Taylor wins 2025 pre-season Ironman

Senior Trae Taylor won the annual Rocket football preseason Ironman competition. Pictured are the top 10 (front from left) Taylor, Noah Byford, Eli Lovell, (back) Matthew Counts, Conner Poindexter, Davis Perryman, Joel Bumpus, Jay Stevenson, Braydin Brandsasse and Brayden Poindexter.

ANNUAL IRONMAN COMPETITION 

-- SEE COMPLETE RESULTS (PDF) --

For almost 30 years, Crittenden County football players have been starting the season with an individual strength, speed and agility competition called the Ironman.

Almost 40 players participated in this year’s pre-season competition and senior Trae Taylor came out on top, collecting his first Ironman championship. Taylor is a returning running back and defensive back. 

Taylor placed sixth in the 2024 Ironman event. He is among four Rockets who are back in the top 10 of the competition after placing among the best 10 last year in preseason. Eli Lovell made the biggest jump from No. 10 last summer to No. 3 right behind No. 2 Noah Byford who was eighth last year. Brayden Poindexter and Braydin Brandsasse are other repeat top 10 performers. Last year’s champion, Caden Howard, was unable to participate due to injury.

The competition aims to encourage a well-rounded athlete, combining speed and strength to perfect a player. 

While the running and agilities part of the contest tend to favor the skilled-position players, those husky linemen play catchup in overall points by dominating in the weight room.

As much as anything, the competition is a way for the coaching staff to get players geared up for pre-season practice and to reward those who have worked hard during the offseason.

The regular season begins on Aug. 22 at Marshall County.  

There are two scrimmages. The first is Aug. 8 at Murray and second is Aug. 15 at Madisonville.

This will be Coach Gaige Courtney’s fifth season as head coach. CCHS will compete in Class 2A against five other district opponents: Todd Central, Trigg County, Caldwell County, Ft. Campbell and Mayfield.

 

Mahnke, McCord | College Signing Day on Campus

 

Click Image to Enlarge

2024 Post-Season Award Winners

Click Image to Enlarge

Crittenden County High School held its annual football awards ceremony Sunday. Among those honored were (front, from left) Kaiden Travis, Most Valuable Lineman and 4-Year Senior awards; Braiden Brandsassem Greg Dozer Belt and Roach awards ; Caden Howard, RBI Impact, Record-Breaker, Trash Can Turnover, Captain and Most Valuable Player awards ; Cam’Ron Belcher, Most Valuable Special Teams Player, Feed Mill Grit Iron, 4-Year Senior and Record-setter awards; Quinn Summers, Record-setter, Captain, Crittenden Press Paul E. Mick Leadership and Most Valuable Offensive Player awards; (back) Adri Berry, Record-setter and First Female Player awards; Brayden Poindexter, Most Valuable Defensive Player and Tackling Points Leader awards; Noah Byford, 110 Percent Award; Trae Taylor, Most Improved Defensive Player Award; Conner Poindexter, JV Captain Award; Eli Lovell, JV Offensive MVP; Carson Yates, Solid Rocket Award; and Mitchell Brown, Most Improved Special Teams Player. Not pictured: Trent Todd, JV Defensive MVP; Michael Porter, Selfless Rocket Award; Blake French, 4-Year Senior Award; and Dakota Sosh, Most Improved Offensive Player Award.

 

5 Players Earn All WKC honors

Five athletes from Crittenden County High School have been named to the All West Kentucky Conference football team.

Junior quarterback Quinn Summers completing 190 of 304 passes for 2,416 yards and 27 touchdowns, with only eight interceptions over 11 games. He also rushed for 139 yards.

Senior defensive end Kaiden Travis recorded 47 tackles, including a dozen for loss and 3 sacks.

Junior lineman Braydin Brandsasse played both ways up front and on defense contributed 28 tackles, including 4 tackles for loss and 3 sacks.

Junior receiver/defensive back Caden Howard set some new school receiving records this season and led the team with 69 receptions for 956 yards and 11 touchdowns. Defensively, he added 52 tackles, 2 interceptions and 4 fumble recoveries.

Senior receiver/safety Cam'Ron Belcher was a key offensive weapon with 58 receptions for 835 yards and 9 touchdowns. On defense, he contributed 54 tackles and 4 interceptions.

Rockets' playoffs end at O'Cath, again

 

Brayden Mahnke went down with a knee injury,
and never returned to the field.

OWENSBORO, Ky. – For the fifth time across the last 13 seasons, Crittenden County’s football playoff aspirations have come to an end in Owensboro. The Rockets lost Friday on the road 41-13 to Class 2A’s top-ranked Owensboro Catholic.

The Catholics had scored twice just five plays into the game, courtesy in part to a Rocket fumble. The Aces stayed on the gas, posting 35 points in less than 13 minutes following the opening whistle – thanks, again, in part – to two more CCHS turnovers in the early going. 

Crittenden had been "clock'd" in the first minute of the second period. 

In a sense, the Aces’ fast start hurried the Rockets’ slow walk to the virtual gas chamber that has existed in playoff games at O’Cath over the team’s association in Class 2A. When the running-clock mercy rule kicked in, misery was mitigated to an extent. 

