Tuesday, October 20, 2026

Lady Rockets continue district dynasty


 SMITHLAND, Ky. – Crittenden County extended its Fifth District volleyball reign this week, defeating Trigg County in Monday’s district tournament semifinal and Lyon County in Tuesday’s championship match at Livingston Central.

The Lady Rockets captured their ninth consecutive district tournament title and stretched their district winning streak to 52 matches. Crittenden hasn’t lost to a district opponent since falling to Trigg County in the 2017 tournament.

The two postseason victories improved Crittenden’s record to 17-14 after the Lady Rockets entered as the top seed with a 6-0 district mark.

Against Trigg, Crittenden turned aside the last district team to beat it, securing another championship appearance. The Lady Rockets then defeated a Lyon County program making its first district tournament appearance in its inaugural varsity season. 

It was a highly contested title match that went five sets as CCHS won in dramatic fashion, 25-19, 15-25, 13-25, 25-20, 15-12. Lady Rocket Maddie Hearell was honored following the match for her school-record 629th assist. Also, Hearell, Grayson Travis, Braelyn Merrill and Ava Tabor were chosen for the all-district team.

Crittenden and district runner-up Lyon County advance to the Second Region Tournament that starts Monday at Trigg County.

In the semifinal match on Monday, Crittenden County shook off a second-set loss to beat Trigg County 25-7, 18-25, 25-18, 25-20. The Lady Rockets’ victory earned them a spot in Tuesday’s championship against Lyon County.

Friday, October 16, 2026

Rockets guarantee at least No. 3 playoff seed

MARION, Ky. — Crittenden County’s offense barely had time to get its helmet buckled before the defense had put two touchdowns on the scoreboard Friday at Rocket Stadium.


On a night when Fort Campbell couldn’t keep the football out of Rocket hands, Crittenden turned 7 takeaways into a 49-12 victory and a little breathing room on the playoff road.


The Rockets’ third straight win, all against Class 2A First District opponents, guaranteed them no worse than a No. 3 seed, steering them clear of Owensboro Catholic in the opening round of the playoffs. Next comes a trip to Caldwell County with second place on the line.


Joel Bumpus opened the scoring with a 49-yard interception return on the Falcons’ first possession. A 68-yard scoop-and-score followed later in the quarter, giving Crittenden a 14-6 lead with its offense having run just one play. (And oddly enough that one play had resulted in a lost fumble).

Yet, the Rockets weren’t finished picking pockets. Logan Nolan, Davis Perryman, Azariah Rich and Alex Hewitt also intercepted passes. Rich’s pick snuffed out a Falcon threat in the red zone. There were fumble recoveries by Lovell and Gavin Croft; and defensively, Bumpus and Kaden Herrington had six solo tackles apiece.


Once the offense joined the festivities, Conner Poindexter made sure it stayed involved. He completed 21 of 25 passes for 210 yards and four touchdowns without an interception.


Eli Lovell, a junior who has played through injuries much of the season, benefited from the bye week last Friday and caught seven passes for 93 yards. He scored on a 3-yard run and an 8-yard reception during a 22-point second quarter.


Hayden Hughes caught six passes for 85 yards and two touchdowns. Perryman added a touchdown reception as Crittenden built a 36-12 halftime lead.


The defense allowed just 50 yards after intermission, all on the ground, while sustained Rocket possessions helped put the game away.


Crittenden improved to 4-4 overall and 3-1 in district play. Fort Campbell fell to 2-7 and 1-3.


Mitchell Brown’s blocked extra point following the final touchdown ended the junior kicker’s streak of 31 consecutive successful PATs dating back to last season.


SCORE BY QUARTERS

Fort Campbell  6 6 0 0

Crittenden Co. 14 22 7 6


SCORING PLAYS

CC-Joel Bumpus 49 interception return (Brown kick), 10:23, 1st

FC-Haden Wise 22 run (run failed), 9:18, 1st

CC-Eli Lovell 68 fumble return (Brown kick), 7:22, 1st

CC-Lovell 3 run (Brown kick), 10:06, 2nd

CC-Lovell 8 pass from Conner Poindexter (Lovell run), 9:07, 2nd

FC-Isaiah Messercruz 3 run (pass failed), 1:40, 2nd

CC-Conner Poindexter 38 pass to Hayden Hughes (Brown kick), :51, 2nd

CC-Davis Perryman 10 pass from Poindexter (Brown kick) 7:55, 3rd

CC-Hayden Hughes 11 pass from Poindexter (Brown kick blocked) 7:16, 4th


TEAM TOTALS

First Downs: CCHS 13, FTC 8

Penalties: CCHS 10-73, FTC 7-60

Rushing: CCHS 27-92, FTC 30-168

Passing: CCHS 21-25-0, 210; FTC 8-25-5, 53

Total Yards: CCHS 302, FTC 221

Fumbles/Lost: CCHS 2-0, FTC 3-2


INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing

CCHS-Logan Nolan 9-30, Joel Bumpus 1-2, Azariah Rich 1-2, Eli Lovell 6-28, Conner Poindexter 10-30.

Passing

CCHS-Poindexter 20-26-0, 210.

