Rocket season ends again at O'Cath

 

OWENSBORO, Ky. – Very subtly, this fall’s Rocket football team crept onto the sports pages with little fanfare, then out-punched the expectations of even the bluest of Crittenden County faithful. It was a unit that rewrote history on multiple pages, gathering momentum as Friday nights cooled and winning six straight down the stretch until they met their demise at a place where hopes have gone to die multiple times before.

Coach Courtney addresses the senior
players during the postgame speech

Despite a lopsided 50-14 loss to the No. 1 Class 2A Owensboro Catholic Aces on Friday at Steele Stadium, these Rockets won the hearts of their followers for their tenacity and an indelible will that surfaced when odds were against them. The odds couldn’t have been stacked any higher as they faced a giant of a team once again in the postseason at a place where the Rockets have seen the season end six times over the past 13 years, this time in the second round of the playoffs.

The Aces carving up the Rocket defense wasn’t status quo. Going into the regional semifinal, CCHS had proven its stiffness, allowing the fewest points per game since rejoining Class 2A in 2023. The Rockets’ eight wins are the most during seasons in that classification. Their comebacks rocked the stadium seats and rewrote program standards. No Crittenden County team in history had rallied back like this one — and the record book revisions stand as testimony to its fearless faith and unwillingness to throw in the towel.

Individually, the stealthy, stunning display of athleticism and record-breaking career of senior receiver Caden Howard was just as subtle as the victories he helped stack. In the end, he was rewarded with the 2026 Class 2A First District Player of the Year honor. The offensive triggerman, senior quarterback Quinn Summers, rose through the statistical ranks and settled among the five best ever in numbers — and among the top two in efficiency. Defensively, senior linebacker Brayden Poindexter rounded out a trio of history-makers. His tackle totals put him among the very best Crittenden County has ever produced, ranking in the top 10 in virtually every defensive category.

Senior QB Quinn Summers is consoled
by a teammate after the game.

The list of superlatives among this 12th-grade class could go to describe the versatility of running back Trae Taylor, the reliability of receiver Dokota Sosh and the brute toughness of trenchman Braydin Brandsasse, one of the finest linemen in school history. It could speak to the personal comeback of Gary Hall and the steady presence of Jay Stevenson, Keegan Pierson and Michael Counts.

But this story doesn’t stop there. Behind those seniors stood a chorus of underclassmen, a patient, pulsing rhythm section that kept the season in tune and now stands ready to score the next movement in 2026. Yet just as early skeptics turned a nose at this year’s record-setting Rockets, the coming class will likely need to overcome the same.

So as coach Gaige Courtney’s fifth season comes to a close, the critics will swallow a tablespoon of their pride as this year’s squad demands a status commensurate with its on-the-field success and will go down in the annals of Rocket football as one its best.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Crittenden County 0 7 0 7

Owensboro Cath 22 21 7 0

SCORING PLAYS

OC-Hudson Ebelhar 50 pass from Dremail Carothers (Andrew Garvin kick) 11:08, 1st

OC-Safety

OC-Jude Evans 14 run (kick good)

OC-Xavier Maddox 14 pass from Carothers (kick failed) 7:29, 1st

OC-Nick Sims 1 run (kick good) 11:20, 2ndd

OC-Luke Thomas 11 pass from Carothers (kick good) 10:17, 2nd

OC-Cam Woodward 5 pass from Carothers (kick good) 3:44, 2nd

CC-Caden Howard 3 pass from Quinn Summers (Mitchell Brown kick) 0:00, 2nd

OC-Thomas 21 pass from Carothers (kick good) 1:19, 3rd

CC-Howard 15 pass from Summers (Brown kick) 6;55, 4th

TEAM TOTALS

First Downs: CCHS 8, OCHS 11

Penalties: CCHS 7-58, OCHS 7-70

Rushing: CCHS 6-28, OCHS 20-135

Passing: CCHS 12-31-2, 168; OCHS 19-27-0, 252

Total Yards: CCHS 196, OCHS 387

Fumbles/Lost: CCHS 0-0, OCHS 1-1

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing

CCHS: Summers 4-22, Trae Taylor 2-6. OCHS: Carter James 1-21, Shaiden Mitchell 4-15, Miles Edge 6-87, Evans 1-14, Cam Woodward 1-5, Peyton Morris 3-(-26), Carothers 4-19.

