Crestwood's Scriven outplaying his age, wins Hines Furniture Athlete of the Week

Crestwood's Dashan Scriven may just be a sophomore, but he's playing like a senior for the sixth-ranked Knights.

The young defensive back continued a season full of highlight plays against Darlington last week, intercepting a pass and batting down two more as the Knights rolled to a 39-12 region victory. His performance also earned him recognition as the Hines Furniture Athlete of the Week.

"It feels good to have people behind you," Scriven said of the support from the Crestwood community.

It can be overwhelming to be the young guy stepping in on a veteran team with high expectations, but Scriven has been rolling with the punches all season long.

"Stepping up big time when it's needed and being coachable, and not just from the coaches, but the older players," Scriven said of his mindset this season. "It's a lot. At first, I didn't think I would handle it, but I put my nerves to the side and just play football. I know how to play football."

Crestwood head coach Roosevelt Nelson has noticed the hard work Scriven has put in this season, so he isn't surprised the sophomore is starting to blossom into a star.

"He's quietly becoming our leader behind Khalil Moody in the secondary," Nelson said. "He's a lot more vocal as a sophomore than some guys that we've had in the past, which is pretty unique. He can play multiple positions on the field," Nelson said. "He's been doing a heck of a job for us. I'm very proud of the way he's playing right now."

Scriven's highlight against Darlington was no ordinary interception. The Falcons ran a fake punt, something the Knights had game planned for, and the sophomore didn't bite.

"It was something we worked on in practice. Darlington likes to run a couple of fake plays, and they ran a fake punt," Scriven said. "I just stayed in coverage, didn't leave my man and went up to get it."

That football IQ is starting to become par for the course with the young safety.

"That's Dashan Scriven, he plays a lot bigger than his age," Nelson said. "He's a great player. He's proven week to week, and he works at it. He practices like he plays, he gives great effort, and it shows."

The Crestwood secondary is mostly known for Khalil Moody. Opposing teams haven't thrown in the direction of the Knights' senior corner for most of the last two seasons, putting pressure on the rest of the defensive backs like Scriven. He's more than happy to accept the challenge.

"Everybody knows Khalil. He's an athlete; if the ball is in the air, he's going to go get it," Scriven said. "Teams want to go away from him, so they try the other side of the field, so we've just got to put the work in during practice. We know it's coming. The other team is going to try us. We don't have a name as big as Khalil Moody, so we have to show them that we're just as good."

Scriven and the Knights will now travel to Camden on Friday with a chance to claim their first region title in a decade. Scriven can't wait for a clash of the titans in Region VI-3A.

"The matchup is pretty good; they've got good receivers, their quarterback is pretty good. I know they're going to try us deep. That's what every team has done this season; we've just got to go out there and show them you can't throw against our secondary," Scriven said.