Rockets fall 42-21 at Trigg bowl

Trigg's Jayven Jones got a little extra blocking from the

official on this play as Daniel Wagoner (21) and Devin Clark (54)

give chase.

At Trigg County's bowl game Friday, Crittenden County's rush defense was as porous as it was impenetrable a week earlier in a season-opening victory.

The Wildcats (2-1) rushed from side to side seemingly at will through any of the gaping holes its offense created. There were plenty of runs between the tackles, a 35-yard reverse, fake punt – a virtual smorgasbord of success for the David Sadler Bowl hosts, who won going away 42-21.

It was a well-contested game on the Rockets' part until late in the second period when a series of costly penalties and a 45-yard, not-so-surprising fake punt run by Austin Durham finished in the end zone. Until then, the teams had swapped touchdowns with Crittenden getting scores from Daniel Wagoner on an 18-yard pass from quarterback Travis Gilbert and fullback Brenden Phillips breaking free off the nose for a 16-yard run.

From there, Crittenden's wheels began to wobble. Clearly fatigued at the half and trailing 28-14, the Rockets found a hint of life late in the third quarter when Gardner picked off a Trigg pass at the Wildcats' 39.

Bobby Knox was stopped before he could prevent this pass

by Trigg QB Luke McKenzie.

From there, the workhorse-running-back Gardner carried a half dozen times for 35 yards on a drive that culminated in Gilbert's one-yard sneak for a touchdown. It was on that series, however, that Phillips re-aggravated his two-week nagging turf toe on a four-yard run and the junior fullback never played offense again. It was up to Gardner – who finished with 106 yards on 25 carries – to bear the load the rest of the way if the Rockets had a chance. And at that point, they still did, trailing by just a touchdown.

Undaunted, Trigg's rushing game – which piled up 313 yards – started a methodical march down the field. Inability to stop the frontal attack had taken a mental and physical toll on the Rockets by that point. With just over nine minutes left in the game, Rocket coach Al Starnes called a time out in an attempt to reform his troops for what his gut was telling him was perhaps the last stand. Linebackers Bobby Knox, Brenden Phillips and Daniel Wagoner were on the sideline, hurting or catching a breather. Starnes knew it was a critical time in the game. Trigg was on the march. It was third-and-17 at the Rocket 28. A stop then might have been the turning point. Instead, after Starnes got his best personnel back on the field, Trigg picked up a first down on a strong run by quarterback Luke McKenzie. The momentum tilted.

Rocket QB Travis Gilbert cocks for a pass. Gilbert completed

5 of his first 6 throws for 77 yards, but then connected on just

1 of his final 8 against Trigg.

Trigg went on to score on that drive and tacked on another with three minutes to play as Durham – the senior who had scored on the fake punt earlier, ran a 35-yard reverse for a TD. Those were the only two times Durham touched the ball. Trigg used seven players for 38 rushing plays. Five of them had 25 yards or more, including Jayven Jones' 91 yards to win the game's MVP award.

The Rockets, now 1-1, will be at home next week for a showdown with rival Union County.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Crittenden County     7     7    7     0

Trigg County             14   14   0    14

SCORING PLAYS

TC-Luke McKenzie 3 run (David Wease kick) 10:20, 1st

CC-Daniel Wagoner 18 pass from Travis Gilbert (Micah Hollamon kick) 4:46, 1st

TC-Jayven Jones 17 run (Wease kick) 2:15, 1st

CC-Brenden Phillips 16 run (Hollamon kick) 9:35, 2nd

TC-Austin Durham 45 run fake punt (Wease kick) 7:39, 2nd

TC-Jones 6 run (Wease kick) :09, 2nd

CC-Gilbert 1 run (Hollamon kick) 2:23, 3rd

TC-Taylor Mitchuson 5 run (Wease kick) 8:41, 4th

TC-Durham 35 run (Wease kick) 3:02, 4th

TEAM TOTALS

First Downs: Crittenden 17, Trigg 17

Penalties: Crittenden 5-55, Trigg 10-88

Rushing: Crittenden 45-170, Trigg 37-313

Passing: Crittenden 6-14-0, 81 yds., Trigg 8-16-1, 66 yds.

Total Yards: Crittenden 251, Trigg 379

Fumbles: Crittenden 1-1, Trigg 0-0

INDIVIDUALS STATISTICS

Rushing

Crittenden-Gardner 25-106, Phillips 7-36, Devin Hopper 1-3, Zach Tinsley 3-4, Jacob Young 5-22, Gilbert 4(-1). Trigg-Durham 2-80, Mitchuson 7-33, Chris Acree 7-68, Jones 12-91, Skylar Pool 3-13, Luke McKenzie 6-28.

Passing

Crittenden-Gilbert 6-14-0, 81 yds. Trigg-McKenzie 8-16-1, 66 yds.

Receiving

Crittenden-Bobby Knox 3-36, Gardner 1-9, Wagoner 2-36. Trigg-Wease 4-48, Acree 4-26, Kyle Rivera 1-(-2).

Defense

Asbridge 2 solos, 6 assists; Bebout solo, 2 assists; Clark 3 solos, 2 assists; Cozart 7 solos, 3 assists, TFL; Dunkerson assist; Gardner 4 solos, TFL, interception; Knight 3 assists; Knox 6 solos, assist, 2 TFL; Overfield 3 solos, sack; Roberts solo; Gilbert 6 solos, 2 assists; Phillips solo, 2 assists, TFL; Wagoner 3 solos, 2 assists, caused fumble; Dickerson 3 solos; Young solo; Hollis solo, assist; Sitar 1 solo, 3 assists.

Records

Crittenden 1-1, Trigg 2-1

Rocket defensive coordinator Vince Clark has a few final orders as the team

leaves a timeout and heads back onto the field of play.