Passing

CCHS: Summers12-29-1, 168; Howard 0-1-0; Eli Lovell 0-1-1. OCHS: Carothers 18-26-0, 242; Morris 1-1-0, 10.

Receiving

CCHS: Howard 6-78, Taylor 3-20, Brayden Poindexter 1-5, Davis Perryman 2-65. OCHS: Thomas 5-94, Maddox 4-37, Ebelhar 2-68, Edge 2-8, Woodward 4-35, Josh James 1-10.

Defense

Brandsasse solo; M.Counts solo, assist, TFL; Hall 2 solos, 2 assists; Howard 4 solos, assist; Pierson solo, fumble recovery; B.Poindexter 5 solos, 2 assists, sack; D.Sosh 4 solos, assist; Summers solo, sack, caused fumble; Taylor 7 solos, TFL; Byford solo; Musser 2 solos, assist, 2 sacks; Perryman assist; Brown assist; Lovell assist; Bumpus 3 solos, assist. 

Players of the Game: Offense Caden Howard, Special Teams Eli Lovell, Defense Trae Taylor, Lineman Aiden Musser.

Records: CCHS 8-4, OCHS 11-1

THE SHOW | 2025 | PLAYOFFS at O'Catch

Rocket Football Coach’s Show is brought to you by local partners and The Crittenden Press. Join Coach Gaige Courtney, Offensive Coordinator Austin Berry and host Chris Evans as they discuss the upcoming game and provide insights into the football program. For more, including stats, photos, articles, history and team records see RocketsFootball.com.

WHITETAIL PROPERTIES

Mark Williams Land Team

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Curnel Ag

Farmers Bank and Trust Co

Riley Tool and Machine

First United Bank

USA Mortgage, Darrick Myers

Johnson’s Furniture and Appliance

Full Body Fitness Studio Serena Dickerson trainer 

YTG Insurance, Tanner Tabor agent

Frazer Law, Bart Frazer, Cobie Evans

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

Beavers Heating and Air

Gilbert Funeral Home

Howard chosen district player of the year

Crittenden County senior receiver Caden Howard has been named the 2025 Class 2A District 1 Player of the Year by the Kentucky Football Coaches Association, becoming the ninth Rocket to earn a district player of the year award. However, he is the first from Crittenden County to win the honor since the team moved from Class A to Class 2A.

Howard follows a list of notable past Rocket recipients that includes two who later earned honorable mention all-state honors from the Louisville Courier-Journal – Nathan Heady in 2001 and T.K. Guess in 2005. Quarterback Hunter Boone remains the only Crittenden County player to win the district award twice.

Howard’s award comes in a season where he climbed to the top of nearly every receiving category in program history. He finished the regular season ranked first statewide in Class 2A in receiving yards per game and second in touchdown receptions, while also ranking third in both receptions and total receiving yards.

He currently has 987 receiving yards, the second-highest single-season total in school history behind Ethan Dossett’s 1,273 yards in 2017. Howard now owns three of the top five receiving seasons ever recorded at Crittenden County.

In career production, Howard stands as the school’s all-time leader in receiving yards (2,817), receptions (202) and touchdown catches (43). His marks place him on several KHSAA career lists, including No. 11 all-time in touchdown receptions and tied for No. 12 in receptions, though those statewide records have not been updated since 2021.

Howard’s 43 career touchdown catches are 18 more than the previous school record, and his 202 career receptions make him the only Rocket to surpass 200.

