The Craig County football team got the season off to a flying start with a 48-0 shutout of Montcalm in New Castle last Friday night. It was a game the Rockets had been looking forward to since losing a heartbreaker in West Virginia last year, and a large crowd turned out at Mitchell Field to see the home team extract revenge.
“Great opening night at Mitchell Field,” said Craig coach Jimmy Fisher. “This game had been circled on the schedule for a year. Every player and staff member wanted to win this game in a dominating, physical fashion. After last year’s negative experience the Rockets wanted some justice.
“I’m a ‘that game is over, let’s move on kind of guy,’ but this one stuck with me,” added Fisher. “The countdown to Montcalm had been on our weight room whiteboard for a while now.”
The Rockets dominated the game physically and on the scoreboard, opening a 27-0 lead after one quarter and a 41-0 lead at the half. Craig won the toss and elected to receive. It didn’t take long to excite the home crowd as senior runningback Carter Calfee rambled 56 yards for a TD on Craig’s second play of the season.
“Carter Calfee is such a leader for us both on the field and off,” said Fisher. “He has a tremendous work ethic and is an extremely high character young man. We’re blessed to have him as a Rocket.”
the ensuing possession and just two plays later senior running back Jerry Smith scored on a 12 yard run.
“Jerry is an electric addition to our team,” said Fisher. “He’s got all the wiggle and cuts you want from a wingback. He’s going to have a great season.”
Craig’s next score came on a Calfee punt return from 39 yards out and the rout was on. Junior receiver Caleb Cregger scored on a 22 yard pass from junior tailback Noah Paxton to put Craig up 27-0 in the first quarter.
“Noah is another guy who has had a superb off-season in the weight room,” said Fisher. “He’s a big 210-215 pound bruiser of a back that gets to throw sometimes.”
Cregger is another new addition to Craig who is already making an impact.
“Caleb moved to Craig at the end of July and instantly fit right in,” said Fisher. “Great hands, great leaping ability, he’s a playmaker on both sides of the ball.”
Calfee and Cregger scored touchdowns in the second quarter, Calfee on a 25 yard run and Cregger on another pass from Paxton, this time from 43 yards out. That put Craig up 41-0 at the half. With a lead of over 35 points the clock runs continuously and the second half went by quickly. Smith scored the lone second half touchdown with an electric 24 yard run.
