The Craig County football team will be back in action this week after having an early season bye last Friday. The Rockets come into the game at 2-0 after defeating Montcalm and Bland County to open the season.
This week’s opponent is Mount View High of Welch, West Virginia. The Golden Knights are looking for their first win after three tries. This will be Craig’s first time playing Mount View, a replacement game for the Van Bulldogs who had to fold their season due to low participation.
Mount View is a storied program that has suffered a drop off. Offensively, they are big up front with four starting linemen over 285. They are quick and have some speed in the skill positions.
“They’ve run a little Power-I but are predominately a spread offense,” said Craig County coach Jimmy Fisher. “They have gone empty a lot with five wide and they run a ton of formations and pass routes. They will be a challenge for our secondary. We also need our defensive line to step up and get a consistent pass rush to make sure the Mount View quarterback is uncomfortable.”
Defensively, Mount View has been in a five man front predominantly through their first three games.
“We are never sure how teams are going to line up against us or what they are going to do as far as a blitz package,” said Fisher. “Mount View has blitzed more than any team I have watched so far in 2025. When you blitz, you give up something and our job is to make the blitz hurt you more than it does us.
“They aren’t as big on defense as they are on offense. They are trying to utilize their speed more than their size, but that could change with us. We play phone booth football. We aren’t spreading it out, so they may try to get some more of that size on the field. We will try to take whatever they give us.”
As far as special teams, Fisher said the Knights have some scary speed.
“We will need to do a better job on our special teams,” he said. “We need to block better and longer without holding. We have to do much better at covering kicks. We can’t have the same breakdowns that we have had in our first two games on our kickoff coverage. If we do, Mount View will house it. I hate special teams touchdowns…unless they’re ours!”
This will be the first of four straight home games for the Rockets. They follow with games against Twin Springs, Stonewall Jackson and then their Pioneer District opener against Eastern Montgomery on October 10.
“I hope the community turns out for these home games the next four weeks,” said Fisher. “This team has worked tremendously hard to put a great product on the field for our community to enjoy. The alumni and community need to come see and support these young men.”
Last week the Rockets took the open week to mainly work on the JV guys and get healthy.
“The JV played Narrows on Wednesday and looked really good,” said Fisher. “I think the JV team will be solid again this year.”
Craig senior Carter Calfee took the Roanoke Times and the Crunch Player of the Week awards for his efforts in the win over Bland County. Fisher also reports that Brad Arthurs, who was injured in the Montcalm game, continues to heal from spleen surgery. He announced the JV game on Wednesday and little league games on Saturday.
“Keep praying for him,” said Fisher.
