RocketsFootball.com

Friday, September 19, 2025

Rockets will work to regroup from Mayfield loss

QB Quinn Summers gets off a pass in the first half.

MAYFIELD, Ky. – Under the Friday night lights at War Memorial Stadium, one of west Kentucky’s most storied football venues, Crittenden County ran headlong into a buzzsaw. The Rockets were overwhelmed 49-7 by No. 3 Mayfield in the Class 2A First District opener.

Trae Taylor just misses a first-half pass.

The Cardinals, perennial state powers and preseason favorites in the district, scored on every first-half possession plus a 70-yard punt return. By the time the Rockets got on the board when Jay Stevenson hauled in a 17-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Quinn Summers late in the third quarter, the game had long been decided. A running clock – football's version the mercy rule – was implemented in the second period.

Mayfield built a 35-0 lead in the opening quarter behind explosive plays, including a 50-yard touchdown run from Malik Taylor and a 30-yard scoring strike from Gray Robbins. Special teams added to the onslaught when Mak Hoover outran Rocket coverage for a punt-return touchdown.

Crittenden’s offense found little room to breathe, managing just 39 rushing yards on 16 carries. Summers finished 13-for-23 passing for 107 yards before sophomore backup Conner Poindexter came on in relief late in the game. Stevenson led receivers with four grabs for 46 yards, while senior standout Caden Howard caught four passes for 32 yards.

Noah Byford on a kickoff return.

Defensively, the Rockets struggled to contain Mayfield’s speed, yielding 171 yards on just 14 carries. The Cardinals rotated to junior varsity players after their opening possession of the second half, but still closed with 330 total yards.

Crittenden, now 2-3, shifts its focus to next week’s district matchup at Trigg County. With Mayfield heavily favored to win another district crown, the Rockets will look to regroup quickly in what appears to be a more balanced race for second place.

SCORE BY QUARTER

Crittenden 0 0 7 0

Mayfield 35 7 7 0

SCORING PLAYS

M-Ashton Flint 31 pass from Gray Robbins (pass failed) 8:47, 1st

M-Malik Taylor 50 run (kick failed) 6:20, 1st

M-Elijah Morris 30 pass from Robbins (Angel Torres kick) 4:38, 1st

M-Mak Hoover 70 punt return (Torres kick) 1:23, 1st

M-Hoover 35 run (Torres kick) 1:04, 1st

M-Ja’Aubry Sherrill 21 run (Torres kick) 4:50, 2nd

M-Anderson Smith 30 pass from Sawyer Stinson (Owen Byrd kick) 8:00, 3rd

C-Jay Stevenson 17 pass from Quinn Summers (Mitchell Brown kick) 1:30, 3rd

TEAM TOTALS

First Downs: CCHS 8, MHS 11

Penalties: CCHS 5-25, MHS 1-5

Rushing: CCHS 16-39, MHS 14-171

Passing: CCHS 14-25-0, 114; MHS 9-15-1, 159

Total Yards: CCHS 153, MHS 330

Fumbles/Lost: CCHS 1-1, MHS 0-0

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing

CCHS: Logan Nolan 8-36, Trae Taylor 3-(-3), Joel Bumpus 1-1, Conner Poindexter 3-9, Summers 1-(-4). MHS: Taylor 4-82, Sherrill 4-38.

Passing

CCHS: Summers 13-23-0, 107; C.Poindexter 1-2-0, 7. MHS: Robbins 5-8-0, 96; Stinson 9-15-1, 63.

Receiving

CCHS: Caden Howard 4-32, Taylor 2-10, Stevenson 4-46, Dokota Sosh 1-0, Brayden Poindexter 1-15, Hayden Hughes 1-7, Joel Bumpus 1-4, Nolan 1-0. MHS: Hoover 2-30, Flint 1-31, Kirby 1-22, Morris 1-30, Smith 1-30.

Defense

Brandsasse 3 solos, TFL: Hall solo, assists; Pierson assist; B.Poindexter solo; Stevenson 2 solos; Taylor solo, assist; Musser 2 solos, assist; Nolan assist; Perryman solo; Curnel 2 solos; Lovell 3 solos, interception; Bumpus 2 solos, 3 assists; Herrington solo, assist; Hughes 2 solos; Byford solo, assist.

Records: CCHS 2-3, MHS 4-1

Thursday, September 18, 2025

AT A GLANCE: MAYFIELD

Photo Credit. Facts.Net

ABOVE: Who is this 9-year NFL player?
Caden Howard is about to move past this Kentuckian on one of the KHSAA record lists.

THE SHOW | 2025 | Week 5 Mayfield

Rocket Football Coach’s Show is brought to you by local partners and The Crittenden Press. Join Coach Gaige Courtney, host Chris Evans, and senior players Keegan Pierson and Jay Stevenson to get insight and information about Crittenden County High School Football. For further details, including stats, photos, articles, history, team records and more see RocketsFootball.com.

WHITETAIL PROPERTIES

Mark Williams Land Team

--------

Curnel Ag

Farmers Bank and Trust Co

Riley Tool and Machine

First United Bank

USA Mortgage, Darrick Myers

Johnson’s Furniture and Appliance

Full Body Fitness Studio Serena Dickerson trainer

YTG Insurance, Tanner Tabor agent

Frazer Law, Bart Frazer, Cobie Evans

Hodge’s Sports and Apparel

C-Plant Federal Credit Union

Livingston Hospital | Deaconess

H&H Home and Hardware

Par 4 Plastics

Deer Lakes Golf Course

Beavers Heating and Air

Gilbert Funeral Home

Friday, September 12, 2025

Full strength Rockets turnover Tornado in win

MARION, Ky. – On a night when Union City brought its championship pedigree across the Tennessee line, Crittenden County countered with something just as powerful – reinforcements from the injured reserve.

