UNION CITY, Tenn. — A disappointed Coach Gaige Courtney placed the blame everywhere – including on himself – after Crittenden County suffered a 37-0 road loss Friday at Union City.
“Super disappointed. We just work too hard for this to lay an egg like we did. We have to do better. There is no excuse for what happened,” the sixth-year Rocket coach said. “The coaches have to do better. Players have to do better. We just have to be better.”
Crittenden (1-3) will have little time to regroup. The Rockets open Class 2A First District play at home next week against perennial power Mayfield, a team favored to win the district title.
“From the start we dug ourselves a hole. You could tell we were not ready to play. We had missed assignments, misalignments and were undisciplined from the very first drive,” Courtney said.
Union City needed only one offensive snap to take control. Kinydee Taylor raced 71 yards for a touchdown just 39 seconds into the game, beginning a first-half avalanche.
The Golden Tornadoes scored four times and added a safety in the opening quarter, building a 23-0 advantage. Two more touchdowns in the second period pushed the margin to 37-0 and put Tennessee’s mercy rule into effect at halftime.
The running clock made quick work of a scoreless second half.
Crittenden had an opportunity to break up the shutout after senior Dalton Murray recovered a Union City fumble in Golden Tornado territory late in the game. The Rockets drove to the doorstep of the end zone, but an incomplete pass as time expired ended their bid to get on the scoreboard.
Bright spots were few. Hayden Hughes intercepted a pass, and senior Noah Byford caught four passes for 90 yards.
Crittenden finished with minus-10 yards rushing and 101 through the air. Much of the passing yardage came on two gadget plays. Eli Lovell completed a 28-yard pass on a fake punt, and Hughes connected for 31 yards on another trick play that moved Crittenden into Union City territory.
Quarterback Conner Poindexter completed 5-of-19 passes for 42 yards but was intercepted twice. Both picks came with the Rockets threatening to score. Poindexter had thrown only one interception through the season’s first three games.
Union City amassed 439 yards, including 323 on just 23 rushing attempts – an average of 14 yards per carry. Taylor scored on a 71-yard run and later caught an 84-yard touchdown pass.
“They are a good, physical football team. Give them credit,” Courtney said. “But this was ridiculous. We have to come out and play better. There is a lot of season left and I still believe we are a good football team, but we have got to play better than we did tonight.”
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Crittenden Co. 0 0 0 0
Union City 23 14 0 0
SCORING PLAYS
UC-Kinydee Taylor 71 run (Alex Landeros kick) 11:21, 1st
UC-Jack Theobald 33 run (kick good) 7:51, 1st
UC-Safety, 6;03, 1st
UC-Grant Sinclair 1 run (kick good) 3:21, 1st
UC-Sinclair 2 run (kick good) 7:33, 2nd
UC-Taylor 84 pass from Theobald (kick good) 2:50, 2nd
TEAM TOTALS
First Downs: CCHS 6, UCHS 13
Penalties: CCHS 4-20, UCHS 4-30
Rushing: CCHS 15-(-10), UCHS 23-323
Passing: CCHS 7-21-2, 101, 4-6-1, 116
Total Yards: CCHS 91, UCHS 439
Fumbles/Lost: 1-0, 1-1
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing
CCHS: Joel Bumpus 1-5, Eli Lovell 1-6, Conner Poindexter 11-(-21).
Passing
CCHS: Poindexter 5-19-2, 42; Lovell 1-1-0, 28; Hughes 1-1-0, 31.
Receiving
CCHS: Noah Byford 4-90, Hughes 3-11.
Defense
Byfordsolo; Nolan assist, Murray fumble recovery; Perryman 2 solos, assist; J.Rich solo, TFL; Curnel 10 solos, 2 TFLs; Hewitt 2 solos, 2 assists; Lovell 5 solos, assist; Nash 2 solos, 2 assists, roach; A.Rich solo, assist; Bumpus 4 solos, assist; Croft solo; Herrington solo; Hughes 3 solos, interception; Sherer assist, Farmer solo, caused fumble.
Players of the Game: Defense and Lineman Hunter Curnel, Offense Noah Byford, Special Teams Eli Lovell.
Records: CCHS 1-3, Union City 1-3
