Once it wiped off the cobwebs and rattled those first-game jitters from the offense, Crittenden County rolled up 27 second-half points behind first-year quarterback Micah Newcom.
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| Preston Morgeson looks for running room |
Unfortunately for the Rockets, their opponent, Class 2A’s No. 4 Murray Tigers were just a tad better.
Neither team mustered a defensive stop in the entire second half as the teams split eight touchdowns. The Tigers led 7-0 at the half and won the season-opener 34-27 at Ty Holland Stadium in Murray.
Newcom threw for 317 yards and three touchdowns in his first varsity start. Jitters, he said, kept him from getting out of the gate quicker. The junior completed a half dozen passes in the first two periods then guided CCHS to four touchdowns in the last half on nearly 200 yards passing.
“I was little nervous to be honest,” he said. “That had a lot to do with it. If we start fast, we win that game.”
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| Kaleb Nesbitt pulls in a shovel pass. |
The Rockets stayed about a touchdown behind the whole game, then fell behind by 13 with 15 seconds to play. However, CCHS went the entire distance in a flash to post its final touchdown on a pass to Gattin Travis, who ran about 30 yards after the catch.
Rocket coach Gaige Courtney said the offense played well enough to win. He lamented the fact that his defense was unable to get a stop when it was desperately needed in the last half.
“We’re going to be alright,” he said. “Defensively, I didn’t feel like I had us in the right spots, then we got to searching there at the end. I am not the type of coach to continue to sit, sit, give up seven, give up seven. Eventually that clock is going to run out, so we started taking some chances. Then it just kind of piled on from there.”
Crittenden, ranked 12th in two different Class A preseason polls, will be at Webster County next week.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Crittenden 0 0 14 13
Murray 0 7 14 13
SCORING PLAYS
M-Kainoa Olive 3 run (Ben Davis kick) 7:51, 2nd
M-Kamden Hudspeth 67 pass from Collin Wilson (Davis kick) 10:59, 3rd
C-Preston Morgeson 47 pass from Micah Newcom (kick failed) 8:37, 3rd
M-Xavier Biggers 44 run (Davis kick) 6:03, 3rd
C-Briley Berry 77 pass from Newcom (Newcom run) 5:35, 3rd
M-Biggers 6 run (Davis kick) 9:47, 4th
C-Morgeson 1 run (Morgeson kick) 6:23, 4th
M-Jayden Curtis 14 run (kick failed) :15, 4th
C-Gattin Travis 48 pass from Newcom (pass failed) :10, 4th
TEAM TOTALS
First Downs: CCHS 11, MHS 13
Penalties: CCHS 3-30, MHS 3-15
Rushing: CCHS 14-24, MHS 46-246
Passing: CCHS 18-26-1, 380, MHS 2-4-0, 85
Total Yards: CCHS 404, MHS 349
Fumbles/Lost: CCHS 1-0, MHS 3-1
INDIVDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing
Crittenden: Travis 4-0, Morgeson 1-1, Seth Guess 2-7, Newcom 6-19, team 1-(-3). Murray: Curtis 11-47, Olive 6-46, Bigger 10-101, Sokolowski 13-50, Wilson 5-20.
Passing
Crittenden: Newcom 16-24-1, 316; Guess 2-2-0, 64. Murray: Wilson 2-4-0, 85.
Receiving
Crittenden: Kaleb Nesbitt 4-34, Caden Howard 1-(-5), Levi Piper 1-55, Morgeson 4-101, Rowen Perkins 3-29, Casey Cates 1-8, Berry 2-108, Travis 2-50. Murray: Hudspeth 2-85.
Defense
Sam Impastato 6 solos, 2 assits, caused fumble; Deacon Holliman solo, assist; Case Gobin 6 solos, 5 assists; Rowen Perkins assist; Kaleb Nesbitt assist, fumble recovery; Briley Berry 11 solos; Preston Morgeson 3 solos, assist; Seth Guess 3 solos, 5 assists; Zach Counts 3 solos, 3 assists; Levi Piper 2 solos, 4 assists; Gattin Travis 2 solos, 2 assist; Tyler Belt 2 solos; Grayson James solo; Caden Howard 3 solos, TFL.
Players of the Game: Offense Micah Newcom, Defense Sam Impastato, Lineman Hurst Miniard, Special Teams Preston Morgeson.
Records: Crittenden 0-1, Murray 1-0
