Crestwood's Moody shines in return from injury as Knights advance in 3A playoffs
The Crestwood football team opened the SCHSL 3A playoffs against Aynor with an offensive shootout.
Points were flying on either side, and the Knights needed to score on every offensive possession to come away with a 38-30 win.
Luckily, they had some offensive reinforcements.
Wide receiver and defensive back Khalil Moody missed a month with an injury, while fellow pass-catcher Nigel Johnson missed nearly half the season with his own ailment. The two stepped back onto the field against Aynor and made an instant impact.
Moody caught five passes for 153 yards and three touchdowns, including the game-winning score, as the Knights secured the win. His performance also earned the receiver Hines Furniture Athlete of the Week honors.
"It's a family over here," Moody said of the support from the Crestwood community as he won the award. "It feels good to know they've got me."
Head coach Roosevelt Nelson was proud to see Moody make a major impact in his return from injury.
"What we say on Friday was not a big surprise to me, Khalil is a heck of a player and an outstanding person. It was great to get him back, get him back in the swing of things," Nelson said. "He was a big part of our success on Friday."
The junior receiver was eager to get back on the field, but it was far from a typical game. Moody is used to spending most of his time on the defensive side of the ball, but when his number was called primarily on offense, he was happy to step up.
"I was pumped; I was amped. I wanted to do this for the seniors because it's win or go home," Moody said of getting back on the field. "(Primarily playing offense) kind of felt weird, because it's not the norm for me."
The Crestwood offense was clicking all night long, but he said the turning point came in the third quarter when quarterback Javion Martin found Johnson for a 60-yard score.
"Everybody was excited, I was cheering, J was cheering, he was excited," Moody said. "That's what really got me amped, seeing Nigel score off his injury. That really motivated me."
Moody took over after that. He caught a 7-yard pass from Martin for this second touchdown to take a 31-30 lead. The Knights never surrendered that lead.
The score itself was drawn up by the QB and wide out before the play. After chatting, the pair were on the same page as Martin found his receiver for the score.
"We needed a touchdown, and I'm telling J to run a slant, and he told me to run a pigtail, and that's what I did," Moody said. "He looked off the safety and looked my way as I toe-tapped it for the touchdown.
"I was pumped; we were really excited. That was when we knew we could really win. That's probably my favorite high school play."
Aynor got the ball back and methodically drove down the field, but the Crestwood defense made a crucial fourth-down stop. Crestwood just needed to run out the clock with a couple of first downs, but Moody ended up getting more. He broke free from a tackler and went 60 yards to the house to put the game away 38-30.
"The main focus was getting a first down. That's all I was really focused on," Moody said. "When I caught it, I went inside and broke the tackle, found space, and I took it.
"I was thinking we had it locked in the bag at that point."
The win marked the second year in a row where the Knights secured a home playoff victory. Moody and his teammates enjoyed the celebration afterward with their fans.
"Home advantage already feels good, so winning and going to the second round and having the opportunity to go to state, potentially, it just felt great," Moody said.
Moody feels confident that the Knights have a chance to keep their season alive as they prepare to travel to Beaufort on Friday. Being back in the lineup with Johnson only makes that feeling more secure.
"I really feel like we have a chance to win it all if we play our hardest and keep the work going," Moody said. "Me and Nigel coming back feels great. It feels like the whole team is back together, and we've got everything going well."