Receiving

CCHS-Lovell 7-93, Davis Perryman 3-24, Hayden Hughes 6-85, Noah Byford 5-8

Defense

Byford 2 solos, assist; Murray 4 solos; Perryman 3 solos, 2 assists, interception, 2 roaches; J.Rich 2 solos, assist, roach; Brown assist; Curnel 3 solos, 2 assists, roach; Hewitt solo, interception; Lovell solo, 3 assist, fumble recovery; Nash 2 solos, assist; Phillips roach; A.Rich 3 solos, 2 assists, interception, Bumpus 6 solos, 3 assists, interception; Counts 2 solos, assist, TFL; Croft assist, fumble recovery; Herrington 6 solos, 3 TFLs; Hughes 2 solos, 2 assists; Sherer solo, assist, caused fumble; Daniel solo; Walters solos, assist. 

Records: CCHS 4-4 (3-1), Ft. Campbell 2-7 (1-3)









Friday, October 2, 2026

Rocket shutout guarantees playoff berth

 


ELKTON, Ky. – After a sometimes difficult first half that included a couple of lopsided losses and one hard-fought district win, it was about time for the Rockets to get a walk in the park.


Crittenden County (2-4 overall) is now 2-1 in Class A First District action heading into a bye week after dispatching winless Todd County Central 36-0 in something akin to an abbreviated game.


Kaden Harrington rushing
The Rockets whitewashed the Rebels in the first half, imposing the mercy-rule running clock with just under six minutes to go before halftime. Todd’s hapless offense struggled to simply get a snap off in the shotgun formation, fumbled often and failed to cover two CCHS kickoffs. The Rebels had minus-21 yards of offense in the first half and finished with no rushing yards. Of their 73 passing yards, 43 came on one play late in the second half against the Crittenden reserves.


For the second half, the game was shortened from 12- to eight-minute quarters.


Junior starting quarterback Conner Poindexter, who missed last week’s game because of a knee injury, came back and completed all four of his attempts and threw one touchdown. 


Hayden Hughes, who had played superbly last week as backup QB, played every other offensive series in the first half, completing both of his passes, including a touchdown to Davis Perryman. Hughes also covered a kickoff in the first half, and Draven Farmer and Joel Bumpus each recovered Todd Central fumbles.


Noah Byford, who caught the game’s first scoring pass from Poindexter, also had two fumble recoveries, including one that gave the Rockets a short field on its second possession. From there CCHS scored its first of three rushing touchdowns. Eli Lovell rushed for two scores and Logan Nolan another. CCHS scored on all five first-half possessions and kicker Mitchell Brown remained perfect on the season, making all four of his PATs.


Crittenden has secured a spot in the postseason with two district wins and can improve its playoff seeding with a victory in two weeks at Rocket Stadium for homecoming against Fort Campbell.


SCORE BY QUARTERS 

Crittenden County 22 14 0 0

Todd Co. Central 0 0 0 0


SCORING PLAYS

C-Noah Byford 8 pass from Conner Poindexter (Eli Lovell run) 6:04, 1st

C-Lovell, 3 run (Mitchell Brown kick), 4:01, 1st

C-Lovell 11 pass from Poindexter (Brown kick), 2:29, 1st

C-Davis Perryman 11 pass from Hayden Hughes (Brown kick), 9:47, 2nd

C-Logan Nolan, 3 run (Brown kick), 5:09, 2nd


TEAM TOTALS

First Downs: CCHS 11, TCC 3

Penalties: CCHS 10-80, TCC 8-90

Rushing: 27-155, TCC 15-0

Passing: CCHS 8-8-0, 62; TCC 7-12-0, 73

Total Yards: CCHS 206, TCC 73

Fumbles/Lost: CCHS 5-2, TCC 7-4


INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS 

Rushing

CCHS: Nolan 9-54, Joel Bumpus 5-39, Troy Daniel 5-22, Lovell 1-3, Hayden Hughes 1-22, Caden Blazina 3-16, Poindexter 3-(-1).

Passing

CCHS: Poindexter 5-5-0, 51; Hughes 2-2-0, 17; Daniel 1-1-0, (-6).

Receiving

CCHS: Hayden Hughes 2-36, Byford 1-8, Lovell 2-6, Perryman 1-11. Kaden Herrington 1-7, Dalton Murray 1-(-6).

Defense: Byford 3 solos, 2 TFL, fumble recovery; Murray 3 solos, assist, caused fumble, TFL; Perryman assist, fumble recovery, roach; J.Rich roach; Hewitt assist; Lovell 2 solos; Nash solo, assist, TFL; A.Rich 3 solos, assist, TFL; Bumpus solo; Counts solo, assist; Croft 3 solos, 2 TFL; Herrington 2 solos, assist, TFL, sack; Hughes solo, assist, fumble recovery; Walters solo, assist, 2 roaches; Farmer fumble recovery, roach.

Records: CCHS 3-4 (2-1), TCC 0-7, 0-3



Monday, September 28, 2026

At A Glance: A Trigg County Recap and a Todd County Central Preview



TRIGG COUNTY RECAP
  • Crittenden County has had a 100-yard rusher in two games this season including one against Trigg County. That is notable considering that, over the previous 55 games dating back to 2021, the Rockets produced a 100-yard rusher in only three games.
  • Against Trigg County, Crittenden County scored three rushing touchdowns without throwing a touchdown pass. It marked the first time in 41 games that the Rockets had scored at least three rushing touchdowns without a passing touchdown, dating back to the 2023 season opener against Webster County.

A GAME OF INCHES... AND 261 PENALTY YARDS

  • The 29 combined penalties by Crittenden County and Trigg County were