Friday, August 30, 2019

Tabor rushes for 190 in 48-21 Rocket victory

Xander Tabor rushed for 190 yards and scored 3 touchdowns.
DIXON, Ky. – Junior Xander Tabor broke out with a premier performance in his second game as the Rockets’ featured running back as Crittenden County beat Webster County Friday 48-21 on the road.

Tabor rushed for 190 yards and scored three touchdowns, one a 28-yard pass from senior quarterback Hunter Jones.

Jones didn’t throw too much because the Rocket running game was in charge of the offensive pulse the whole way, but when he did, his completions were for key plays. Two of his five completions went for touchdowns, including a 97-yarder to junior Tyler Boone early in the fourth period that finished the Rocket scoring.

Crittenden coach Sean Thompson gave a shout out to his offensive line that commanded the contest from the outset, but he was quick to share the love.

“Xander Tabor had a humongous night for us. He’s the X-factor. When he puts his foot in the ground and gets down hill, he’s hard to stop,” the coach said. “He’s a big-time back for us and I think he will continue to do that for us this year. But it all goes to how hard they’re working up front. The big guys up front are opening those lanes for him to hit and when he gets into secondary he's hard to bring down."

“But we did it by committee," the coach continued. "There were a lot of guys that got involved in the running game."

Coach Thompson makes his point with quarterback
Hunters Jones in the first half.
Indeed. Crittenden rushed for 328 yards while Jones threw for an additional 169.

“We started a little slow. (Webster) knows us inside and out and we know them inside and out. They did some things early that were complicated, but we figured it out staying with the run game.”

Crittenden’s secondary grew up a bit in this one. The Rockets picked off four passes thrown by Webster quarterback Mason Wilson, who’s considered a pretty good passer.

Preston Turley, Caden McCalister, Tyler Boone and Preston Morgeson each had interceptions. 

Rocket offensive tackle Dylan Yates got in on the scoring action, posting a rare lineman’s touchdown when he recovered the ball in the end zone after running back Preston Morgeson lost the handle on it just in front of the goal line on a 10-yard rushing play.

The Rockets, now 2-0, will travel to Ballard Memorial next week for their third straight road game to begin the season. They come home the following week to host Caldwell County.

SCORE BY QUARTERS
Crittenden County 14 14 13 7
Webster County 14 0 0 7

SCORING PLAYS
C-Xander Tabor 20 run (Noah Perkins kick) 9:45, 1st
W-Hayden Nunn 9 pass from Mason Wilson (Joel McCormick kick) 8:15, 1st
W-Wilson 1 run (McCormick kick) 2:35, 1st
C-Tabor 28 pass from Hunter Jones (Perkins kick) 1:20, 1st
C-Caden McCalister 21 pass from Jones (Tyler Boone run) 3:58, 2nd
C-Tabor 20 run (kick failed) :23, 2nd
C-Jones 1 run (kick failed) 8:44, 3rd
C-Dylan Yates fumble recovery end zone (Perkins kick) 7:51, 3rd
C-Boone 97 pass from Jones (Perkins kick) 10:32, 4th
W-Daniel Yates 17 pass from Wilson (McCormick kick) 6:47, 4th

TEAM TOTALS
First Downs: Crittenden 16, Webster 14
Penalties: Crittenden 10-103, Webster 16-118
Rushing: Crittenden 43-328, Webster 27-106
Passing: Crittenden 5-11-1, 169 yds., Webster 18-34-4, 201
Total Yards: Crittenden 497, Webster 307
Fumbles/Lost: Crittenden 2-1, Webster 0

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing
Crittenden - Tabor 18-190, Kaleb Nesbitt 1-5, Caden McCalister 4-44, Morgeson 6-13, Keifer Marshall 5-37, Braxton Winders 1-(-3), Jones 8-42. Webster - Nunn 3-8, Shawn Guinn 4-32, Ayden Winn 6-19, Grant Nance 3-(-1), Tanner Robertson 7-26, Wilson 4-22.
Passing
Crittenden - Jones 5-11-1, 169 yds. Webster - Wilson 17-33-4, 185 yds., Winn 1-1-0, 16.
Receiving
Crittenden - McCalister 2-23, Boone 2-118, Tabor 1-28. Webster - Guinn 1-11, Nance 1-4, Yates 7-107, Winn 6-38. 
Defense
Phillips solo, assist; Boone 13 solos, 3 assists, 3 TFLs, interception; Easley 6 solos, 3 assists, TFL; McCalister 9 solos, assist, interception; McGowan 2 solos, assist, sack; N.Perkins 2 solos; Tabor 3 solos, assist; Winders solo, assist; Turley 2 assists, interception; Bailey also; Baker assist; Carlson 2 solos, assist; Derrington solo; Stone assist; Yates solo, 2 assists, fumble recovery; Morgeson 3 assists, interception; Wood assist. 
Players of the Game
Offense Xander Tabor, Defense Tyler Boone, Linemen Ian Ellington and Lathan Easley, Special Teams Preston Turley.
Records
Crittenden 2-0, Webster 1-1