Caden Howard was injured catching a pass near
the end zone on fourth down. Booster Club President
Serena Dickerson holds an ice pack on the wound.

Crittenden was unable to gain any momentum at all, and the game was never close – a slight contrast to the Rockets’ first loss (51-0) at O’Cath six weeks ago when they were able to compete for a time.

One of few bright spots for CCHS was a 75-yard kickoff return by Caden Howard that put Crittenden in scoring position in the first quarter. Yet that chance was squandered when the Rockets went four and out in the red zone.

Senior Tyree McLean scored twice in the second half – on a pass from junior QB Quinn Summers and on a 1-yard run – to get CCHS on the scoreboard against O’Cath reserves.

Crittenden entered the playoffs as a No. 4 seed in the regional post-season format after going winless in league play this season. Next fall, the district makeup will change a great deal. It will be a six-team league with newcomers Fort Campbell, Trigg County and Todd Central joining Crittenden, Mayfield and Caldwell County in the Class 2A First District. Murray High, a district foe in recent years, will be leaving the league as part of KHSAA’s reclassification. 

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Crittenden County 0 0 6 7

Owensboro Cath 27 8 6 0

SCORING PLAYS

OC-Xavier Maddox 13 pass from Brady Atwell (kick failed) 11:15, 1st

OC-Deron Crowe 13 pass from Atwell (Andrew Garvin kick) 10:29, 1st

OC-Miles Edge 10 pass from Atwell (Garvin kick) 7:03, 1st

OC-Edge 48 run (Garvin kick) 2:36, 1st

OC-Edge 18 pass from Atwell (Waryn Eblhar pass from Atwell) 11;17, 2nd

CC-Tyree McLean 6 pass from Quinn Summers (Adri Berry kick failed) 6:19, 3rd

OC-Shaiden Mitchell 12 run (pass failed) 1:40, 3rd

CC-McLean 1 run (Berry kick) 5:47, 4th.

TEAM TOTALS

First Downs: CCHS 11, OCHS 12

Penalties: CCHS 3-15, OCHS 6-51

Rushing: CCHS 12-11, OCHS 21-203

Passing: CCHS 14-26-1, 170; OCHS 15-20-0, 197

Total Yards: CCHS 181, OCHS 400

Fumbles/Lost: CCHS 2-2, OCHS 2-1

INDIVIDAUL STATISTICS

Rushing

CCHS: Brayden Mahnke 4-11, Trae Taylor 1-0, McLean 1-1, CamRon Belcher 1-8, Summers 5-(-9). OCHS: Mitchell 7-34, Crowe 1-4, Vince Carrico 3-15, Edge 2-60, Dremail Carothers 1-(-6), Carter James 2-16, Atwell 5-74.

Passing

CCHS: Summers 14-26-1, 170. OCHS: Atwell 13-17-0, 180; Carothers 2-3-0, 17.

Receiving

CCHS: Caden Howard 3-31, Brayden Poindexter 1-24, McLean 4-45, Belcher 4-44, Taylor 1-10, Mahnke 1-16. OCHS: Maddox 2-51, Crowe 1-13, Ebhlar 3-32, Carrico 1-17, Edge 2-28, Cameron Woodward 1-9, Noah O'Nan 2-18, Russ Boarman 1-12, Carter James 2-27.

Defense

CamRon Belcher solo, assist; Landon Curry 3 assists; Blake French 3 solos; Brayden Mahnke 6 solos, assist, TFL, fumble recovery; Tyree McLean 2 solos; Michael Porter solo; Kaiden Travis solo, TFL; Braydin Brandsasse 2 solos, assist; Caden Howard solo; Brayden Poindexter 5 solos; Trae Taylor 2 solos, assist; Noah Byford 3 solos, assist; Gaige Markham solo, assist; Eli Lovell solo, assist. 

Records: Crittenden 4-7, Owensboro Catholic 11-0

Owensboro Catholic Aces

    

 BY: ANDY HUNT

This time of the year is when we typically see those big accomplishments of Rockets that have come before this current team get surpassed by a newer group of Rocket football players.  This season is not the exception and with big nights by multiple Rockets on Friday, we could see as many as 10 more records fall.  

Read below to find what passing record Quinn Summer now owns that wasn't

THE SHOW | 11w2024 | Playoffs at O'Cath

Presented by

WHITETAIL PROPERTIES

Mark Williams Land Team

--------

Curnel Ag

Farmers Bank and Trust Co

Riley Tool and Machine

First United Bank

USA Mortgage, Darrick Myers

The Heritage at Marion Golf and Pool

Johnson’s Furniture and Appliance

Full Body Fitness Studio Serena Dickerson trainer 

YTG Insurance, Tanner Tabor agent

Frazer Law, Bart Frazer, Jonathan James Wes Hunt

Hodge’s Sports and Apparel

C-Plant Federal Credit Union 

Livingston Hospital | Deaconess

H&H Home and Hardware

Par 4 Plastics

Deer Lakes Golf Course

KB Pharmacy