The Craig County Rockets have their second home football game of the season this Friday when they host Twin Valley High. The Panthers are a Class 1 school from Pilgrims Knob, VA.
Twin Valley wouldn’t trade film with Rockets’ coach Jimmy Fisher so he had to get film from other schools that the Panthers’ played. Twin Valley is off to an 0-3 start and has given up a ton of points, losing 52-0 to Montcalm, 52-32 to Phelps High of Kentucky and 50-12 to Northwood.
“I expect Twin Valley to have a bunch of tough kids that never give up,” said Fisher. “Those coal field kids just have some kind of inherent toughness in their DNA.”
Fisher isn’t taking the Panthers for granted despite their slow start. Their 32 points scored against Montcalm is 15 more than the Rockets scored against that same opponent.
“Offensively, I expect them to run some Double Wing and Wing T type stuff on offense, that’s what they have done so far,” said Fisher. “But you can’t assume anything. Good teams keep building around their base offense to give opponents a fresh look every week, or as needed.”
Twin Valley has struggled on defense, giving up 152 points in the first three weeks.
“Defensively, I am not sure what we will see from them,” said Fisher. “I’m just looking for a better, more disciplined effort from our offensive line. I want to see how our kids respond to the adversity of our last game.
“It’s most likely going to be a wet Homecoming game so we have to be prepared for a game without a lot of passing. Our defense has been very stingy against the running game and I expect that to be the case on Friday. We have to be able to move the ball on the ground with eight or nine guys in the box this week. The O-line worked hard last week and I hope to see it pay off on Friday.”
Craig comes into the game with a 2-1 record. They won at Twin Valley last season, 34-14, and if they can win Friday night they’ll be 3-1 for the first time since 2012. Fisher is hoping for a big turnout at Mitchell Field for the Homecoming game.
“Rain or shine, I am hoping Craig County shows up to support this team Friday,” he said. “We have worked very hard to put a much improved team on the field and I think we have. I expect us to play with a lot of energy on Friday. Put on your rain gear, poncho, grab an umbrella, whatever you need to do, just be there!”
The Craig jayvees are scheduled to play at Parry McCluer tonight. Next Wednesday, October 2nd, the jayvees will host Bath County.