FORMER PLAYER OF THE YEAR ROCKETS

Class A, District 2 - 2001 – Nathan Heady, DL         

Class A, District 2 - 2005 – T.K. Guess, WR/DB

Class A, District 1 - 2008 – J.D. Gray, QB/S

Class A, District 1 - 2016 – Devon Nesbitt, RB/DB

Class A, District 1 - 2017 – Hunter Boone, QB

Class A, District 1 - 2018 – Hunter Boone, QB

Class A, District 1 - 2020 – Caden McCalister, LB/RB

Class A, District 1 - 2022 – Micah Newcom, QB

AT A GLANCE: Owensboro Catholic Aces

2025 Owensboro Catholic Record (10-1, 3-0)

• Week 1 – Bowling Green (5A, 5-6) – WIN – 23-17
• Week 2 – Daviess County (6A, 5-6)– WIN – 34-2
• Week 3 – Apollo (5A, 6-5) – WIN – 28-21
• Week 4 – Owensboro (5A, 9-2) – LOSS – 34-21
• Week 5 – Bardstown (3A, 7-4) – WIN – 56-30
• Week 6 – Meade County (6A, 2-9) – WIN – 61-7
• Week 7 – Hancock County (2A, 8-3) – WIN – 41-14
• Week 8 – Fort Knox (2A, 3-7) – WIN – 48-0
• Week 9 – McLean County (2A, 5-6) – WIN 47-6
• Week 10 – Elizabethtown (4A, 8-3) – WIN – 56-6
• Round 1 – Fort Campbell (2A, 4-7) – WIN – 61-7
• District Opponents are Hancock, Fort Knox, and McLean Couty.
• Opponent Fort Knox did not compete in the playoffs even though they were the 4-seed in their district.
• OC has

B-B Boys help Rockets slay Cougars

MARION, Ky. – Two Rockets who have been steady contributors all season paired up for perhaps the biggest play of the year – certainly the most significant on Friday night – as kicker Mitchell Brown and Noah Byford painted McLean County out of the playoff picture with one fell swoop.

It was a third-quarter blow that allowed Crittenden County to score twice in 17 seconds and build a two-touchdown lead that held up for a 28-20 victory, launching the Rockets into next week’s regional semifinal at Owensboro Catholic.

Rocket kicker Mitchell Brown and holder
Quinn Summers on a PAT.

McLean County’s old-school pound-on-the-ground offense was punching all the right buttons early in front of a huge Class 2A playoff crowd at Rocket Stadium. Controlling the ball and the clock with long possessions on two scoring drives gave McLean an early 14-0 lead. The typically dynamic Rocket offense was left stranded on the sideline while the Cougars churned away behind their single-wing and wing-T formations. The game of keep-away was working like a charm as CCHS was able to run only five offensive plays in the entire first period.

Rocket quarterback Quinn Summers and all-time receiving leader Caden Howard broke the hometown silence with a 55-yard touchdown strike. Shortly thereafter, Crittenden began solving the Cougars’ ground attack and held on a key fourth down at its own 8-yard line with 2:07 to go in the half. Summers guided CCHS all the way downfield and capped a 92-yard drive with a 10-yard passing play to running back Trae Taylor – his first of two TDs in the game.

Joel Bumpus (8) celebrates a touchdown
with Trae Taylor (1).

Crittenden flipped the script in the second half as its defense continued to set the tone, stopping McLean twice in the red zone. Meanwhile, Summers found junior receiver Davis Perryman on an 8-yard scoring pass early in the third quarter that set up the key play from the BBs – Brown and Byford – on the ensuing kickoff.

A pooch kick down the home sideline off Brown’s foot was perfectly placed, and Byford raced to the spot where the ball ricocheted off a McLean player. The Rocket junior scooped it up inches before it rolled out of bounds. The play set up Crittenden’s final touchdown – Summers’ 37-yard pass to Taylor – and effectively put the game out of reach of McLean’s methodical running game. Cougar quarterback Aden Bolden passed only four times, completing one and throwing one interception – picked off by Howard.

