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