Quarterback Quinn Summers and wideout Caden Howard, sidelined since the season opener, returned to the field Friday and helped the Rockets notch a momentum-building 21-14 win over the Golden Tornado in the schools’ first-ever meeting.

Trae Taylor (1) congratulates
Joel Bumpus on a TD.

Summers spread the ball to seven receivers and finished with 171 yards passing, while Howard hauled in five catches for 117 yards, including a 48-yard strike on a post route that gave CCHS its first lead early in the third quarter.

“It was a blessing to be back, especially so quick,” Howard said. “Quinn started getting in rhythm and hit me in stride. I couldn’t ask for a better quarterback. The turnovers on defense were huge. That kept us fighting and kept our energy up.”

Union City (1-3) struck first, capitalizing on an onside kick and short field to take a 7-0 lead. But the Golden Tornado unraveled after quarterback Jack Theobald left with an injury. They lost five fumbles, threw an interception and committed 132 yards in penalties.

Crittenden (2-2) tied the game just before halftime when Summers found Trae Taylor on a fourth-down touchdown from the five-yard line. The Rockets then cashed in on Union City mistakes in the third quarter. Howard’s long catch-and-run was followed by freshman Joel Bumpus’s first varsity score, a one-yard plunge. Both touchdowns were set up by fumble recoveries.

The defense made sure just enough of Union City’s miscues mattered. Noah Byford picked off a pass, and fumbles were recovered by Keegan Pierson, Bumpus, Gary Hall and Jay Stevenson. The Rockets’ ability to turn those takeaways into points proved decisive.

Davis Perryman makes a tackle

Union City pulled within a touchdown on a 33-yard scoring pass from Adrian Crawford with 3:48 left, but CCHS bled out the final minutes on the ground.

“So happy for our guys,” coach Gaige Courtney said. “We’ve kind of had a rough road starting out with injuries, and we came out slower than we wanted to. There are so many guys who made an impact tonight and getting a couple of guys back helped. But those other guys around them really played well. We always talk about turnovers and winning that battle. We were definitely on the right side of it tonight.”

The Rockets open Class 2A First District play next week at perennial power Mayfield, currently ranked among the top three teams in the division.

SCORE BY QUARTER

Union City, Tenn. 7 0 0 7

Crittenden County 0 7 14 0

SCORING PLAYS

UC-Rodney Jenkins 35 run (Alex Landerous kick) 7:41, 1st

CC-Trae Taylor 5 pass from Quinn Summers (Mitchell Brown kick) :49, 2nd

CC-Caden Howard 48 pass from Quinn Summers (Brown kick) 8:37, 3rd

CC-Joel Bumpus 1 run (Brown kick) 3:07, 3rd

UC-Khazarion Scates 33 pass from Adrian Crawford (Landerous kick) 3:48, 4th

TEAM TOTALS

First Downs: CCHS 10, UCHS 10

Penalties: CCHS 7-50, UCHS 14-132

Rushing: CCHS 27-67, UCHS 44-237

Passing: CCHS 15-24-1, 171; 1-3-1, 33

Total Yards: CCHS 238, UCHS 270

Fumbles/Lost: CCHS 1-1, UCHS 9-5

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing

CCHS: Taylor 20-44, Bumpus 2-15, Howard 2-6, Summers 3-2. UCHS: Andre Small 14-79, Logan Puckett 2-8, Jenkins 2-35, Crawford 22-128, Jack Theobald 2-2, Team 2-(-15).

Passing

CCHS: Summers 15-24-1, 171. UCHS: Crawford 1-3-1, 33.

Receiving

CCHS: Howard 5-117, Taylor 3-14, Noah Byford 1-0, Dokota Sosh 3-34, Bumpus 1-(-8), Eli Lovell 1-8, Davis Perryman 1-6. UCHS: Scates 1-33.

Defense

Brandsasse solo, 6 assists; Hall 4 solos, assist, fumble recovery; B.Poindexter 10 solos, 2 assists, 2 TFLs, caused fumble; D.Sosh 4 solos; Stevenson solo, 2 assists, 2 fumble recoveries; Summers solo; Taylor 4 solos, 2 assists; Byford 5 solos, 2 assists, interception; Perryman 2 solos, 2 assists; Blazina assist; Lovell 3 solos; A.Rich assist; Bumpus 4 solos, 3 assists, TFL, caused fumble, fumble recovery; Herrington assist; Curnel assist; Pierson 3 solos, 2 assists, fumble recovery, 2 caused fumbles.

Records: CCHS 2-2, UCHS 1-3

Wednesday, September 10, 2025

THE SHOW |. WEEK 4 | 2025 | Union City

Rocket Football Coach’s Show is brought to you by local partners and The Crittenden Press. Join Coach Gaige Courtney, host Chris Evans, and assistant coach Grant Carter this week to get insight and information about Crittenden County High School Football. For further details, including stats, photos, articles, history, team records and more see RocketsFootball.com.