MARION, Ky. – So close, and yet seemingly so far at times.
Crittenden County, in rebuilding mode after losing 10 starters from an eight-win regional semifinalist season a year ago, flirted with an opening-night upset Friday, taking Class 5A Marshall County to the final snap before falling 22-15 at Rocket Stadium.
The Rockets showed enough grit to keep the home crowd planted until the very end, but two first-half
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| Joel Bumpus tackling the Marshall QB |
Crittenden fumbled at the Marshall 4-yard line in the second quarter, then got the ball right back when Jake Rich and Joel Bumpus tackled quarterback Jesse Kinsall in the end zone for a safety. The ensuing free kick handed Crittenden excellent field position at the Marshall 28, but another fumble ended that threat.
Instead of taking control, the Rockets went to halftime trailing 3-2.
Marshall turned almost exclusively to the air after intermission. Kinsall threw for 335 yards and three touchdowns, while the Marshals managed only 33 yards rushing. They gained just 7 on the ground in the second half.
First-year starting quarterback Conner Poindexter answered with a steady performance, completing 14-of-23 passes for 173 yards. His 21-yard touchdown pass to Eli Lovell pulled Crittenden within 9-8 during the third quarter.
Marshall stretched its advantage to 22-8 before the Rockets reached into their bag of tricks. Hayden Hughes took a toss from Poindexter and fired downfield to a wide-open Davis Perryman, who raced 69 yards for a touchdown.
Perryman finished with six receptions for 125 yards, and Joel Bumpus led Crittenden’s ground game with 50 yards.
The Rockets got one final chance, driving into Marshall territory before two holding penalties put them in a deep hole. Poindexter’s last pass into the end zone fell incomplete with two seconds remaining. Rocket fans and their sideline wanted a pass interference flag, but couldn’t coax one from the officials.
“We could have packed it in when we got down two scores,” sixth-year coach Gaige Courtney said. “But we made it a ballgame and made it interesting at the end.”
The Rocket skipper is 3-3 in openers over his head coaching career.
There are no moral victories beneath the Friday night lights, Courtney said, but against a school with twice its enrollment and considerably more depth, Crittenden gave Rocket fans plenty of reason to believe better nights lie ahead.
The Rockets will be at Union County next week.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Marshall County 3 0 13 6
Crittenden County 0 2 6 7
SCORING PLAYS
M-Brayden York 37 field goal, 6:22, 1st
C-Safety, 2nd
M-Ben Fortner 2 pass from Jesse Kinsall (run failed) 9:”00, 3rd
C-Eli Lovell 21 pass from Conner Poindexter (run fail) 7:56, 3rd
M-Jett Jones 26 pass from Kinsall (York kick) :47, 3rd
M-Jones 29 pass from Kinsall (kick failed) 10:22, 4th
C-Davis Perryman 69 pass from Hayden Hughes (Mitchell Brown kick) 8:33, 4th
TEAM TOTALS
First Downs: CCHS 12, MCHS 12
Penalties: CCHS 5-40, MCHS 6-40
Rushing: CCHS 38-100, MCHS 22-33
Passing: CCHS 15-24-0, 242; MCHS 20-32-0, 335
Total Yards: CCHS 342, MCHS 368
Fumbles/Lost: CCHS 2-2, MCHS 2-1
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing
CCHS - Joel Bumpus 10-50, Hughes 4-25, Logan Nolan 3, Eli Lovell 4-9, Poindexter 19-13. MCHS - Carson Fogg 4-10, Jaxon Warner 2-1, Reece Reid 5-14, York 2-(-2), Jasper Jones 1-4, Kinsall 9-6.
Passing
CCHS - Poindexter 14-23-0, 173; Hughes 1-1-0, 69. MCHS - Kinsall 20-32-0, 335.
Receiving
CCHS - Perryman 6-125, Noah Byford 3-27, Lovell 5-71, Hughes 1-19. MCHS - Jones 8-168, Rylan Shelton 3-53, Reid 2-46.
Defense
Check back later
Records: CCHS 0-1, MCHS 1-0
