MARION, Ky. – With its top two offensive weapons sidelined, Crittenden County went deep into the playbook Friday night and dusted off the old-fashioned single-wing offense in hopes of slowing down Union County.
For a quarter, it worked. The Rockets pushed the ball, chewed up clock and grabbed a 7-0 lead. But once the Braves solved the look, they took control with 40 straight points on their way to a 40-13 victory at Rocket Stadium.
Starting quarterback Quinn Summers and leading receiver Caden Howard missed the game after injuries suffered in the season-opener a week earlier at Marshall County.
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| Rocket defender Jay Stevenson hurries the Union County QB. |
“Obviously the game plan was ball control,” Rocket coach Gaige Courtney said. “You’ve got to be physical, you can’t have penalties, you can’t have negative plays, you can’t have turnovers. You have to play very clean to play that style of football and be good at it. We did a good job for a while, but then we had some of those mistakes.”
Courtney praised his players for adjusting quickly to a system few of them had ever run.
“I was really proud of the guys, the way they accepted the challenge this week. They had a lot of new stuff go in in a short period of time,” he said.
“The offense we were running you really have to keep it close,” said Taylor, lamenting how things stalled after a positive start. He said the squad started learning the new offense on Tuesday in preparation for the Braves after leaning two key players would not be available.
Crittenden’s defense gave the Rockets a chance early, holding Union on downs on its opening possession and later forcing two punts. Dokota Sosh recovered a fumble, and Eli Lovell picked off a pass, stopping the Braves on two of their 10 drives. But Union still piled up 411 total yards, including 293 on the ground, as running backs Willem McPeake (140 yards, two TDs) and Max Nobles (88 yards, two TDs) wore down the defense.
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| Braydin Brandsasse makes a tackle in the backfield early in the game. |
Trailing big in the second half, Crittenden abandoned the single-wing and turned to backup quarterback Conner Poindexter to open up the passing game. He completed 3 of 5 throws for 37 yards but also tossed a pick. He also rushed for 20 yards.
Crittenden finished with 158 total yards – 121 rushing and 37 passing – while Union nearly tripled that output. The Rockets fell to 0-2, while the Braves evened their record at 1-1.
SCORE BY QUARTER
Union County 0 20 6 14
Crittenden Co. 7 0 0 6
SCORING PLAYS
C-Trae Taylor 2 run (Mitchell Brown kick) :47, 1st
U-Willem McPeake 4 run (Jerry Sabino kick) 7:52, 2nd
U-Landon Fletcher 1 run (Sabino kick) 2:49, 2nd
U-Abrien Fletcher 11 pass from Landon French (kick failed) :04, 2nd
U-Max Nobles 4 run (run failed) 5:42, 3rd
U-McPeake 6 run (Sabino kick) 7:30, 4th
U-Nobles 7 run (Sabino kick) 4:15, 4th
C-Taylor 4 run (conversion failed) :25, 4th
TEAM TOTALS
First Downs: CCHS 11, UCHS 16
Penalties: CCHS 10-80, UCHS 8-85
Rushing: CCHS 38-121, UCHS 38-293
Passing: CCHS 3-7-1, 37; UCHS 9-15-1, 118
Total Yards: CCHS 158, UCHS 411
Fumbles/Lost: CCHS 6-3, UCHS 2-1
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing
CCHS: Taylor 20-84, Eli Lovell 13-21, Conner Poindexter 3-20, Dokota Sosh 101, Noah Byford 1-(-5). UCHS: McPeake 18-140, Nobels 8-88, Fletcher 7-40, Brady Steward 3-24.
Passing
CCHS: Poindexter 3-5-1, 37; Lovell 0–2-0. UCHS: Nobels 0-4-1; French 9-11-0, 118.
Receiving
CCHS: Jay Stevenson 1-15, Brayden Poindexter 1-14, Sosh 1-8.
Defense
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Records: Crittenden 0-2, Union 1-1
