MARION, Ky. – On a night when Union City brought its championship pedigree across the Tennessee line, Crittenden County countered with something just as powerful – reinforcements from the injured reserve.
Quarterback Quinn Summers and wideout Caden Howard, sidelined since the season opener, returned to the field Friday and helped the Rockets notch a momentum-building 21-14 win over the Golden Tornado in the schools’ first-ever meeting.
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| Trae Taylor (1) congratulates Joel Bumpus on a TD. |
Summers spread the ball to seven receivers and finished with 171 yards passing, while Howard hauled in five catches for 117 yards, including a 48-yard strike on a post route that gave CCHS its first lead early in the third quarter.
“It was a blessing to be back, especially so quick,” Howard said. “Quinn started getting in rhythm and hit me in stride. I couldn’t ask for a better quarterback. The turnovers on defense were huge. That kept us fighting and kept our energy up.”
Union City (1-3) struck first, capitalizing on an onside kick and short field to take a 7-0 lead. But the Golden Tornado unraveled after quarterback Jack Theobald left with an injury. They lost five fumbles, threw an interception and committed 132 yards in penalties.
Crittenden (2-2) tied the game just before halftime when Summers found Trae Taylor on a fourth-down touchdown from the five-yard line. The Rockets then cashed in on Union City mistakes in the third quarter. Howard’s long catch-and-run was followed by freshman Joel Bumpus’s first varsity score, a one-yard plunge. Both touchdowns were set up by fumble recoveries.
The defense made sure just enough of Union City’s miscues mattered. Noah Byford picked off a pass, and fumbles were recovered by Keegan Pierson, Bumpus, Gary Hall and Jay Stevenson. The Rockets’ ability to turn those takeaways into points proved decisive.
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| Davis Perryman makes a tackle |
“So happy for our guys,” coach Gaige Courtney said. “We’ve kind of had a rough road starting out with injuries, and we came out slower than we wanted to. There are so many guys who made an impact tonight and getting a couple of guys back helped. But those other guys around them really played well. We always talk about turnovers and winning that battle. We were definitely on the right side of it tonight.”
The Rockets open Class 2A First District play next week at perennial power Mayfield, currently ranked among the top three teams in the division.
SCORE BY QUARTER
Union City, Tenn. 7 0 0 7
Crittenden County 0 7 14 0
SCORING PLAYS
UC-Rodney Jenkins 35 run (Alex Landerous kick) 7:41, 1st
CC-Trae Taylor 5 pass from Quinn Summers (Mitchell Brown kick) :49, 2nd
CC-Caden Howard 48 pass from Quinn Summers (Brown kick) 8:37, 3rd
CC-Joel Bumpus 1 run (Brown kick) 3:07, 3rd
UC-Khazarion Scates 33 pass from Adrian Crawford (Landerous kick) 3:48, 4th
TEAM TOTALS
First Downs: CCHS 10, UCHS 10
Penalties: CCHS 7-50, UCHS 14-132
Rushing: CCHS 27-67, UCHS 44-237
Passing: CCHS 15-24-1, 171; 1-3-1, 33
Total Yards: CCHS 238, UCHS 270
Fumbles/Lost: CCHS 1-1, UCHS 9-5
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing
CCHS: Taylor 20-44, Bumpus 2-15, Howard 2-6, Summers 3-2. UCHS: Andre Small 14-79, Logan Puckett 2-8, Jenkins 2-35, Crawford 22-128, Jack Theobald 2-2, Team 2-(-15).
Passing
CCHS: Summers 15-24-1, 171. UCHS: Crawford 1-3-1, 33.
Receiving
CCHS: Howard 5-117, Taylor 3-14, Noah Byford 1-0, Dokota Sosh 3-34, Bumpus 1-(-8), Eli Lovell 1-8, Davis Perryman 1-6. UCHS: Scates 1-33.
Defense
Brandsasse solo, 6 assists; Hall 4 solos, assist, fumble recovery; B.Poindexter 10 solos, 2 assists, 2 TFLs, caused fumble; D.Sosh 4 solos; Stevenson solo, 2 assists, 2 fumble recoveries; Summers solo; Taylor 4 solos, 2 assists; Byford 5 solos, 2 assists, interception; Perryman 2 solos, 2 assists; Blazina assist; Lovell 3 solos; A.Rich assist; Bumpus 4 solos, 3 assists, TFL, caused fumble, fumble recovery; Herrington assist; Curnel assist; Pierson 3 solos, 2 assists, fumble recovery, 2 caused fumbles.
Records: CCHS 2-2, UCHS 1-3