“We had to kick it to a spot where the field was kind of weak. It was a desperate play, it was a really close game,” said Byford, whose recovery provided enough spark to fuel another comeback win – the team’s third in four weeks.

Coach Courtney and Noah Byford (9) celebrate
after Byford's 3Q fumbled kickoff recovery.

Although the Rockets punted on their final three possessions, they’d built ample cushion with four straight scoring drives over the second and third quarters. Crittenden’s defense handled the rest, holding the Cougars to just 74 rushing yards in the second half after they’d piled up 186 before intermission.

“It’s been a great home stretch,” Coach Gaige Courtney said as his team has won six of its last seven games, and half of those victories have come on their home turf. “McLean is a tough, gritty team, and we expected it to be tough. The defense really stepped it up after halftime, and Mitchell Brown’s pooch kick that Noah Byford recovered to give us an extra possession was huge – a great play by both of them.”

The Rockets’ reward will be a play date at O’Cath, the state’s top-ranked Class 2A team, next week. The Aces beat Ft. Campbell 61-7 in this week’s opening-round matchup.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

McLean County 8 6 0 6

Crittenden County 0 14 14 0

SCORING PLAYS

M-Hunter Stratton 4 run (Stratton run) 1:14, 1st

M-Charles Walker 2 run (run failed) 4:16, 2nd

C-Caden Howard 55 pass from Quinn Summers (Mitchell Brown kick) 8:18, 2nd

C-Trae Taylor 10 pass from Summers (Brown kick) :36, 2nd

C-Davis Perryman 8 pass from Summers (Brown kick) 9:53, 3rd

C-Taylor 37 pass from Summers (Brown kick) 9:36, 2nd

M-Walker 11 run (run failed) 3:37, 4th

TEAM TOTALS

First Downs: CCHS 14, MCHS 14

Penalties: CCHS 3-30, MCHS 5-40

Rushing: CCHS 13-62, MCHS 56-260

Passing: CCHS 20-32-1, 267; MCHS 1-4-1, 24

Total Yards: CCHS 329, MCHS 284

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

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing

CCHS: Summers 9-59, Taylor 4-3. MCHS: Walker 25-132, Raylen Tate 12-79, Stratton 10-31, Aden Bolden 6-18.

Passing

CCHS: Summers 20-32-1, 267. MCHS: Bolden 1-4-1, 24.

Receiving

CCHS: Howard 7-113, Taylor 5-69, Eli Lovell 6-69, Perryman 2-16.

Defense

Brandsasse 7 solos, 3 assists; Hall 2 solos, 2 assists; Howard 4 solos, 3 assists, interception; Pierson solo, assist; Poindexter 15 solos, 6 assists, TFL; Sosh solo, 2 assists; Stevenson 3 solos; Taylor assist; Byford 4 solos, TFL, fumble recovery; Lovell 5 solos, 2 assists; A.Rich 4 solos, 2 assists; Bumpus 8 soloists 5 assists, TFL.

Players of the Game: Offense Quinn Summers, Defense Brayden Poindexter, Lineman Jake Rich, Special Teams Noah Byford and Mitchell Brown.

Records: CCHS 8-3, MCHS 5-6

THE SHOW | 2025 | Playoff Week 1 | McLean

 

Rocket Football Coach’s Show is brought to you by local partners and The Crittenden Press. Join Coach Gaige Courtney and host Chris Evans as they discuss the upcoming game and provide insights into the football program. For more, including stats, photos, articles, history and team records see RocketsFootball.com.

WHITETAIL PROPERTIES

Mark Williams Land Team

--------

Curnel Ag

Farmers Bank and Trust Co

Riley Tool and Machine

First United Bank

USA Mortgage, Darrick Myers

Johnson’s Furniture and Appliance

Full Body Fitness Studio Serena Dickerson trainer 

YTG Insurance, Tanner Tabor agent

Frazer Law, Bart Frazer, Cobie Evans

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

Beavers Heating and Air

Gilbert Funeral Home