said of his brother’s interception. “He was struggling all night, and he fought back. I’m really proud of him.”
Troy head coach Troy Everhart gave Butler credit for making the critical plays and holding onto the football, but he said it was by far his team’s worst performance in a 1-2, 1-1 MVL start to the season.
“I just don’t think we executed well all night,” he said. “It showed from the very first possession that they had. We blew three coverages, and they’re down there scoring. There’s a million things. It was a comedy of errors. You can’t put a defense on short fields, and they got a nice little formula. They run the ball, they punt, they wait for you to do something dumb, and tonight we did a lot of dumb things.”
Last year Butler, Troy and Tippecanoe lost only to each other and shared the Miami Division title at 8-1. The same outcome is possible again. Tipp (3-0, 2-0) plays at Troy on September 20 and Butler (3-0, 2-0) plays at Tipp on September 26 in a Thursday night special.
Last year the three teams won every crossover game with the Valley Division. But this year, Xenia (3-0, 2-0) might have something to say about that. The Buccaneers defeated their stiffest division competition Sidney 48-7 on Friday. Butler and Troy get Xenia at home. Tipp goes to Xenia.
This is called a sack…a pair of Butler defenders upsets Troy’s quarterback.
At 3-0 with those big games in front of them, the Aviators have all their goals in play. And the challenge will be big in the playoffs after moving up to Division II this year.
“Now we can do something teams have never done before here,” Tayven Crump said. “So, yeah, it was a really good win. They’re a really good team.”
Despite the loss, Everhart believes in his team’s abilities. He likes the offensive weapons of Kirkpatrick, who threw for 141 yards and carried the ball 18 times, and Manson and Kayden Franklin making big plays running and catching the ball.
“I was really embarrassed by our play up front,” Everhart said. “The offensive line was really poor tonight.”
And he didn’t find much fault with the defense after Butler’s opening touchdown drive.
“The defensive staff did a tremendous job of rallying,” Everhart said. “Do they score 21 points if we don’t have those two turnovers?”
And are the Aviators 3-0 without the eight turnovers they’ve turned into points and used to turn games in their favor?
“We try to fly to the ball and create plays, and then that leads to turnovers,” Gueth said. “The defense played a heck of a game. They’ve been playing a heck of a three weeks, so we’re leaning on them.”
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