MARION, Ky. – Two Rockets who have been steady contributors all season paired up for perhaps the biggest play of the year – certainly the most significant on Friday night – as kicker Mitchell Brown and Noah Byford painted McLean County out of the playoff picture with one fell swoop.
It was a third-quarter blow that allowed Crittenden County to score twice in 17 seconds and build a two-touchdown lead that held up for a 28-20 victory, launching the Rockets into next week’s regional semifinal at Owensboro Catholic.
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| Rocket kicker Mitchell Brown and holder Quinn Summers on a PAT. |
Rocket quarterback Quinn Summers and all-time receiving leader Caden Howard broke the hometown silence with a 55-yard touchdown strike. Shortly thereafter, Crittenden began solving the Cougars’ ground attack and held on a key fourth down at its own 8-yard line with 2:07 to go in the half. Summers guided CCHS all the way downfield and capped a 92-yard drive with a 10-yard passing play to running back Trae Taylor – his first of two TDs in the game.
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| Joel Bumpus (8) celebrates a touchdown with Trae Taylor (1). |
A pooch kick down the home sideline off Brown’s foot was perfectly placed, and Byford raced to the spot where the ball ricocheted off a McLean player. The Rocket junior scooped it up inches before it rolled out of bounds. The play set up Crittenden’s final touchdown – Summers’ 37-yard pass to Taylor – and effectively put the game out of reach of McLean’s methodical running game. Cougar quarterback Aden Bolden passed only four times, completing one and throwing one interception – picked off by Howard.
“We had to kick it to a spot where the field was kind of weak. It was a desperate play, it was a really close game,” said Byford, whose recovery provided enough spark to fuel another comeback win – the team’s third in four weeks.
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| Coach Courtney and Noah Byford (9) celebrate after Byford's 3Q fumbled kickoff recovery. |
“It’s been a great home stretch,” Coach Gaige Courtney said as his team has won six of its last seven games, and half of those victories have come on their home turf. “McLean is a tough, gritty team, and we expected it to be tough. The defense really stepped it up after halftime, and Mitchell Brown’s pooch kick that Noah Byford recovered to give us an extra possession was huge – a great play by both of them.”
The Rockets’ reward will be a play date at O’Cath, the state’s top-ranked Class 2A team, next week. The Aces beat Ft. Campbell 61-7 in this week’s opening-round matchup.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
McLean County 8 6 0 6
Crittenden County 0 14 14 0
SCORING PLAYS
M-Hunter Stratton 4 run (Stratton run) 1:14, 1st
M-Charles Walker 2 run (run failed) 4:16, 2nd
C-Caden Howard 55 pass from Quinn Summers (Mitchell Brown kick) 8:18, 2nd
C-Trae Taylor 10 pass from Summers (Brown kick) :36, 2nd
C-Davis Perryman 8 pass from Summers (Brown kick) 9:53, 3rd
C-Taylor 37 pass from Summers (Brown kick) 9:36, 2nd
M-Walker 11 run (run failed) 3:37, 4th
TEAM TOTALS
First Downs: CCHS 14, MCHS 14
Penalties: CCHS 3-30, MCHS 5-40
Rushing: CCHS 13-62, MCHS 56-260
Passing: CCHS 20-32-1, 267; MCHS 1-4-1, 24
Total Yards: CCHS 329, MCHS 284
Fumbles/Lost: CCHS 1-1, MCHS 2-1
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing
CCHS: Summers 9-59, Taylor 4-3. MCHS: Walker 25-132, Raylen Tate 12-79, Stratton 10-31, Aden Bolden 6-18.
Passing
CCHS: Summers 20-32-1, 267. MCHS: Bolden 1-4-1, 24.
Receiving
CCHS: Howard 7-113, Taylor 5-69, Eli Lovell 6-69, Perryman 2-16.
Defense
Check back later
Records: CCHS 8-3, MCHS 5-6
